It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of the three points gained by Burnley at the expense of Watford in yesterday’s Premier League encounter at Turf Moor.
With an injury list reading longer than Santa’s naughty list, Sean Dyche was compelled to press into service “forgotten men” Fredrik Ulvestad on the bench and Kevin Long on the pitch. The feeling is inescapable that the gods of football are exerting some capricious whim to disrupt the Clarets’ season.
Ben Mee became the latest key player to join Robbie Brady and Matt Lowton in a crowded sick bay, but the principal beneficiaries of those absences; Long, Scott Arfield and Phil Bardsley; all made significant contributions to yesterday’s victory.
Long combined with James Tarkowski to form a defensive screen which allowed Nick Pope to enjoy one of his quieter afternoons; meanwhile Bardsley collected the sponsors’ man-of-the-match accolade whilst Scotty Arfield’s composed finish settled the match in Burnley’s favour.
Mee’s absence is not thought to be too serious and Lowton is making progress, but whilst they and others are absent, it is massively reassuring that replacements can be integrated with such minimal disruption. Jack Cork and Steven Defour have emerged as mainstays of the Clarets' emergence as a Premier League force to be reckoned with.
Yesterday’s match was a blood-and-thunder affair, the type of which English football specialises in producing. The bitter climate and occasional flurry of snow only added to the Spartan masculinity of the atmosphere.
An even first half was brought to a conclusion by the straight red card waved in the direction of Watford’s Marvin Zeegelaar for a wince-inducing two footed tackle on Stephen Defour and was swiftly followed by Arfield’s decisive goal; conceived yet again by Burnley’s marauding Viking, Johann Berg Gudmundsson. The Icelander's right-wing cross found a route through to Arfield who calmly tucked the ball past the Hornets' Gomes.
Watford moved the ball around slickly at times, but lacked penetration, whist Burnley drew two excellent saves from the Hornet’s eccentric Brazilian keeper and had an Ashley Barnes strike ruled out for an offside decision which strained credulity. Surely it is way beyond the time for match officials to utilise the benefits of video technology? Cricket and Rugby have embraced it, yet football prefers to remain mired in a prior era.
All-in-all, the result leaves Burnley in seventh place; the top six cannot, as it stands, exert sufficient thrust to shake off the Clarets’ challenge. The festive period throws up encounters with three from the top six and Sean Dyche must drive his injury-ravaged squad to still greater efforts if those fixtures are to be successfully negotiated. By the conclusion of Liverpool’s visit to Turf Moor on New Year’s Day, Burnley’s season will have taken a shape of some permanence.
The first order of business however is the visit of Mark Hughes’ Stoke City on Tuesday evening. Stoke have struggled to establish momentum and are currently to be found struggling, but to dismiss them as a threat would be folly, they still possess dangerous players and Burnley will have to be on their mettle if their challenge is to be overcome.
This rather Burnley centric match review was written by uber Burnley fan and regular contributor to Clarets Mad, Dave Thornley. (TEC).
Source: DSG
