4:54pm Saturday 13th March 2010
By Sam Lee
Burnley have slumped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Wolves in crunch game at Turf Moor.
A terrible error from Tyrone Mears gifted the visitors the lead on 26 minutes when his backwards header did not have enough pace to reach his keeper and it left Matthew Jarvis through on goal.
With only a stranded Brian Jensen to beat the midfielder tapped the ball around Beast and was left with the easiest of finishes from all of three inches to give the Black Country side a vital lead.
Wolves extended their lead less than a minute into the second half when Adiene Guedioura’s effort from the edge of the area deflected off Clarke Carlisle’s heel and past an out-stretched Brian Jensen.
Wade Elliott failed to clear a corner and as the ball was worked out to Guedioura on the right he was not closed down and allowed to get his shot away, and it proved costly.
Burnley got themselves back into the game in the 73rd minute when Steven Thompson was free in the area to head home.
Mears’ cross from the right was not cleared properly and fell to Graham Alexander on the edge of the box. The Scot’s half-volley crashed into the ground and found Thompson unmarked 12 yards out to give his side some hope and set up a frantic finale.
And Graham Alexander had a golden chance to draw his side level three minutes later, but he could only drive over the bar from just inside the area after being teed up by Elliott.
Wolves substitute Michael Mancienne forced a good save with seven minutes left on the clock but his low drive was well saved by Jensen.
Referee Steven Bennett was centre of attention five minutes into the second half when Martin Paterson thought he’d won a penalty. The striker’s cross hit the arm of Christophe Berra but the man in black adjudged it to be ball-to-hand.
And if the referee and the poor performance of the players up until that point had not annoyed the fans enough Brain Laws’ decision to substitute Chris Eagles certainly did.
The Turf Moor crowd booed the move before chants of ‘Eagles, Eagles’ reverberated around the ground as Steven Thompson came on.
Andre Bikey was also replaced, with Robbie Blake coming on in the Cameroonian’s place to complete the substitutions after Stephen Jordan was on for the injured Danny Fox just before the break.
And two of the substitutes almost combined to get Burnley back in the game after Captain Alexander’s disguised pass found Jordan in the box half-way through the second half. The left-back played it out to Blake but his low cross came flying back off the outside of the post with Hahnemann beaten.
Kevin Doyle could have extended the visitors’ lead further just before the hour-mark, but after he battled through Carlisle’s challenge his left-footed effort went agonisingly past the far post with Jensen beaten.
And Doyle and Jensen clashed in the first half in very different circumstances after Beast came rushing out of his area and was rounded by the Irishman.
And the Dane was lucky to escape with only a caution as he clattered the striker and conceded a free kick.
Had Jensen not already been booked he may not have been so hesitant when faced with Jarvis for the opening goal.
David Nugent came close to finding an equaliser just before the break when he turned his marker and his effort beat Marcus Hahnemann, but his shot crashed into the ground and bounced up onto the crossbar and over.
That was the closest the home side came to getting a goal back in a quiet opening period where neither team really threatened for a prolonged period.
The second half started in similar fashion but after Thompson’s goal the game was transformed into an altogether more entertaining affair with the home side going in search of a second goal.
But it wasn’t to be and the defeat leaves Burnley adrift in the relegation zone after big wins for many of their rivals compounded a poor performance.
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