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A Tony Grant cross from the left found little beyond the far post who managed to find Moore to get a header in, his first effort all afternoon on another disappointing day for the Clarets’ striker.
Around 3,000 supporters went wild and two minutes later were on their feet again to celebrate our first win on the road since last September.
But it was hardly deserved and to be honest we turned in a very disappointing performance and for periods of the game, particularly in the second half, we were second best to a side almost certain to face relegation.
We named the side that drew the last game at Forest, as we predicted. One of the new signings Dele Adebola was on the bench whilst the other Lenny Johnrose didn’t even make the sixteen.
Bradford got to grips with the game immediately and we struggled to contain them in the first few minutes with Nicky Summerbee and Danny Cadamarteri showing up well. It wasn’t the sort of start we wanted but it was to change with only eight minutes gone when we went in front.
It was a cracking goal too with Robbie Blake hammering home a through ball from Glen Little that gave keeper Alan Combe absolutely no chance.
The goal didn’t lift us though and it was the home side who carried on doing the pressing and after one narrow escape our lead was lost with a goal that we have seen so often in the last two or three years.
A crossfield ball from the right (this time from Summerbee) saw Cadamarteri get behind Dean West, cut inside and hit a shot into the bottom corner.
The rest of the first half then appeared to be Bradford doing most of the pressing and all Burnley’s breaks forward coming to an end with Ian Moore offside. We got caught offside on twelve occasions during the afternoon and most of these were against Mooro.
We were thankful to go in level at half time, certain that there would be an improvement in the second half. That did not come, in fact things got worse.
We still continued to get caught offside and the assistant referee was coming in for some stick from the Burnley fans on the side but much of this was being caused by the ridiculous new directives for offside that have left everyone baffled.
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There is no doubt that we would have fallen behind but for one man and that was goalkeeper Brian Jensen. He made a series of good stops, one of them in particular was excellent and another simply magnificent when he managed to get down low to his left and get the ball over.
It was inspirational stuff from the Beast today but a major concern that a side as lowly as Bradford could get so many opportunities.
Stan did change things round and brought Adebola on for his debut as a replacement for the disappointing Richard Chaplow who had one of his poorest games. The second change brought a chorus of boos aimed at the manager when on came Paul Weller to be replaced by goal scorer Robbie Blake. I have to admit to being somewhat baffled by it.
It wasn’t all Bradford though and we did get forward occasionally. On one of those occasions David May turned in a free kick but the assistant’s flag ruled it out. Right or wrong decision I’m not sure but suddenly Bradford were going forward with some of our lot still celebrating a goal.
Worse still David May said something to the assistant, received a yellow card, and will not miss the vital games against Walsall and Watford. It really was a case of double standards, a few minutes earlier a Bradford player had given referee Laws a right mouth full and simply got away with it.
It wasn’t a surprise, Laws had another dreadful afternoon and probably Stan had the most difficult of tasks in biting his lips.
No goal it was though and no penalty either when Neil Wood went down in the box just a few minutes from the end. The Manchester United loanee had a disappointing afternoon and this one the referee did appear to get right. Having said that I’m not sure he would have given it to us.
A draw was not going to be a good result for us but just as all seemed lost and into stoppage time came the winner and there was no way back for the surely relegated home side.
You don’t always get what you deserve in football and sometimes you get more than you deserve and that was definitely the case today.
But who cares – it will say BRBC 1 Burnley 2 in the Sunday papers and that really was all that mattered.
If the performance on the field was not so good then the one off the field was simply magnificent. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that there are times when I feel privileged to be sat in a stand with Burnley fans and today was one of them.
Some apparently struggled to get in, some were certainly getting in very late and I just hope no one missed out altogether. But inside that ground from start to finish the Burnley fans turned in a superb performance.
If only it was ever like that on the Turf.
It’s looking better – three places higher but still more points needed. Let’s just go and get them.
The teams today were:
BRBC: Alan Combe, Wayne Jacobs (Gareth Edds 58), Peter Atherton, David Wetherall, Paul Heckingbottom, Nicky Summerbee, Mark Bower, Lewis Emanuel, Danny Cadamarteri, Michael Branch, Dean Windass. Subs not used: Mark Paston, Tom Kearney, Rob Wolleaston, Ben Muirhead.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Dean West, David May, Graham Branch, Mo Camara, Glen Little, Richard Chaplow (Dele Adebola 56), Tony Grant, Neil Wood, Robbie Blake (Paul Weller 69), Ian Moore. Subs not used: Nathan Abbey, Mark McGregor, Luke Chadwick.