It leaves a sour taste

The referee, who otherwise had had a good game, should have stopped the game. Above all other considerations he is responsible for player safety but having allowed play to go on it is inconceivable that none of the home players who had the opportunity were prepared to put the ball out of play to get the game stopped.

Jensen was ultimately stretchered off as the shameful home players celebrated a goal and the game basically died from that point on. And it all came as we were looking very likely to equalise against a Watford side who were struggling to hold on.

So the game ended just as it started for the Clarets, and we can blame no one but our own club for the ridiculous state of affairs that saw us kick off with at least one injured player on the pitch and only one useable outfield player on the bench.

We’ve heard the excuses, we are sick of the excuses and whether it is the manager, the chairman or whoever else to blame for the lack of players they are going to have to get their fingers out and get it sorted.

We got away with it last season because we were injury free for much of the time but today Wade Elliott, John McGreal and Wayne Thomas, who all started last week, joined Danny Karbassiyoon on the injury list whilst Frank Sinclair started despite the fact that he wasn’t fit.

In the lunchtime game at Old Trafford Gary Cahill was on the bench for Villa, he wasn’t used and it prompted a discussion over pre-match drinks with me suggesting that the centre of defence was one position we didn’t really need to strengthen. Talk about having to eat your words.

Nobody had a clue how we would line up but as we kicked off it was Michael Duff and Frank in the centre of defence with Micah Hyde at right back. Loan player Karl Bermingham, a striker, was out wide on the right whilst Chris McCann making his first start in the first team was on the left.

The game was only ten minutes old when we fell behind and it really was a bad goal to give away. Duff was caught out but Jensen should surely have reacted quicker to avert the danger. In what was a poor performance by the keeper he didn’t and King took the chance with some ease.

Thankfully we were soon back in it as Ade Akinbiyi won a penalty. He really should have got a shot on goal but his touch let him down but he went down under challenge from Ben Foster in the Watford goal.

Gifton Noel-Williams had a look, but it was not for him today, we reckoned with the bigger stand at Watford he might have been struggling to reach the back row. Sensibly Garreth O’Connor stepped up and made no mistake.

If that was good news then it could have got even better as Ade went clear again and although he got a shot in this time it was easily saved by the keeper.

Disaster then struck. Firstly captain Frank was stretchered off, to be replaced by young striker Kyle Lafferty, and before we’d time to reshuffle and settle we were behind again as a Gavin Mahon effort deflected off Branchy and sailed into the corner.

We really were up against it now and the rest of the first half was played out with us hardly giving Watford a worry and as the players went off for half time the fans were already suggesting a heavy defeat for the patched up side that now had Graham Branch back in the centre of defence.

The second half performance though was to lift the spirits of everyone with an interest in all things Claret & Blue and we will probably wonder how we didn’t get something from the game in the end.

Nothing changed in the opening exchanges and twice a hesitant Jensen caused panic in the Burnley rearguard but we were able to clear both. There was a sign of things to come as Watford’s Ashley Young was booked for blatantly cheating. He resembled a Greek striker as he went down in the box only for referee Matt Messias to show him a yellow card for diving.

Burnley started to come into the game, and for the purists who complain about the long ball, there was none of it as Burnley played the ball through the midfield and on the ground. We were getting in top and causing Watford a lot of problems.

Micah, despite playing at right back, seemed by now to be running the midfield as well and he was ably supported by Garreth O’Connor who was helping us to get forward. He had a shot saved as did both Branchy and Gifton who forced the keeper into excellent saves from long range efforts.

Kyle set up Ade with a lovely header and again the keeper was equal to it and saved well. We shuffled again with Kyle going up front and Gifton dropping back and as we went into the last ten minutes we were putting Watford under enormous pressure and there really had to be a very good chance of getting something.

Then came that awful incident. It started when Jensen challenged for the ball in the air against Darius Henderson to the right of goal and what looked to be about fifteen yards out. He went down and didn’t move.

We waited for the whistle but it didn’t come, we waited for the home side to put the ball out, and they had several opportunities but it didn’t come. Instead they took advantage of us having no keeper and put the game beyond doubt with a cynical third goal.

It angered the Burnley fans, it angered our player and looking across at Steve Cotterill it certainly looked to have angered our manager. The referee made a very serious mistake, Watford just behaved disgracefully.

Danny Coyne replaced Jensen who became the second Burnley player to leave on a stretcher and the game was played out to its by now obvious conclusion.

There really were some good Burnley performances and there has to be special mention for the two youngsters Chris McCann and Kyle Lafferty. The best Burnley player for me though, and surely the best player on the pitch, was former Watford midfielder Micah Hyde. He’s in sparkling form and somehow this afternoon seemed able to play at full back and in midfield at the same time. He did not deserve to be on the losing side.

As for us – that finger does now need to be pulled out. We cannot carry on like this and new players have to be brought in. I don’t care where they come from but they have to be signed or we can start to consider the consequences of not having enough players.

Maybe we could arrange a game with a load of trialists – that would be a novel idea.

Today’s teams were,

Watford: Ben Foster, James Chambers, Malky Mackay, Clarke Carlisle, Jordan Stewart (Lloyd Doyley 66), Paul Devlin, Gavin Mahon, Dominic Blizzard, Ashley Young (Matthew Spring 66), Marlon King, Darius Henderson. Subs not used: Alec Chamberlain, Hameur Boazza, Anthony McNamee.

Burnley: Brian Jensen (Danny Coyne 87), Micah Hyde, Michael Duff, Frank Sinclair (Kyle Lafferty 25), Graham Branch, Karl Bermingham, James O’Connor, Garreth O’Connor, Chris McCann, Gifton Noel-Williams, Ade Akinbiyi. Subs not used: Wayne Thomas, John McGreal, Mark Yates.

Referee: Matt Messias (York).

Attendance: 16,802.