It started with a win

Last updated : 08 August 2010 By Tony Scholes
Andre Bikey
Andre Bikey - Man of the Match
It was hardly opening day of the season stuff when we can usually expect a hot, baking day. This year it was more a case of dodging the heavy showers, and not with total success, making the way to the ground.

There's always a buzz at the start of the new season but Harry Potts Way seemed quieter around half an hour before kick off than I would have expected. Maybe I'd got used to the Premier League, maybe it's because the new bar facilities in the road are not open yet.

Some things don't change though. Rocky was bellowing and demanding that people bought his half time draw tickets, there was a queue at the ticket office and the bookies was packed.

Inside Turf Moor, I was just in time to see John Francis scoring the promotion winning goal at York in 1992 on the big screen, apt given Super John was making the half time draw.

By then the team had been announced and Brian Laws was right, the team wasn't the one he'd started with against Huddersfield, it showed one change with Chris Iwelumo coming in for Steven Thompson. Laws himself admitted after the game it had been a difficult decision.

Attacking the cricket field end in the first half we almost got ourselves an opportunity in the first minute. It came to nothing in what was a scrappy opening although we were always the more likely.

We were at our best when we were able to get the ball wide, to Martin Paterson and Wade Elliott on the right and Ross Wallace on the left, but it wasn't often enough and we weren't able to create too much.

And it was Forest who came closest to scoring when Robert Earnshaw crashed a shot against the outside of the post when he got in on our left hand side. That was just before Michael Duff was forced off with a calf injury on the half hour with Clarke Carlisle coming on.

We were, by now, much the better side. Wallace had a shot saved, Danny Fox, who looks to be the new target for the boo boys, had a powerful drive blocked, Iwelumo came close, only goalkeeper Lee Camp prevented an own goal and Andre Bikey had a header cleared off the line, from a corner no less.

And then, the much needed goal came right on half time as the board was going up to signal three extra minutes. Tyrone Mears played the ball to Elliott just inside the Burnley half. Elliott in turn played a 1-2 with Paterson before making one of his trademark forward runs.

His run took him to the right hand side and his floated cross was met by Iwelumo's diving header that gave Forest's Camp goalkeeper no chance. A goal on his league debut, taking Fox's title as the last player to achieve that for Burnley.

What a fillip, right on half time. We came out after the break looking for that second goal and really took the game to Forest. Had that second goal come in those first few minutes then I'm sure we would have gone on to win it convincingly, but it didn't and Forest certainly got back into the game in no uncertain terms.

As they did then we dropped deeper, very noticeable with both Paterson and Wallace who weren't getting up the pitch anything like often enough and that in turn didn't allow us to have too much play close to the Forest goal.

Forest should have equalised, no doubt about that, when Nathan Tyson was played in on the left. His shot was akin to a Grifton Noel-Williams penalty and that effort was, in truth, our only difficult moment.

It was no surprise I suppose that he couldn't find target, Forest didn't trouble Brian Jensen once throughout the game and the nearest we got to a second goal in the game was again from Iwelumo. HIs looping header to the left of goal looked to have beaten Camp but he somehow just about got to it.

We made a couple of late changes, bringing on Jay Rodriguez for his first Burnley league action since the 2008/09 season, and Steven Thompson. The changes made little difference, other than maybe to give Iwelumo a much deserved rest after he'd battled for so long up top on his own.

But Forest, by then, despite playing well in the second half looked a beaten side and never really looked as though they might get that equaliser and when Colin Webster blew the final whistle it signalled a winning start to the new season.

Only a fool would suggest everything was perfect, it was far from that, but there really were some positives to take out of the game. Iwelumo did an excellent job up front and had a real battle with Forest's Wes Morgan.

And at the back we kept a clean sheet. It's the first time we've done that on the opening day of the season for four years, when two Steve Jones goals gave us a 2-0 win against QPR, and the first time at all since the 2-0 win against Hull last October.

Much of that was down to the two central defenders. Carlisle played ever so well when he came on, and on another day might well have got my man of the match vote.

However, alongside Carlisle was Andre Bikey and he was simply outstanding. At the Clarets Mad 'Laying Down The Laws' evening on Thursday the manager described him as the best central defender in the Championship during the 2008/09 season. If he maintains this form he'll be the best in 2010/11 too.

So, a win, and what more could we ask for the first game? Yes, we'd have liked to have played better, to have played more flowing football and to have scored a few more goals. I really don't understand all the negativity, we've just beaten one of the best teams in the division.

The teams were;

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Tyrone Mears, Andre Bikey, Michael Duff (Clarke Carlisle 30), Danny Fox, Graham Alexander, Wade Elliott, Dean Marney, Martin Paterson (Jay Rodriguez 76), Chris Iwelumo (Steven Thompson 85), Ross Wallace. Subs not used: Lee Grant, Leon Cort, David Edgar, Chris Eagles.
Yellow Cards: Tyrone Mears, Chris Iwelumo.

Nottingham Forest: Lee Camp, Chris Gunter, Wes Morgan, Kelvin Wilson (Luke Chambers 45), Ryan Bertrand, Chris Cohen, Guy Moussi (Radi Majewski 82), Paul McKenna, Nathan Tyson, Robert Earnshaw, Dexter Blackstock (Paul Anderson 69). Subs not used: Karl Darlow, Lewis McGugan, Garath McCleary, Dele Adebola.
Yellow Cards: Wes Morgan.

Referee: Colin Webster (Tyne & Wear).

Attendance: 17,946.