T'riffic Clarets win a point at 'Arry's QPR

Last updated : 02 February 2014 By Tony Scholes

A point was the least we deserved after a second half performance that was, for me, as good as anything we've produced all season, and was more remarkable for the fact that it came after we'd gone in behind at the interval in this televised game.

With the early kick off it meant an early start from East Lancashire with the coach picking me up around 6:15 a.m. It had been a late decision for me as to whether to make the journey because of a foot problem, but me and my crutches were there to board the coach and, despite the pain today, it's a decision I have not regretted.

Mind you, we might not have made it. It's been a season of motorway delays it seems and here was another to hold us up, just past Wycombe on the M40.

Two second half goals for Sam Vokes

Travelling on that stretch of the motorway always provides me of a reminder of what we've achieved in recent years. It's not that long since Adams Park was a regular destination for us but it was August 1999 last time we played there, the opening day fixture in our promotion season under Stan Ternent in 1999/2000. I don't think any of us could have imagined then that we'd have remained in the top two divisions for the next 14 years.

But back to yesterday. A lorry had overturned reducing the motorway to one lane. It delayed us and it was approaching 12:10 when I finally got inside the ground and that upper tier at the School End of Loftus Road.

This game really, in so many ways, is a mis-match, none more so than the fact that cash rich QPR were able to go out on Friday, the last day of the transfer window, and bring in five new players while we could only watch the goings on that allows Sky Sports News to take centre stage.

Only one of their new boys was in the starting line up. That was Kevin Doyle, while both Modibo Maiga and Aaron Hughes were amongst their substitutes.

With Keith Treacy having failed to recover it was same again for us with two changes on the bench where fit again Danny Lafferty and Ross Wallace replaced Brian Stock and Steven Hewitt.

We'd played ever so well in beating QPR at home back in October but we certainly didn't start this one particularly well. QPR had to make an early change with Matt Phillips forced off on six minutes and replaced by former Blackburn player Junior Hoilett.

Predictably his appearance was greeted with jeers from the large numbers of travelling Burnley fans, presumably recognised as an ex-Blackburn player when four days earlier Keith Andrews wasn't.

The change didn't deter the home side who, a minute later, went in front. Tom Heaton was forced to tip over an effort from a Niko Kranjcar corner but it did no more than delay the first goal. From his second flag kick Doyle got in front our defenders on the near post and flicked his header beyond Heaton.

It was all Rangers in this opening period even if they didn't really threaten a second goal. They fired a couple of shots wide at a time when a second goal might well have killed off any hopes of us getting back into the game.

Much was said, apparently, on the television coverage of Harry Redknapp playing two left backs to try and prevent Kieran Trippier becoming an attacking threat but he was more than an influence when we unexpectedly drew level.

We got a throw in down the right. He and Dean Marney combined with Tripps taking one touch from a return pass before hitting over a right wing cross. It was met by Ings who volleyed home from around 15-yards.

Unfortunately we fell for another left wing corner some ten minutes later. Up came central defenders Richard Dunne and Clint Hill, joining Doyle to offer some aerial power. I looked down concerned that Scott Arfield seemed to be picking up Dunne.

This time it was flicked on at the near post. Dunne had got himself some space and volleyed home. There were suggestions of a foul on Trippier at the near post but erratic referee Roger East ignored the claims and we were heading for the interval with a 2-1 deficit.

I don't think there could be too many complaints at the scoreline. QPR had edged it but, other than the corners, hadn't offered too much. I looked up at the scoreboard at the far end showing 'QPR 2 Burnley 1' as the players went off.

The last time we were 2-1 down at Loftus Road at half time was six years ago. On that occasion a certain Andrew Cole had scored for us right on half time. He and Ade Akinbiyi were brilliant in the second half; we turned it round and won 4-2.

"That won't happen this time," I said to myself. I just couldn't possibly have known how close it came to happening just like that again.

Dyche sent out the same eleven players for the start of the second half. During the interval I'd seen the 'get kightly off' thread on the message board. He hadn't had a particularly good first half and had failed to get a shot in with an opportunity right on half time, and maybe that was the reasoning.

Kightly and Burnley were to have a much better second half. We started on the front foot and just nine minutes in got our second equaliser with what was, undoubtedly, the goal of the match.

Surprisingly it came when Trippier was done by Armand Traore, but he raced back to recover the situation and pushed the ball forward to Ings who played it out to Arfield on the right. He tried to go on the outside but then turned in and played it to Marney who switched play to the left as he swept a pass out to Kightly.

The loan man's cross was perfect; Vokes' run to the near post was perfect as he got onto it and finished expertly into that corner right in front of the Burnley fans .

We'd become the first team to score two goals in a league game this season at Loftus Road and by now we were giving them a very difficult afternoon. At 2-2 we were very much in the ascendancy and equalised twice against the big spending London club.

We were the better team now. Watford could claim to be the last team to score three there in a Championship match, but no longer. Not much past the hour it was Vokes again as we went in front.

Some reports will put it all down to bad defending from Benoit Assou-Ekotto but I'm not having that. There was much to admire in this goal. Firstly the pass from Marney that sent Ings chasing down the right; then the excellent work from Ings against Assou-Ekotto, taking advantage of his mistake.

There was still work to be done. Vokes had burst into the box and when Ings spotted him he rolled it across to give allow his strike partner to stroke it home from a few yards out. QPR had been hit by our VokIng invasion; Burnley were 3-2 up and the way we were playing you really could see us coming home with all three points.

Ings sprung the offside trap from a Vokes through ball. This time he tried to curl the ball into the far corner from the right and just missed the target. Had that gone in we'd almost certainly have been coming home with all three points but unfortunately, just over ten minutes from the end we conceded a third, only the second time we've conceded three in a league game under Dyche's management, having drawn 3-3 at Watford last season.

Ben Mee didn't defend very well. Maybe there can be some criticism for Kightly but it was Mee who was holding his head in his hands when substitute Maiga turned in the cross from Hoilett to bring the scores level.

I just hadn't seen that coming. I didn't think we looked like conceding but now I feared we might go and concede again. Only once did we really come close and I thought we handled the remaining time excellently.

Kightly did eventually come off. He received an ovation from the travelling Burnley fans and his replacement Junior Stanislas was oh so close to winning it for us in the last minute of stoppage time.

He got the better of Assou-Ekotto before his speculative shot went narrowly wide. You can't see it from the pictures on television but the QPR left back clearly pulled Junior's shirt and an alert referee might just have awarded us a penalty.

It wasn't to be; we had to settle for a point, but the reception the away fans gave the players and manager at the end was proof of just how well we'd played.

It's time to thank Sky television. Had they not covered this game then we might not have made it. As we reached Wycombe on the journey home we saw that the M4 heading into London had now been closed. The tailbacks, just to get off the motorway, stretched for miles.

We'd no problems going home and it wasn't much past 7:30 when I reached home. My foot has been telling me all day today that I really shouldn't have gone, but sod that, I'll put up with the pain happy in the knowledge that this Burnley team of ours is all but back to its best.

QPR have the best defensive record in the league. They've only conceded 20 and we've scored a quarter of them. Even Harry said we deserved the draw but in truth he was relieved to have got a point.

It's all getting tighter up there and we do need to start winning games. I have no concerns about doing that. We've got a damn good side here even though we weren't able to sign five players on the last day of January.

It was t'riffic Burnley, absolutely t'riffic.

The teams were;

QPR: Rob Green, Nedum Onuoha, Richard Dunne, Clint Hill, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Matt Phillips (Junior Hoilett 6), Niko Kranjcar, Joey Barton, Armand Traore (Karl Henry 83), Andrew Johnson (Modibo Maiga 68), Kevin Doyle. Subs not used: Brian Murphy, Aaron Hughes, Tom Carroll, Bobby Zamora.
Yellow Cards: Kevin Doyle, Richard Dunne.

Burnley: Tom Heaton, Kieran Trippier, Michael Duff, Jason Shackell, Ben Mee, Scott Arfield, Dean Marney, David Jones, Michael Kightly (Junior Stanislas 85), Danny Ings, Sam Vokes. Subs not used: Alex Cisak, Kevin Long, Danny Lafferty, David Edgar, Ross Wallace, Ashley Barnes.
Yellow Card: Michael Kightly.

Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire).

Attendance: 16,393 (including 1,447 Clarets).