It was another day where we took one of the Championship's lesser sides to the cleaners. Bristol City really had no answer to us other than the tactic of falling down untouched to try and con the referee, and by the final whistle, with an Andre Gray hat trick in the bag alongside another Scott Arfield goal, they were a well beaten side.
I think all the Burnley fans who had gone through the floods to Hull were back and, thankfully, those who had been without power had seen it restored by the morning of this game. We even had bright, dry weather for the game too as the weather opted to relent for a few days at least.
The Hull defeat had got to me, as it had many more, and in my report I commented that I would give things a real shake up and that I would leave out Michael Duff, Scott Arfield, Dean Marney, George Boyd and Sam Vokes.
I didn't expect it to happen so I was surprised, but I have to say pleased, to see three changes which saw Duff, Marney and Boyd out of the side for a variety of reasons, and replaced by Stephen Ward, David Jones and Michael Kightly.
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| A first Football League hat trick for Andre Gray |
Jones had been out for the two previous games, Kightly hadn't started since the home defeat against Reading and for Ward, it was a first league start since he was injured in the home game against Newcastle at the start of December last year. He came in at left-back with Ben Mee moving into the centre.
Former Burnley boss Steve Cotterill received a very good reception from the home fans as he made his way round to the away dug out that used to be home for him from 2004 to 2007, but if he enjoyed that, there was nothing else for him to enjoy all afternoon.
There's no doubt we needed a positive reaction after the Hull defeat and my word we got it, right from the off, and they will wonder just how they survived at 0-0 until eight minutes before half time.
Gray saw an early effort saved, we had an early effort cleared off the line, Arfield fired just wideband we then went on to hit the woodwork twice with two very different efforts. When Vokes flicked on for Gray it was so reminiscent of his link up play with Danny Ings in the promotion season. Gray took it on and was unfortunate to see his shot deflect off Nathan Baker and onto the base of the post.
Vokes would have had an assist there and he'd have been the recipient again when he laid the ball back to Joey Barton whose strike from 35-yards smashed against the bar.
It was possibly getting frustrating when the goal wouldn't come, but finally it did and it all started when Jonathan Kodjia again theatrically went down in the box laughably trying to win a spot kick.
Michael Keane came away with the ball. He played it out to Barton who moved it on first time to Kightly who did likewise to find Gray. The striker's turn to see off Aden Flint was exquisite leaving him with a run on goal.
A left foot looked likely but he turned inside of Baker and placed his shot past the despairing Frank Fielding into the bottom corner.
Finally in front, and right on half time that lead was doubled. A Matt Lowton cross was knocked up by a defender but only to Jones who headed it back into the box. Gray was on the move, he got onto it in front of the defenders and made no mistake with a right foot shot from close range. It was no more than we deserved going into the half time break.
Bristol came out for the second half knowing they had a mountain to climb and to their credit they took the game to us. They got balls into our box without success but the nearest they came was when Barton gave the ball away allowing Kodjia to go in on goal.
He's scored a few goals from them this season, including the one he stuck in with his hand against us, but he wasted this one. With team mates better placed he opted to shoot with Tom Heaton not having any difficulty in dealing with it.
Another Burnley goal would end this contest but we hadn't had too many opportunities. When one came, we took it and Vokes finally got his richly deserved assist. He poked the ball forward for Arfield who was clear coming in from the left. I'm not sure whether Fielding got a touch but it nestled into the far corner and the points were ours.
We just needed the icing on the cake and it duly came seven minutes later. Kightly and Lowton linked up superbly down the right with Kightly playing the ball outside their left-back. Lowton made his run onto it and his low cross was turned in by Gray who completed his hat trick.
It was his first hat trick in the Football League. He's previously scored two in a game for Burnley on three other occasions and last season, for Brentford, he got a couple in a 3-2 win at Millwall. He scored thirty Conference goals in Luton's promotion season of 2013/14 and that included hat tricks in a 4-1 win against Hyde, a 3-0 win against Nuneaton and a 7-0 rout against Hereford, all of them at Kenilworth Road.
He received a superb ovation from the Turf Moor crowd and there was another to follow just a couple of so minutes later when he was substituted. Sean Dyche made a double change. Fredrik Ulvestad got his first competitive action of the season, coming on for Barton, who also received a fantastic ovation from the home fans, before Rouwen Hennings came on for Gray.
Things are changing at Burnley when we can bring in a Norwegian and a German for an England international and a £6 million striker.
Soon after, Matt Taylor replaced Arfield but this game was over, certainly in terms of the result, although we did have a couple of scares right at the end before we got our clean sheet. Michael Keane cleared the first of them off the line after Ben Mee's ball back to Heaton was too short, probably his only mistake of the afternoon, with another effort from former Stockport striker Aaron Wilbraham hitting the post.
But this was Burnley's day. The 4-0 scoreline didn't flatter us and, albeit against a bottom three side, we again showed ourselves capable of mounting a promotion bid, lifted by news from Deepdale that Preston had beaten Hull.
I was asked at the end when we had last hit four goals or more in successive home games. I didn't have to go too far back for that one, it was in March 2009. We beat Crystal Palace at home 4-2, after trailing 2-0, and three days later beat Nottingham Forest 5-0.
But it is a while since we last won by four or more goals in successive home games. For that we have to go back to the days of John Bond and 4-0 wins against Exeter and Lincoln, Wayne Biggins bagging a hat trick against his former club in the second one.
That's it for 2015, a year that started with that 3-3 draw at Newcastle and has ended with this 4-0 home win. Here's hoping for an enjoyable 2016.
The teams were;
Burnley: Tom Heaton, Matt Lowton, Michael Keane, Ben Mee, Stephen Ward, Scott Arfield (Matt Taylor 83), Joey Barton (Fredrik Ulvestad 81), David Jones, Michael Kightly, Sam Vokes, Andre Gray (Rouwen Hennings 81). Subs not used: Matt Gilks, Tendayi Darikwa, Michael Duff, Chris Long.
Yellow Card: David Jones.
Bristol City: Frank Fielding, Luke Ayling, Aden Flint, Nathan Baker, Elliott Bennett (Mark Little 76), Korey Smith, Marlon Pack, Luke Freeman (Bobby Reid 82), Derrick Williams, Aaron Wilbraham, Jonathan Kodjia (Wes Burns 82). Subs not used: Max O'Leary, Luke Moore, Joe Bryan, Simon Cox.
Yellow Card: Nathan Baker.
Referee: Andy Madley (West Yorkshire).
Attendance: 17,234 (including 372 from Bristol City).
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