CLARETS reporter Tyrone Marshall on the talking points from Burnley's 3-1 defeat at Olympiakos in Athens.

INTIMIDATION

Never have I seen Sean Dyche quite as angry as he was in the post-match press conference at Olympiakos.

Even when Dyche has disagreed with refereeing decisions or things that have gone against his team in the Premier League, he tends to be measured in his response and careful not to cause controversy.

That went out the window in the bowels of the Karaiskakis Stadium. When Dyche came in for his press conference his response to the first question was to bring up what he had witnessed at half-time.

The Burnley boss seemed furious at what had happened and while he didn’t use the word injustice, there certainly seemed to be a sense of it.

He was his usual composed and calm self as he delivered the message, but the words weren’t being held back. He wanted the world to know what had happened when we could no longer see the officials.

He was also careful not to directly say that those half-time intimidation tactics had impacted referee Slavko Vincic, but he did say the feel of the game had changed and invited others to reach the obvious conclusion.

THE DECISIONS

Vincic was certainly at the heart of the controversy throughout the night. His first big call, waving away the appeals when Daniel Podence nutmegged Kevin Long and then went down as the centre back leaned in to him to try and get back, was a close one.

You’ve certainly seen them given and it would have been no surprise had he gone for his whistle. When he did just that two minutes later the home fans went for theirs. They were livid, but it was a penalty. Chris Wood was clever to win it, but it was naive defending from Mohamed Camara.

It was the second penalty appeal for Olympiakos that Vincic turned down that lit the blue touch paper. A cross hit Stephen Ward’s hand, but it was never a penalty. That didn’t stop the Olympiakos bench from pouring onto the pitch in anger.

Within minutes the half-time whistle had gone and the anger spilled down the tunnel. The final penalty call was perhaps the worst of the lot. Camara’s shot hit Gibson on the hip and deflected on to his arm, as the ball went away from goal. A debatable penalty decision, but a ludicrous decision to show a second yellow card.

CHARACTER

The Clarets showed plenty of it in Athens. After a bright start going behind was a bit of a sucker punch, although Olympiakos were building up a head of steam.

When Kostas Fourtnis’ free-kick went in the noise was loud and Burnley were under pressure. But they steadied the ship, levelled and were the better team for the rest of the first half.

The second big test came after Gibson’s red card. At 3-1 down and a man down with half an hour to go this could have unravelled very quickly.

But Burnley managed to put their anger to one side. They defended determinedly and diligently and they kept the tie alive. Who knows, it could yet prove to be an important half an hour.

ATMOSPHERE

This was a proper European night, the type of atmosphere you expect from these ties. It couldn’t have been more of a contrast from Istanbul.

The noise was deafening 40 minutes before kick-off and the Clarets were jeered when they came out to warm-up.

It takes more than a few boos to unsettle this lot though, and most of the squad looked up at the stands during the warm-up as they sought to take it all in.

During the game the atmosphere was red hot, but during the quieter moments you could still hear the travelling Clarets belting out their songs. They more than played their part.

TURF MOOR

Now we do it all again next week. That strong final half hour has kept the tie alive. Yes, Burnley have a mountain to climb, but they have scaled greater peaks than this under Dyche.

What they will need is a full Turf Moor and a rocking Turf Moor. The sense of injustice the fans will feel should see to that.

If the Clarets can strike first at the Turf then this tie will come to life again very quickly.