This was a game all about Burnley's most prolific marksman for years and our inability to keep a lead. It was a game where those with their glass half full will be lauding the performance of Charlie Austin while those for whom the glass is half empty will be looking at a fragile defence that is letting in goals at a rate of two per game.
In truth, last night's Roses tussle was made up of both with Austin getting his third hat trick in his last 20 appearances, three times giving us the lead and three times seeing it lost, two of those occasions within not much more than a minute.
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| Third hat trick in 20 games for Charlie Austin |
It's an astonishing run from the former wall builder. That's three hat tricks in just about six months and that includes a 16 week close season in the middle of it. We've seen nothing like it since Willie Irvine got three in just over three months in the 1965/66 season.
He'll have been wondering all day today how on earth he went home with the match ball after a game in which we collected only one point, but the stark truth is we probably wouldn't have got that had our top goalscorer not been in form.
As supporters made their way to the ground through torrential rain, news came through that Eddie Howe had made just one change to the team that had drawn with Millwall. The messages coming out of the club were that captain Jason Shackell would be fit, but it wasn't the case and also out of the side was Chris McCann with the keen injury that forced him off during Saturday's game. His replacement was Brian Stock making his first home league start since his summer move from Doncaster.
We kicked off against the side with the poorest current form in the league but you wouldn't have known it in the opening exchanges. They were the better side and they were causing us some problems, particularly down our right where Kieran Trippier, despite getting himself two assists, had a torrid night.
There wasn't too much sign of us getting ourselves into the game and it's fair to say it was something against the run of play when we took the lead midway through the half. We got the ball out to Ross Wallace on the right and he played it forward for Trippier whose cross was met by Austin to head home.
It was just what we needed. Given their recent form I expected Wednesday's heads to drop but instead they were level in just over a minute as a cross from the left wasn't dealt with by our defence, letting in Chris O'Grady to equalise.
Things could have got worse too but for former Owl Lee Grant. He had another good game in goal and it's happen as well he did. He was forced into a number of saves, most of which were routine but he did make one exceptional stop as the ball looked to be heading into the bottom corner.
You wouldn't have put money on the next goal going our way but it did and it was the same routine again as Austin headed home a Trippier cross, this time stooping low to beat former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.
Wednesday were thankful to Kirkland too soon after when he saved from David Edgar following a corner. Another Burnley goal would definitely have painted a somewhat false picture of the first half and I was thankful to go in with a lead.
After another good Grant save early in the second half we probably had our best spell of the game as we pushed to try and get that cushion of a two goal lead. It didn't come and the game switched the other way with us under a bit of pressure.
That pressure ended with their second equaliser of the night and O'Grady matching Austin goal for goal. It was awful stuff from our point of view as a ball through from Jay Bothroyd left O'Grady clear with only Grant to beat.
Grant then made a sensational stop from point blank range as Wednesday continued to look very much the more likely.
From then until around seven minutes to go, Wednesday looked the only likely winners, although Austin came close to adding an outrageous third goal. He got the ball on the line, around the edge of the box to the right. Somehow, he turned, beat the defender, cut in and almost beat Kirkland on the near post.
Fantastic stuff from Austin, but he was to get the match ball. Dean Marney hit a ball from deep in his own half for him to chase against ex-Blackburn defender Martin Taylor. He got a bit of luck. His touch wasn't too good but it came off Taylor and dropped nicely for him. He'd still a lot to do but hammered a shot into the corner from the edge of the box giving Kirkland no chance.
Surely we'd won it now. They went forward, Edgar made a mess of a clearance but we did get it away eventually. The ball came forward again and this time we allowed Michail Antonio as much time and room as he needed to fire in an unstoppable shot into the far top corner.
To score and allow a team to equalise in just over a minute in a game is poor; to do it twice is criminal.
It was chaos in the technical area then. It looked as though Joseph Mills was about to come on, then Marvin Bartley got up, but as Michael Duff went down we then brought on Kevin Long for his debut. Duff was in some discomfort. He'd been struggling for considerable more than 20 minutes and why on earth he was allowed to stay on so long was staggering.
Bartley got up again during stoppage time but then Sam Vokes appeared and made a late appearance as referee David Coote, who I can confirm didn't upset the crowd all night, brought it all to an end.
It had, overall, been another disappointing night, another disappointing performance. Grant played well despite seeing three goals go past him, Austin, in general terms, hadn't played as well as he'd done on Saturday, but who cares? He'd scored three more goals and he looks right now as though he's going to score every time the ball comes near him within twenty yards of goal.
Long may it last, and it will need to because unless we start defending much, much better as a team we are going to continue to concede far too many goals and too many points. Charlie isn't going to get a hat trick every week to rescue the poor defending we saw last night.
Somehow we've got to tighten things up and soon. From what I hear there is little hope of Shackell playing a Palace. I would think Duff will be doubtful so there are going to be few options. But we have to learn to defend better as a team. Whatever happens at Selhurst Park, we have to be better than we were last night defensively.
But, I'll half fill my glass and revel in the best goalscorer we've had in years. That's 27 goals in 53 league appearances for Burnley. I don't know what his wall building was like but there is absolutely no doubt that now he scores goals.
The teams were;
Burnley: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff (Kevin Long 89), David Edgar, Ben Mee, Ross Wallace, Dean Marney, Brian Stock, Junior Stanislas (Sam Vokes 90+1), Martin Paterson (Cameron Stewart 70), Charlie Austin. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, Luke O'Neill, Joseph Mills, Marvin Bartley.
Yellow Card: Dean Marney.
Sheffield Wednesday: Chris Kirkland, Jermaine Johnson, Martin Taylor, Anthony Gardner, Joe Mattock, Nejc Pecnik (Rhys McCabe 45), Jose Semedo, Ross Barkley, Michail Antonio, Chris O'Grady (Gary Madine 82), Jay Bothroyd. Subs not used: Stephen Bywater, Lozano Rodri, Danny Mayor, Daniel Jones, Miguel Llera.
Yellow Card: Jermaine Johnson.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).
Attendance: 12,122.