Burnley Reserves 3 Accrington Stanley 2

9:54pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

BURNLEY defied a late rally by Accrington Stanley to bring the 2007-08 Pontin's League season to a close with a win.

All the action was saved until the second half, when all five goals were scored.

Burnley broke the deadlock just a minute after the break, when Alex MacDonald's firm shot was well stopped on the line by goalkeeper Martin Fearon, only for Wes Fletcher to poke home when the ball dropped loose.

Stanley, who named three trialists in the starting line-up, almost equalised soon afterwards after Chris Turner picked out Andrew Smith, but the young striker's chipped effort was brilliantly hooked off the line by Daniel Brown.

Burnley doubled their lead in the 68th minute after MacDonald found himself unmarked and finished well.

And the Clarets would have gone further in front had it not been for Fearon, who denied Chris Anderson and Ben Hoskin with two smart saves in quick succession.

Stanley improved as the game wore on, and soon after Smith had fired straight at Stefan Ritchie, trialist Arran McCarthy pulled a goal back when his shot deflected off the bottom of Brown's boot.

Anderson had a header from Michael King's corner scooped off the line, but Tom Bradley quickly restored Burnley's two-goal cushion.

But Stanley continued to plug away, and after James Bell saw his shot tipped over the bar, substitute Bevan Burey chipped the ball over Ritchie from just inside the area in stoppage time.