PAUL ROBINSON

When news of Tom Heaton’s calf injury broke it would be fair to say there was a good deal of trepidation amongst Burnley fans at Paul Robinson taken the gloves.

You don’t win over 40 England caps without being a decent goalkeeper, but those days were a while ago, and he hadn’t looked like that player when his time at Blackburn Rovers came to a messy end.

When he strapped on the gloves on it was Saturday it was over two years since he had last played a competitive game of football. Surely it takes a bit of time to get back into it?

Apparently not. The fears of Heaton’s absence were allayed with a smart early save from Sergio Aguero, before an even better one at the end of the half. Robinson is a more than adequate replacement for the captain.

MIDFIELD

Dean Marney has been the unsung hero of the Clarets’ midfield this season but he put his name in lights on Saturday with a sensational strike to give Burnley the lead.

Sadly his afternoon failed to last and he had gone off injured before the end of the first half. Sean Dyche will hope it’s nothing serious, because Marney has done the dirty work for Burnley this season, and he might just be one of those players who you only notice when he isn’t there.

His replacement, indirectly, was a central defender. James Tarkowski came on when Johann Berg Gudmundsson suffered an injury to sit deep in midfield, and he showed why he has been so unlucky to find himself limited to bits and pieces of action in his Clarets career so far.

The former Brentford man was calm in possession and showed what a fine passing range he has.

BAD LUCK

Apparently it evens itself out over the season. Sean Dyche might not be so certain about that, because it feels like Burnley are already owed a massive dollop of it after just 13 games.

On Saturday they were once again denied a clear penalty when Nicolas Otamendi barged straight into the back of Jeff Hendrick.

Andre Marriner had a perfect view of it, but somehow he decided it was fair game. The odds on a free-kick outside the area for that sort of foul are pretty short.

Just add it to the list though. Arsenal’s last-gasp winner is the most obvious example of the rub of the green going against the Clarets so far this season, but there have been numerous penalty appeals that have been turned down as well. It feels like Burnley are due a slice of luck. A big slice.