Stan Ternent’s bizarre decision to replace his two wingers with two centre forwards shortly after Millwall had taken the lead halfway through the second half, almost proved fatal as the Clarets struggled and failed to get to grips with an unwieldy looking 4-2-4 formation.
But Stan’s radical reshuffle wasn’t the only strange thing about this game. With Millwall’s travelling support banned from Turf Moor in a gesture which mirrored the Lion’s decision to shut Burnley’s fans out of the New Den, the atmosphere was almost non-existent. And on the occasions when Millwall scored, the only sound to be heard was the sound of 12,000 people having a good old grumble. In fact during the second half, the only noise to break the silence apart from the cheer which heralded Ian Moore’s late leveller was an unexplained sequence of fireworks which went off at the rear of the Jimmy McIlroy Stand. Either that or the war against terrorism had pitched up at Turf Moor.
Stan had shuffled his pack prior to kick-off and opted to go with Taylor and Papadopoulos up front, as Blake and Moore engaged in a spot of bench-warming. That having been said, neither forward saw much of the ball in the first fifteen minutes or so, as it was the fan-less visitors who seized the initiative and took the game to Burnley. Yet with their first meaningful attack of the game, the ball was threaded through to Papa, who was manhandled by the Millwall defence. There was no doubt it was a penalty, and the referee was left with little option but to point to the spot.
Step forward Fred West. Denied the glory of converting a spot-kick in previous games by both Blake and Taylor, West made sure of the headlines on this occasion, crashing the ball home against the underside of the bar. No-one cared that the goal came against the run of play. The Clarets were one to the good and that was all that mattered.
The goal briefly galvanised the home side, and for the next few minutes, the visitors were all at sea. Millwall were counting their blessings when Papa’s instinctive turn and shot was fortuitously deflected for a corner, and Tony Grant should have done better with a point-blank header with the goal at his mercy, and Tony Warner sprawling helpless on the deck.
Millwall stepped it up. And on 31 minutes the excellent Paul Ifill sent West and Johnrose for the pies. His pull-back from a narrow angle caused havoc in the Burnley area, and we failed to clear our lines properly. From 20 yards Doug Livermore punished Burnley emphatically, his low drive giving Beresford no chance.
Burnley responded well. From Papa’s knock-down, Taylor smashed a shot goalwards. Unfortunately it was straight into the welcoming arms of the Millwall keeper. And moments later Papa himself was one on one with Warner, but fluffed his lines. Despite having the bulk of the chances, Burnley had to settle for going in level at half-time.
The second half saw both teams playing decent football, with both Burnley and Millwall exhibiting neat approach play and creating chances. But it was the visitors who struck first. Once again the outstanding Paul Ifill gave Burnley’s backline twisted blood as he released Kevin Davies – well it kinda had to be, didn’t it, who took the opportunity to slide the ball home, unmarked from 12 yards for his first goal in 34 years.
Which brings us to the point where Stan lost it. Having played well enough and created numerous good chances using the tried and tested 4-4-2, Ternent instantly withdrew Little and Moore – i.e. the width -, and replaced them with Blake and Ian Moore. All of which gave the side an unusual 4-2-4 appearance. And it didn’t work. For the majority of the remainder of the half, Burnley lumped the ball forward looking for Taylor’s head. The problem was that if that didn’t work – and it frequently didn’t – the ball would be won back by Millwall where they were easily able to run the game as they outnumbered us in midfield.
The match slowly slipped away from Burnley, and the only noteworthy incident was when Steve Claridge wound up the home fans and received a talking to from the referee for his troubles. But just when it seemed Burnley would be left to rue a succession of missed chances from the first half, salvation arrived. For the first time in the second half, the Clarets got the ball down and played. Blake. Papa and Ian Moore one-twoed, and dummied their way through the Millwall defence to create a one-on-one for Ian Moore which he tucked away with cool composure.
Everyone was delighted with the finish, and in particular Arthur Gnohere who was so enthused he raced over to the Millwall bench to explain the finer intricacies of the moves with the 85-year old Steve Claridge. Papa might have won it for the Clarets at the death, but was unable to get his feet around a ball which was swung in from the right.
Burnley should have won this game. They certainly had the opportunities, but you have to credit Millwall for their mettle in playing in front of none of their supporters, yet digging in to earn a point. On the plus side, the Clarets are now unbeaten in four, and can travel to Bradford knowing they should come away with at least a point.
