O, me of little faith

Last updated : 09 September 2002 By Steve Cummings

O, me of little faith. In my defence, it wasn’t just myself who felt that way. Just about every Burnley supporter who I spoke with in the lead-up to this game was anticipating nothing more than a dismal day at Derby. And when you considered that the Clarets had taken just one point from fifteen, managing to score just once in the process, you have to concede that the grounds for pessimism were not without foundation. Once inside Pride Park it became evident that many shared my views, the biggest queue was not for the beer, but for the in-house bookies. Ladbrokes were doing a roaring trade, with most of the bets being placed on a Burnley defeat.

Stan Ternent made a number of changes to the side which had bored 12,500 people rigid the week before in the bore-draw with Crystal Palace. With Papadopoulous and Taylor earning international call-ups, Robbie Blake partnered Ian Moore in Burnley’s attack. Yet for me the most contentious decision was the manger’s choice of keeper. No-one is denying that the club needs another goalkeeper, and Nik’s performances in recent weeks have been a source of concern. However, having played well last week and drawn praise from the manager for doing so, Nik could rightfully have expected to retain his place in the starting eleven. Instead, latest signing Marlon Beresford got the nod, NTG having to make do with a spot of bench-warming. At best the decision leaves you scratching your head. At worst it makes a complete mockery of Ternent’s philosophy that if you play well you keep the shirt.

That having been said Marlon did well for us, and kept us in the game, somehow managing to paw away an early effort on goal. But from the resulting corner, Burnley failed to clear their lines properly. An appalling lack of marking allowed Adam Boulder time to bring the ball down, get it under control and pick his spot from fifteen yards. Beresford had no chance, and those who had been to the bookies mustn’t have known whether to laugh or cry, as an all too familiar scenario seemed about to unfold.

The remainder of the half was a virtual Xerox of the first forty-five minutes against Reading. The home side grew in dominance and we could not really have complained had we gone in two or three goals down at the interval. That we didn’t was due in equal measure to some good goalkeeping from Beresford and a lack of clinical finishing from Derby’s forwards, most notably the impressive Malcolm Christie who came closest by hitting an upright. For their part, Burnley didn’t force ex-Claret Andy Oakes to make any saves. Even more disturbingly, the back four seemed to have forgotten that Gareth Taylor was sitting in a stand somewhere in Helsinki, as they constantly pumped long, high balls up to the less than towering Blake and Moore.

Half-time arrived, and with it the long faces which are fast becoming a feature of following Burnley. But whilst 1800 or so Clarets spent the interval moping around and bemoaning their lot in the concourse of the impressive McArthur Glen stand, Stan Ternent used the break plotting his Ram raid.


What we saw over the following forty-five minutes had many folk wondering just what the caterers had put in the half-time beer, such was the transformation of the Clarets. This was a little bit special. The catalyst for the transformation, as acknowledged by John Gregory, was the introduction to proceedings of Glen Little. Dropped to the subs bench following his anaemic display seven days previously, Super Glen was bang on form. The triangle made by himself, Dean West and Robbie Blake caused
Derby numerous headaches throughout the second period.


The home side were given a warning that they had better batten down the hatches shortly after the re-start. Having reverted to a
4-4-2, in which the players looked infinitely more comfortable, Lee Briscoe sent over a gem of a cross from the left. Blake connected with the shot at full stretch, and just failed to get a decent enough contact as his effort whizzed over the bar.

The next time he was in the box, Derby weren’t so lucky. Latching onto a through ball, Blake was crudely upended. Although Mr. Hall’s refereeing performance wasn’t up to much, this was one crucial decision which he managed to get right. Blake made no mistake with the resulting spot-kick. Oakes guessed right, but the penalty was well struck and nestled sweetly in the right hand corner of the keeper’s goal.

At this point, most Burnley supporters would have taken the point if offered. But the players had other ideas, and they were all good ones. Robbie Blake appeared to have swapped his divers’ boots for golden ones. Just four minutes after converting the penalty, the million pound man turned provider. Following some neat interplay with Little, Blake swung a cross over which caused havoc in the Derby area. Oakes didn’t come for it, but former Newcastle and England defender Warren Barton was much more decisive, lashing the ball into the top corner of his own net from a couple of yards out. The goal saw a mild outbreak of delirium in the Burnley end, as the travelling contingent celebrated going ahead in a game for the first time this season.

Derby’s response was, well, pitiful to be honest. You would have thought that being at home, with the crowd behind them and having supposedly better players that the Clarets would have been under the cosh for the rest of the game. Not so. With their tails up, Burnley were fired with passion and wit, and opened up Derby’s defence at will. Little went past players like we know he can. Robbie Blake, undergoing a personal renaissance, showed us exactly why Ternent had chased his costly signature for so long. The home sides defence simply could not live with the man. If they dived in, he would trick his way around them. If they stood off him he would either shoot or create an opportunity for a team-mate. If this was an example of what Blake can do, then we have a special player in our midst.


Also back on song was Ian Moore. Rather than dashing around to little effect, his runs dragged
Derby’s desperate defenders all over the place, creating space for others. He even had a couple of decent efforts on goal himself. One in particular, a curling shot which beat Oakes and shaved his right hand post was reminiscent of his first ever strike for the Clarets against Preston at Deepdale.

Come full time the scenes of mass jubilation from the visiting fans were in stark contrast to the booing and cat-calling which emanated from most of Pride Park. On this display, the home side lack bottle when up against it, and dreams of an instant return to the Premiership may have to be put on hold. But this was Burnley’s day. They had come to a side who were competing in the Premiership a few months ago, and had come from behind to earn a thoroughly deserved victory. Play like they did in the second half of this game and Burnley will not just be off the bottom of the table, they will be well clear of the relegation scrap come May. Let’s hope this first victory of the season acts as a springboard for the Clarets to move onto greater things.