It just keeps getting better

Last updated : 23 August 2009 By Tony Scholes
Wade Elliott
Wade Elliott - scored the winner
I suppose beating the champions on Wednesday would always take some bettering but the fixtures had asked us to follow it up with another very tough home game against Everton who ended last season in fifth place in the Premier League.

I was more nervous today. That's probably because I didn't expect anything on Wednesday but that had raised the expectancy levels and I thought we had a real chance of adding to our first three points.

We'll soon be getting used to our fixtures moving. The first three home games have all been moved for one reason or another and here we were on a Sunday due to Everton's game in Europe just three days earlier.

Yesterday I'd taken in the North West Counties game between Ramsbottom and Flixton to get my football fix but like everyone else I was ready for this one against a team I consider to be one of the toughest to beat.

It's so busy outside the Turf on match days now, and long may that last. The atmosphere is good, probably everyone is just like me in finding it difficult to take everything in. Again I was in the ground early with the players still warming up.

By then I'd got the team news and it was no surprise to hear that Owen Coyle had named the same starting eleven that had beaten United as well as the same seven substitutes. The only changes were positional. This time Martin Paterson started up front with Steven Fletcher on the right hand side of the midfield four.

Referee Phil Dowd did turn up and made sure everyone knew. He couldn't possibly have been missed in a kit that was almost pink in colour.

He got the game underway and within a minute we could have been re-starting from the centre circle. Chris McCann, who had an absolute stormer of a game, got a cross in from the left and Pato's header came back off the crossbar with Fletcher unable to turn in the rebound.

It was so unlucky, but Pato should certainly have scored a couple of minutes later when he got his head to a right wing cross from Wade but headed wide.

This was a really bright opening for the Clarets with Robbie Blake and McCann involved in everything. It was McCann who set up Fletcher with a half chance but he hit his shot wide.

Little had been seen of Everton at this stage but they did work themselves back into the game and had a couple of decent chances themselves. At this point you sensed that the visitors might just be getting on top but we ended their hopes by taking the lead.

Fletcher played the ball to Wembley goalscoring hero Elliott and he curled a shot, with the help of a deflection, wide of goalkeeper Tim Howard and into the corner of the net to send the vocal home support into raptures.

The remaining ten minutes or so of the first half passed without incident and for the second time in four days we went in at half time with a 1-0 lead.

The half time interval was a special one for Clarets Mad who were presenting a cheque for £10,000 to the club on behalf of the Clarets Mad Youth Foundation. Paul Young and Simon Doyle represented the web site, presenting the cheque to Director of Youth Development Martin Dobson and youth team players Jake McEneaney and Liam Newman.

This came directly after Dobbo had made the half time draw, and it was good to see the reception he received from both home and away fans.

We were now just 45 minutes away from a perfect week at home and things could have got better just a few minutes into the second half. I was convinced Clarke Carlisle had scored from a Robbie corner but he just failed to connect and Howard connected.

Burnley had made a superb start to the second half and this was probably our best spell of the game. Unfortunately we just couldn't get that second goal but it took a top save from Howard to deny a spectacular overhead kick from McCann.

The game seemed to change when Everton brought on Jo with 24 minutes remaining but there hadn't been a real threat on goal until referee Dowd pointed to the penalty spot after a foul by McCann on Tony Hibbert.

I've seen it the once from my vantage point on the half way line and wasn't sure, but suggestions are that Chris was hardly done to with the award. Up stepped Louis Saha just as I said I couldn't see Brian Jensen saving a second penalty this week. He didn't, but there again he didn't need to. Saha put his shot hopelessly wide.

Saha had another chance shortly after but shot wide and then Owen Coyle started to make some substitutions. The second of the changes saw the home fans get their first glimpse of Fernando Guerrero and with his first real touch he got in position on the left and tried to chip Howard only to see his shot go just wide.

Everton looked a beaten side now and apart from a free kick in stoppage time they didn't really threaten us again and when the whistle went after four minutes of stoppage time Turf Moor was celebrating yet another home win.

Six points from the first three games, a better start than most of us would have dared hope and it really was another good team performance with some excellent individual performances.

The entire back four were in superb form whilst Blake started on fire and McCann played as well as I think I've ever seen him play. Anyone of them could have won the man of the match but I've gone for Clarke Carlisle. He and Andre Bikey were top drawer again today.

It gets tougher though with trips to Chelsea and Liverpool in the next two games. But we've made a good start, we've got six points and we know now just how capable our team is of playing at this level. They've simply been fantastic this week and long may that last.

The teams were;

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Stephen Jordan, Graham Alexander, Steven Fletcher (Steven Thompson 86), Wade Elliott, Chris McCann, Robbie Blake (Fernando Guerrero 84), Martin Paterson (Chris Eagles 79). Subs not used: Diego Penny, Christian Kalvenes, Joey Gudjonsson, Kevin McDonald.
Yellow Cards: Wade Elliott.

Everton: Tim Howard, Tony Hibbert, Joseph Yobo, Phil Neville, Leighton Baines, Leon Osman, Jack Rodwell, Marouane Fellaini (Jo 66), Tim Cahill, Stephen Pienaar, Louis Saha. Subs not used: Carlo Nash, Shane Duffy, Dan Gosling, James Wallace, Jose Baxter, James Vaughan.

Referee: Phil Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent).

Attendance: 19,983.