Home draw number three

Last updated : 03 October 2007 By Tony Scholes
Andy Gray
Andy Gray - his fortunate goal got us a point
This was one with a difference. We could have beaten Palace on Saturday and we should have beaten Blackpool in the previous home game, but I think we'll wonder just how we managed to get a point from this game after being second best for so much of the game and giving ourselves a mountain to climb after just ten minutes when we fell two goals behind.

We were out thought, out played and seriously out passed by an Ipswich side that apparently can't play away from home but they were better than us, much better than us and put simply, they kept the ball and we gave it away.

Before kick off we spoke about Sylvain Legwinski. He'd played so well against us last season and we were astonished to find he hadn't been starting games this season, but he was back, played well and was soon making his mark in an Ipswich team that changed to a 4-5-1 formation with former Claret Alan Lee employed as the lone striker.

We'd really struggled to get into the game and just about managed to clear one corner, but we didn't when they got a second with just seven minutes gone. It was whipped in to the near post where Legwinski got away from his marker Kyle Lafferty to put Ipswich in front.

Turf Moor went quiet and two minutes later fell into silence as they doubled their advantage. This one was simple, they got down the right wing, got in a cross Lee was beyond the far post and unmarked to loop a header past the stranded Gabor Kiraly.

Silent and stunned, 2-0 down against an Ipswich side that don't score goals away from home and haven't won on their travels since a 2-0 success at Luton in mid-March. They have been playing without confidence apparently and now they'd been handed it on a plate.

Any talk of West Brom comebacks was quickly dismissed, but almost as quick the comeback started. Alan Mahon gave the ball away but got back in to win it back. The ball was played across to Graham Alexander who in turn found Robbie Blake.

Blake played a delightful ball through for Wade Elliott to get onto, a ball just inviting him to cross the ball. Wade didn't fail and his cross was met at the far post for Kyle to head home to net his first goal for the Clarets since December of last year.

It was all rather strange, for a minute I wasn't sure it was given and incredibly goalkeeper Neil Alexander then tried to take a goal kick. Perhaps we'd both been fooled because no one bothered to put on the goal music. But no matter what the keeper was doing we'd pulled one back and it was game on.

They said there would be goals and we'd had three in the first eleven minutes. Incredibly we didn't get any more in the first half and that was something we had to be thankful for, simply because there was only one team going to score and it wasn't us.

We couldn't keep hold of the ball, something they were very good at, and every time they went forward you feared a goal. Defensively we looked all at sea, the two central defenders were nowhere near their best whilst Stephen Jordan at left back was having a nightmare.

Half time was reached at 2-1 and we were thankful for that and it gave us a chance to sort things out. Nothing changed though in the second half and we sat and watched Ipswich string passes together whilst we, at times, could do no more than admire it. Steve Cotterill had seen enough and was just about to make changes, certainly David Unsworth was coming on. Then, on the hour, the game changed as we drew level.

I could say it was a classic finish from leading scorer Andy Gray, but in reality Mahon played a good ball through for Gray. However, goalkeeper Alexander was quick off his line and got to the ball just ahead of Gray. He played it just as Gray slid in and played it straight onto Gray's foot. It looped up back over the keeper and after what seemed an age dropped into the net for the most fortunate of equalisers.

Ipswich, 2-0 up after nine minutes, and much the better side, had now seen their lead go, and they all but fell to pieces. Burnley didn't just come into the game but almost camped out for a while in and around the Ipswich penalty box.

This was a real chance to go on and win it but the closest we came was a Lafferty header that Alexander saved well. Whether he would have saved it had Kyle not been fouled is another matter. Clear penalty it was but neither Webster (another disappointing referee) nor his perfectly positioned assistant could be bothered with it.

We made two substitutions but they had no positive effect and to be honest Ipswich, who then switched to a 4-4-2 with the introduction of Pablo Counago, saw us off and started to get forward again. And with just six minutes left they got what looked like the winner through Counago but thankfully the flag was up for offside.

Three minutes of stoppage time came to nothing and at the final whistle it was another home draw - but this time it was very much a point gained from a game where we really should have got nothing.

Good performances weren't easy to find, and certainly the sponsors man of the match decision of Robbie Blake was met with some disbelief inside the ground. I thought Graham Alexander looked good at right back whilst both Kyle Lafferty and Alan Mahon played well.

We've got away with this one, Ipswich will feel hard done to. We are going to have to be a lot, lot better at Cardiff on Saturday.

The teams were;

Burnley: Gabor Kiraly, Graham Alexander, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Wade Elliott (Steve Jones 79), John Spicer, Alan Mahon (James O'Connor 89), Kyle Lafferty (Ade Akinbiyi 85), Robbie Blake, Andy Gray. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, David Unsworth.

Ipswich: Neil Alexander, David Wright, Jason De Vos, Alex Bruce, Dan Harding, Jonathan Walters, Owen Garvan, Sylvain Legwinski, Tommy Miller, Billy Clarke (Pablo Counago 71), Alan Lee. Subs not used: Shane Supple, Chris Casement, Fabian Wilnis, Danny Haynes.

Referee: Colin Webster (Shotley Bridge).

Attendance: 9,952.