Spurs end Clarets cup hopes

Cahill was making a first team debut alongside Michael Duff who was back from suspension and playing in the centre and there was a first start for Amadou Sanokho.

Graham Branch was passed fit whilst Jean-Louis Valois was fit enough for the bench, or so we thought, but that was hardly the case as they didn’t manage to complete ninety minutes between them.

Steve Cotterill said the game had come at the wrong time for us and it was certainly so but we got a side out and gave Tottenham a hell of a game in the first half. The Premiership side moved the ball well and got it from defence to attack very quickly but it was the Clarets who created most of the chances in the first period.

The first fell to Richard Duffy who certainly knows how to get into good attacking positions for a defender. He got on the end of a low Robbie Blake pull back but saw his shot saved by England keeper Paul Robinson, somewhat surprising with Robinson apparently keener to wave at the crowd rather than concentrate on the game.

Robbie himself had the next chance and turned superbly on the edge of the Spurs box before hitting a shot just wide.

Spurs came more into the game after the early Burnley pressure but unlike the Clarets were unable to create much to test Brian Jensen but then went in front in a scenario similar to the first goal on Saturday.

It all started with an effort from Duffy when he planted a header wide from a Blake cross and in the very next attack came the goal. Michael Carrick, making his first start for Spurs, was the architect as he got down the right before delivering a superb ball into the box for Robbie Keane to hit home off Jensen.

As we tried to get back into the game we had to make a change and all credit to Branchy for playing almost half the game. Not only was he carrying an injury but he hasn’t been well either. On in his place came Valois but he would go off before the end clutching his hamstring again.

There was a sensation in the last minute of the first half when Tony Grant got a shot in and got it on target. No matter how well Grant plays, he never seems to find that ability to shoot on target. He was unlucky tonight with Robinson making the save of the match to deny him at the expense of a corner.

Robinson again came to the rescue as Duff got his head to Robbie’s flag kick but the keeper got down well to save and Blake probably should have done better than shoot wide with the last piece of action of the half.

Tony Grant - Forced the save of the match from Spurs keeper Paul Robinson

A goal down at half time but it could have been so different. Spurs had played well and we certainly hadn’t had it our own way or bossed it as we did against Villa, but if only one of those chances had gone in.

We needed to get at them early in the second half and try to force an equaliser but things went worse just seven minutes in as Spurs doubled their lead with a carbon copy goal.

This time they broke down our left and it was Jermain Defoe who played the ball across brilliantly for Keane to get his second.

They had the ball in the net again two minutes later through Defoe but the assistant wrongly flagged for offside. It didn’t delay the third goal but too much though and it came from Defoe on 58 minutes.

He shot from around 25 yards but goalkeeper Jensen was caught out and didn’t appear to move across in time and was beaten when he should really have done better.

The game was all over now and the Clarets looked a beaten and dejected side, no surprise given the recent schedule coupled with the crippling injury list.

It all petered out as Spurs made substitutions and Joel Pilkington made his Carling Cup debut coming on for Valois, who like Branch had given us 41 minutes.

The early goals in the second half had killed it although we did nearly get a consolation from Duffy but Robinson made a save, we hadn’t really tested him in the second half.

It is back to league action for a while now, and more significantly back to one game a week which will help as we try to strengthen the squad by getting some of the injured players back.

They gave their all tonight against a Premiership side. We were well beaten in the end and we certainly paid the price for those Robbie Keane missed chances two years ago. So now let’s get on with winning some league points.

There has to be special praise tonight for Gary Cahill who came in and did exceptionally well and although I found it difficult to get anyone to agree with me I thought Richard Duffy had a really good game, again playing out of position but none of them let us down.

And finally a word for the referee. We’ve had some bad ones recently but Graham Poll tonight ensured the game was about the players so well done to him. I cannot believe Ferguson found anything to moan about with this referee.

The teams were,

Burnley: Brian Jensen, Lee Roche, Michael Duff, Gary Cahill, Mo Camara, Richard Duffy, Micah Hyde, Tony Grant, Amadou Sanokho, Graham Branch (Jean-Louis Valois 41, Joel Pilkington 82), Robbie Blake. Subs not used: Paul Scott, Mark Yates, Matt O’Neill.

Spurs: Paul Robinson, Stephen Kelly, Ledley King, Noureddine Naybet, Noe Paramot (Phillip Ifil 77), Reto Ziegler, Michael Carrick, Michael Brown, Pedro Mendes (Simon Davies 62), Robbie Keane (Frederic Kanoute 64), Jermain Defoe. Subs not used: Kasey Keller, Jamie Redknapp.

Referee: Graham Poll (Tring).

Attendance: 10,639.