With leaders Bury without a game, there was always going to be a new leader dependent on the game between Wigan and Walsall at Robin Park and it was Wigan who won it 2-0 to return to the head of the table.
The games at Morecambe and Tranmere were both called off and that left just our home game against Port Vale. In pouring rain, until this season, we would have expected our game to have been the first to be postponed, but the new look Gawthorpe pitches are able to deal with this now and our fixture against Port Vale went ahead with the Clarets ending a difficult week with a victory.
An own goal, followed by goals from Tommy Wood, Josh Dolling and Olatunde Bayode (pictured), with his first goal of the season, gave us a 4-3 victory with again a very young line up which included two under-16s in the starting line up and two more on the bench.
We lined up: Connor King, Leighton Egan, Shaun Hobson, Lewis Norvock, Andy Nugent, Olatunde Bayode, Mark Howarth, Miles Fenton, Dwight McNeil, Tommy Wood, Josh Dolling. Subs: Adam Bruce, Billy Grogan, Hamam El-Fitouri, Richard Atta.
It was a fourth league win for us in what has been a difficult season to date. It hasn't moved us up the table but we are now only behind Carlisle on goal difference and only two points behind both Wrexham and Rochdale.
Saturday will provided us with a difficult game against Blackpool who are currently fifth in the table. It will be our last fixture of 2015 with the next game not until 9th January when we travel to bottom club Morecambe.
The results from last weekend are below with this week's fixtures, Burnley's goalscorers this season and the current table.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Saturday 12th December
BURNLEY 4 PORT VALE 3
MORECAMBE v PRESTON - postponed
TRANMERE v ACCRINGTON - postponed
WIGAN 2 WALSALL 0
THIS WEEK'S FIXTURES
Friday 18th December
ACCRINGTON v PRESTON
Saturday 19th December
BURNLEY v BLACKPOOL
BURY v WREXHAM
FLEETWOOD v ROCHDALE
MORECAMBE v PORT VALE
TRANMERE v SHREWSBURY
BURNLEY'S GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE & CUP)
6: TOMMY WOOD
5: JOSH DOLLING, KHIUS METZ
2: OWN GOALS
1: OLATUNDE BAYODE, NASHÉ CHAKWANA, TRISTEN JUMEAU,
DWIGHT McNEIL, ANDY NUGENT, TYLER SHRIMPTON
CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE
Team | pld | w | d | l | f | a | pts |
WIGAN ATHLETIC | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 7 | 28 |
BURY | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 13 | 26 |
WALSALL | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 14 | 24 |
TRANMERE ROVERS | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 12 | 21 |
BLACKPOOL | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 12 | 20 |
SHREWSBURY TOWN | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 16 | 20 |
FLEETWOOD TOWN | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 16 | 19 |
PORT VALE | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 21 | 18 |
PRESTON NORTH END | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 17 |
ACCRINGTON STANLEY | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 16 |
WREXHAM | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 23 | 15 |
ROCHDALE | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 22 | 15 |
CARLISLE UNITED | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 13 |
BURNLEY | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 19 | 32 | 13 |
MORECAMBE | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 42 | 6 |