Match Report

Norwegian defender Christian Kalvenes mastered conditions most suited to his homeland with an 85th minute winner for Burnley.

He steamed into the Blackpool penalty area on a solo run to put an impressive finish past Paul Rachubka.

Up to then, both keepers had rarely been tested in a game reduced to farcical proportions at times by a vicious gale across the two-sided ground.

After 13 minutes, referee Lee Mason asked both managers if they wanted the match abandoning.

Blackpool manager Tony Parkes may well be regretting his decision to ask for the game to continue.

For Blackpool have picked up just two points out of a possible 18 under his caretaker reign and are slipping towards the relegation dogfight rapidly.

The ref was clearly worried about the state of the weather when it took Burnley keeper Brian Jensen five or six times to keep the ball from rolling away at goal-kicks.

Jensen complained to the referee and it took one of his defenders, Steve Caldwell, to solve the problem showing the big Dane how to build a divot.

The players found it difficult with litter all over the pitch and at times the ball blowing back into their own faces.

Chances were few and far between with Blackpool having the better efforts in the first half with Claus Jorgensen flashing a header wide and Dudley Campbell twice coming within inches of Brett Ormerod crosses.

Burnley slowly got into the game and home defenders Shaun Barker and Stephen Crainey were both booked for last-ditch tackles as the Clarets pressed forward.

In the second half, Burnley boss Owen Coyle used all his substitutes, possibly with the weekend FA Cup tie against Arsenal in mind.

He would have settled for the draw as Jensen was forced to atone for his first-half indiscretion producing a magnificent save from a Roy O'Donovan 20-yarder and then punching a Jorgensen in-swinger out from under the bar.

The Burnley subs were anxious to show Coyle why they should get a place in the cup line-up and in the last 15 minutes the Clarets mounted a series of attacks culminating in the Kalvenes goal.

Corners

Fouls

Goal attempts

Shots off target

Offsides