Oh what fun it is to see ....

Last Updated : 11-Apr-2010 by
Leon Cort
Leon Cort - Man of the Match
For some reason I had this gut feeling we might do it from the minute I got ready to go yesterday. There was absolutely no reason for it; there were no good omens and it had to be nothing other than sheer wild fantasy to think we could break our duck given the week we'd had.

It had been a stinker of a week. It started with the goals in the opening minutes against Manchester City and Kevin McDonald's trip to the 110 Club. We had all sorts of rumours spreading like wildfire all week. Manager Brian Laws was subjected to criticism and some downright awful abuse, some of it on the message board of this web site, and that had you wondering whether some of the people posting the comments had any real interest, care or feeling for our club.

Then, on the eve of the trip to Hull, Joey Gudjonsson, he who plays reserve games in a hat, spoke out against the manager on some Icelandic web site that Sky were good enough to interpret for us. I honestly think the comments said more about the sulking Gudjonsson than they did about Laws.

Who on earth would be daft enough to predict anything but yet another away defeat with that backdrop? And it looked as though I was going to have to eat my words when we fell behind in only the third minute of the game.

But somehow, we found something within to come back and turn the whole thing round to win 4-1 in a performance that had every single Burnley fan on its feet with delight and anticipation.

It was our lads on the pitch who fought like tigers, and the Hull Tiger simply had no response as we scored not one, not two, not three but for goals against them.

We can't expect our players to be like Lionel Messi. We can't expect them to be like Cesc Fabregas and we can't expect them to be like Wayne Rooney. What we can expect is that they give 100% commitment to the cause and by God they did that yesterday and more.

There was an incident towards the end that summed it all up. Martin Paterson chased a lost cause down the right wing that forced Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill into an error. Without Pato bursting a gut to get there, Myhill would have been under no pressure and would have cleared easily.

I've singled one player out, but all over the pitch we put in that sort of commitment, all over the pitch we started to win our battles and that led to his incredible, and most unexpected victory.

In almost summery weather we arrived at the KC, where we've never previously even scored a goal, to find there were three changes to the team that had lost a week earlier. Out went to the two players substituted at half time, Robbie Blake and McDonald along with Chris Eagles.

In their places came Wade Elliott, Paterson and Jack Cork. Blake and Eagles made the bench but McDonald, despite travelling, had just a watching brief.

We kicked off defending the end where the Burnley fans were situated, fans who were to play an incredible part before the game was over. Any hopes we had for a result were very quickly lost when Hull took the lead in just the third minute with the easiest goal they are likely to score.

They got down our left far too easily and when the cross came over there was Kevin Kilbane to head home after outwitting Tyrone Mears. He was just a few yards out and unmarked and could hardly miss.

"That's that," I thought, believing that any hopes of getting anything had just about gone with the game only just started, and nothing in the next ten to fifteen minutes or so changed that belief.

Without offering very much down the other end we could easily have conceded another, Brian Jensen was having a nightmare spell, and when our two centre halves did make contact with anything it was with each other. Still, I'd rather two players go for a ball than none.

Michael Duff had to go off for treatment to a blooded head, changing both shirt and shorts at the same time, whilst his partner Leon Cort came off slightly better with just a lump appearing on his forehead that got bigger as the game went on.

There is one big difference playing away games than home games and that's the crowd. At home there would have been murmurings of discontent at best, but away the Burnley fans always continue to get behind the side.

It was never more evident than it was here. "We are the Longside. Burnley," could be heard time and time again and the noise levels raised when Jensen made a save to deny Hull a second goal, probably his only difficult save of the afternoon.

We started to play a bit and take the game to Hull. Suddenly there was little action in front of us with the ball mainly down the far end. Paterson got the ball out to Tyrone Mears who got two bites of the cherry when he tried to play the ball into the box.

The second ball in found Paterson who spun to turn a shot in past Myhill and suddenly we were level and with ten minutes of the second half remaining. By half time no one could deny we deserved the 1-1 scoreline, but even so we could never have dreamed what would happen after the break.

We were much the better side and pressed forward looking to get a second we hoped would be a winner. When the chance came, and with no disrespect, it fell to the wrong man. A ball in from the right fell to Duff. He brought it down, steadied himself, and then managed to hit his shot over the bar.

Was that going to be it? Was it going to be the one chance we'd get? No was the answer. Soon after we won a free kick down the left when George Boateng fouled Danny Fox. When Fox got the free kick into the box it was headed to Duff by Cort. Duff was fouled and referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the penalty spot.

Mark Lawrenson on Match of the Day suggested Duff hadn't been touched. I knew he had because it was quite clear from behind the goal. Thankfully it was cleared up by Sky's Goals on Sunday and the decision was a correct one.

Up stepped Graham Alexander and he hit it right into the bottom corner to Myhill's left. The keeper went the wrong way but wouldn't have been able to keep it out had he chosen left. And so here we were 2-1 up.

Only six minutes later David Nugent won the ball on the half way line right on the left touchline. Again television cameras have been able to confirm there was no handball. Nugent went on a terrific run and when he didn't think he could pick out Steven Fletcher in the box, after the Scottish international had done superbly to get there, he went past Bernard Mendy and was brought down.

Another penalty, and perhaps Mendy can think himself very fortunate to have been allowed to stay on. Up stepped Grezza again and the only difference this time was that he hit in higher. It was still right in the left corner with Myhill going the other way.

Apart from the wonderful finishes from Grezza, the other notable event was the celebration of the goals from the players. They stormed to a spot right in front of the Burnley fans. Once again fans and players were together.

Hull never gave an inkling that they might get back into it. We never gave an inkling that we might even let them. When they did get forward the brilliant pairing of Duff and Cort, the latter playing against his former club, had every answer.

Not as though they were our only good players, quite simply there were good performances all over the pitch. Even so, I had to decide on one of them for man of the match. It was too difficult to be honest although I eventually went for Cort because he didn't miss a chance.

The Burnley fans were loving it, and to the Beach Boys' Sloop John B sang out "We're winning away. We're winning away. How shit must you be. We're winning away." Being in the away end was once again a fantastic feeling.

We made late substitutions, we closed it down. Referee Atkinson added on five minutes and just past that we won a free kick on the left of the penalty box that Wade curled beyond Myhill into the net for the icing on the cake.

Before boarding the coach during the morning I'd looked at the posters outside the ticket office at Turf Moor, the ones that suggest we are all together. After the goings on this week it didn't ring true. It did as I left the KC Stadium.

The players celebrated on the pitch. Duff, substituted, returned still with his head bandaged and now with an ice pack on his right foot. He embraced with manager Laws as both smiled. Smiles? You should have seen them on the faces of the supporters as they left. It was brilliant to see.

Anyone with any interest at all in our football club has been hurting this week. I hate any bad publicity being attached to our club and I hate all the negativity surrounding it. We are still very much favourites to be relegated, and I certainly wouldn't be one to suggest we were anywhere close to avoiding it.

But just for one day yesterday it was if all the problems had gone away. Burnley is still a brilliant football club, it will recover from all the negativity and will give us many more great days in the years to come.

I'll remember this day - when Burnley won it's first ever Premier League game away from home. Oh what fun it is to see Burnley win away.

The teams were;

Hull: Boaz Myhill, Paul McShane (Geovanni 67), Ibrahima Sonko, Steven Mouyokolo, Andy Dawson (Nicky Barmby 51), Bernard Mendy, Jimmy Bullard, George Boateng, Kevin Kilbane, Craig Fagan (Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink 74), Jozy Altidore. Subs not used: Matt Duke, Caleb Folan, Dean Marney.
Yellow Cards: Jozy Altidore, Bernard Mendy, Craig Fagan, Nicky Barmby, George Boateng.

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Tyrone Mears, Michael Duff (Steven Caldwell 85), Leon Cort, Danny Fox, Graham Alexander, Wade Elliott, Jack Cork, Martin Paterson, Steven Fletcher (Andre Bikey 86), David Nugent (Steven Thompson 90). Subs not used: Nicky Weaver, Clarke Carlisle, Robbie Blake, Chris Eagles.
Yellow Cards: Tyrone Mears.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (Leeds).

Attendance: 24,369.

Footnote

The last time we won an away game in the top flight was on 17th April 1976 when a Peter Noble goal gave us a 1-0 win at Newcastle at St. James' Park.

The last time we did the double over a club in the top flight was in the 1974/75 season when we recorded two 3-2 wins against Tottenham (we also recorded doubles over Coventry, Luton & QPR in that season).

The last time we scored four goals in an away game in the top flight was on 23rd March 1974 when goals from Paul Fletcher(2), Doug Collins and Geoff Nulty gave us a 4-1 win against Leeds United at Elland Road.