Oh, the joys of waking up on a Sunday morning with the incomparable feeling of another three points towards our survival. Our first Saturday win in the Premier League also saw us score more than once for the first time this campaign and turned a once hated figure into a new Claret and Blue hero.
Owen Coyle fairly decided against making changes to the side that has started every game since winning our opening home game against Manchester United giving the eleven chance to answer some nonsense written about them following the whitewashings against Chelsea and Liverpool.
For the majority of the first half it felt like the players were still reliving their ordeals at Stamford Bridge and Anfield as they looked nervous and shaky. Sunderland looked the much better side and took the game to us with neat and incisive play from the likes of Malbranque, Reid, Bent and Richardson.
Despite their early dominance it was the Clarets who made the breakthrough as an Alexander through ball was met by Elliot before he was met by the Ferdinand brother they should’ve kept locked in the basement as Anton clumsily felled the Burnley number 11.
Up stepped Alexander who struck the ball decisively down the middle of Craig Gordon’s goal from the penalty spot. But not even the goal advantage could kick start the Clarets into life as Sunderland pressed and pressed and continued to look extremely threatening.
Our centre backs looked far too casual with Bikey in particular wanting too much time on the ball. Finally we were punished for it as Carlisle failed to step up leaving Darren Bent onside and with plenty of space to pick his spot and coolly slot the ball past the Beast to draw the scores level.
Something was need in the second half if we were to keep Sunderland from taking the ascendancy and we got it in the form of an Owen Coyle team talk. In the second period we began to look more composed and show we could match the Makem’s mix of nice football and physical presence.
Then came Coyle’s masterstroke as the pair probably unluckiest not to start the game Nugent and Eagles were both brought onto the field within minutes of each other. In between their introductions Steve Bruce went all out for the win as he introduced the giant Kenwyne Jones to the action for Malbranque. This opened up the game in the Claret’s favour as Sunderland deployed Frazier Campbell as a makeshift right winger.
Nugent began to have much more of an impact at leading the line than Paterson as he began to make life hard for Ferdinand and Turner by winning the arial battle. Eagles also thundered into the match as he time and time again tore into George McCartney down the Burnley right. The tide was very much beginning to turn.
Then came Nugent’s moment as he started and finished the first of his two wonderfully worked goals. A perfect cushioned header found Eagles who zipped down the line before linking up with the overlapping Mears who touched the ball back for Elliot who delivered an exceptionally inviting cross for Nugent to head home and finish a fantastic Burnley move.
Then with five minutes to spare came his second, a wonderful run from the excellent Elliot was delivered wide to Mears who found the feet of Nugent, only for our new hero to turn and guide the ball into the top corner. Game over- insert coin.
The performance from England one day international was the perfect way to silence the doubters who still see him as a Preston player. Like Alexander, there is no doubt that Nugent is now a Claret.
It was great to see a player so shot of confidence at Portsmouth play with a smile on his face again and enjoy his football. You could tell he loved being back out on the pitch and looked back to the cocksure figure we all loved to hate during his PNE days as he cheekily put linesman flag for a corner after his chasing down failed to win a Burnley corner. Credit Owen Coyle with restoring his confidence in such as short space of time, it just shows what telling a player like Nugent what a good player he is can do.
But it wasn’t just the David Nugent show; all over the pitch we looked confident once we settled into our footballing rythem. Right down the spine of the team we looked solid in the second half, while we are beginning to see some good partnerships forming all over the pitch. Mears and Eagles look promising down the right while the understanding between Blake and Jordan on the left is paying dividends.
A perfect home record was capped off by another sensational win. The good times continue to roll, who can remember the last time an England International scored the winner for Burnley at Turf Moor? Answers on a postcard.
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