It was a story of a first half when we were very much the better team but a story of a change after half time when yet again the game was lost.
Even over the last two weekends it's been similar in games with better end results. At Hull, we totally dominated the first half but had to fight a defensive battle in the second half, and last Sunday we were left shaking our heads in disbelief at not being in front against Blackburn at half time.
Yesterday we weren't so fortunate. This time we couldn't point at an in form goalkeeper for not being in front at half time, just our own ability to put away the chances, and in the second half we didn't really create much of note, not as though, in fairness, did Nottingham Forest.
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| Danny Lafferty played well at left back after coming in for Ben Mee |
I suppose this was a good time to go to the City Ground. They came into the game on the back of two defeats and there have been rumbings amongst the supporters as to whether Sean O'Driscoll is the right manager.
We went into the game with just the one enforced change. Danny Lafferty came in, as expected, for the injured Ben Mee in an otherwise unchanged team from the one that drew the local derby last Sunday. On the bench, Joseph Mills stepped up to take the place vacated by Lafferty.
It wasn't to be a classic, not by any means, and neither side really produced much football to excite over the ninety minutes, but the simple fact is that we had three outstanding chances in the first half and missed the lot.
Last season we scored in the third minute of this fixture, yesterday we really should have scored earlier. The enormous Elliott Ward, the central defender with the 50p head, made a mess of a ball played forward by the Clarets and it left Charlie Austin clear.
A few weeks ago you'd have closed your eyes and known it would go in, but all strikers have spells when they can't stop scoring and when it gets a bit more difficult. As we all stood to greet the opening goal, Austin blazed his effort well away from the target.
In a half when Forest never threatened Lee Grant's goal, with the BBC digging out a Lewis McGugan free kick that went wide just to find something, we had two more chances and spurned both.
The first of those saw Martin Paterson hit the post when, strangely, he opted to go for the near post when he received the ball from a Kieran Trippier cross. Having taken the wrong option he really couldn't have scored, a shot on target would then have been saved by Forest's Camp goalkeeper.
It was another bad miss and there was a third to follow when Chris McCann was played in by Brian Stock just to the left of goal. McCann did what Paterson should have done and hit his shot across the goalkeeper. Surely a goal. No, it went wide of the far post and I'd say our last real chance of the game had just gone begging.
Half time came at 0-0. We've played far better than that this season but quite simply we should have been in front and preparing to bring all three points home with us.
The second half, unfortunately, was yet again nowhere near the level of the first half. Having said that just about nothing happened for the first quarter of an hour. That was until Andy Reid, who gave Trippier a difficult time, hit over a routine cross.
Now you can make your own minds up what happened next, other than the obvious that Dexter Blackstock got in a header just about as perfect as that from Jay Rodriguez for our second goal there last season.
He did climb on Jason Shackell. It looks more obvious to me on second showing than it did at the ground. Sean Dyche has pointed the finger at the referee but I'm afraid I can't agree with the manager on this one and my finger is pointing at the Burnley captain.
Just eleven days earlier we'd conceded a similar goal at Barnsley. Then, Marcus Tudgay got the better of him and this time it was Blackstock. Lafferty appealed for a free kick but tellingly Lee Grant pointed the finger at Shackell. As the captain's head went into his hands, Grant confronted him.
We should have conceded neither of these goals. There should have been no danger and I'm convinced that had that been Michael Duff against Blackstock we would not have found ourselves behind.
Behind we were. Almost immediately, Lafferty got forward and found Austin in the box, but he couldn't quite get his shot away as defenders closed in.
We introduced Sam Vokes soon after and then Junior Stanislas came on. Neither had much opportunity to influence things and before Stanislas could even settle into the game we were two behind.
Reid again played the final ball, slipping it between Trippier and Duff for Billy Sharp to run on and score with ease. The game was up for Burnley. I just hoped things didn't get any worse with another Forest goal. Thankfully they didn't.
In truth, Forest had done little to warrant a 2-0 win. We were very much the architects of our own downfall here, missing chances when were in the ascendancy and then giving away two soft goals.
Just to make things worse, McCann and Duff were amongst the yellow cards and that means both will now miss the visit of Watford next Saturday as they serve one match bans.
All in all, not much positive to report, other than Lafferty having a good game at left back. A disappointing day so thank goodness I was able to take in the FA Youth Cup tie at Old Trafford the night before where I got more than enough excitement and enjoyment for one weekend.
Sean Dyche has stuck with the same players now virtually since he came in, the only changes coming through injuries and the ever growing number of suspensions. He has two more enforced changes next week but I suspect he must now be coming to the time when he starts having to look at some other changes.
The substitutes did nothing yesterday to win themselves a starting place, but that was no fault of their own. They were given precious little opportunity to do so. But they have impressed in other games and all three of them must be coming into the manager's thoughts for the Watford game.
But, as disappointing as it was yesterday, it was still a game we should have won and one I'm convinced we would have won had we taken just one of those three chances.
The teams were;
Nottingham Forest: Lee Camp, Alan Hutton, Elliott Ward, Danny Collins, Dan Harding, Simon Gillett (Guy Moussi 66), Henri Lansbury (Chris Cohen 59), Andy Reid, Lewis McGugan (Adlene Guedioura 74), Dexter Blackstock, Billy Sharp. Subs not used: Karl Darlow, Daniel Ayala, Radoslaw Majewski, James Coppinger.
Yellow Cards: Billy Sharp, Chris Cohen.
Burnley: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Danny Lafferty, Brian Stock (Sam Vokes 65), Dean Marney, Chris McCann, Ross Wallace (Danny Ings 81), Charlie Austin, Junior Stanislas (Martin Paterson 73). Subs not used: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Joseph Mills, Marvin Bartley.
Yellow Cards: Chris McCann, Michael Duff, Dean Marney.
Referee: Mark Heywood (Cheshire).
Attendance: 19,672 (including 926 Clarets).