Playing with great pride

Replace the rutted Turf Moor pitch with a velvet Ewood Park surface and the cream will rise to the top.

That's the theory anyhow. But Rovers' scouts cannot fail to have noticed that away from that uneven, sand-covered surface, life's a beach right now for Steve Cotterill's Clarets.

This was Burnley's third successive away game in the Championship and, just like Coventry and Crewe before them, high-flying Derby found to their cost that the Clarets do not suffer travel sickness.

And right now, there's no doubt that those hardy fans who keep digging deep to watch their heroes on the road are getting full value for money.

The football is slicker, the passing sweeter and the results enough to send a shiver all the way to Dubai, where Mark Hughes is treating his players to a relaxing week in the sun.

However, Jean-Louis Valois' stunning first half free kick was more than enough to make you forget the plunging temperatures at Pride Park.

Paul Peschisolido may have levelled the playing field after the break with a predatory goal, but the optimism the Clarets will carry from a blistering opening 45 minutes will surely take them to Ewood with a warm glow.

Before then, of course, it's the small matter of another Lancashire derby against Preston at Deepdale - one of the best surfaces outside the Premiership.

And they too must be concerned at the form Burnley showed in making County look ordinary for long periods last night.

As expected in the midst of a heavy fixture list, Cotterill opted to go without the injured John McGreal and pair Gary Cahill with Michael Duff at the heart of his defence.

Frank Sinclair's hamstring injury means he will be sidelined for several weeks yet, but McGreal failed to recover from the back injury picked up against Blackburn.

With two tasty Lancashire derbies in four days, who can blame the Burnley boss for keeping his defensive rock wrapped in cotton wool?

And although it was a nervy start for the new-look pairing, by the end of the evening even Cotterill had to admit that Burnley "almost" didn't quite miss their two old stagers.

'Almost' just about sums it up, for Cahill and Duff were terrific in repelling attack after attack when County finally turned up the heat in the second half.

Almost, because the equaliser itself had an element of luck about it as Paul Peschisolido got a double touch on a bobbling ball that just evaded Cahill on the goal line.

And almost because, against a side pushing hard for promotion after four successive wins, the Clarets came within 20 minutes of a hard-earned victory.

In the end, only the most blinkered Burnley fan would deny that George Burley's side deserved a share of the spoils after their storming fightback.

But the first half most definitely belonged to Burnley after that hairy opening quarter hour.

A dodgy linesman's flag came to the Clarets aid in only the fourth minute as Marcus Tudgay - clearly onside when he made his run - clinically punished the Clarets for only half-clearing a corner.

And Brian Jensen provided international rescue in the 15th minute when the Danish stopper denied County twice in a matter of seconds.

First, Spanish playmaker Inigo Idiakez stepped up to whip in a 25-yard free kick that Jensen expertly parried away.

And from the resulting throw-in, 13-goal striker Grzegorz Rasiak's goalbound header was somehow clawed around the post by the Dane.

That was the kick up the backside Burnley needed and, almost instantly, they settled into the passing game that has stood them in such good stead.

Sweet interchanges twice created openings for Ian Moore, who was only denied by a couple of terrific interceptions by towering defender Tom Huddlestone.

Suddenly, Cotterill's men had the hosts rattled and they came within a whisker of grabbing the lead in the 25th minute.

Micah Hyde met John Oster's corner perfectly, but his header hit the inside of the post, struck Adam Bolder on the line and was pounced on by grateful Rams'' stopper Lee Camp.

However, Camp was not so lucky in the 34th minute when Valois found the top corner with a sublime 25-yard free kick.

Moore was this time fouled by Huddlestone, who was booked for his clumsy tackle from behind.

Bu the real punishment was meted out by the Frenchman, who curled an absolute beauty in off the post for his second goal for the club.

It was no more than Burnley deserved and, after a quiet spell either side of the break, another scintillating move 17 minutes into the second half - involving half of the Burnley side - almost brought a clinching second goal.

The ball moved from right to left before the overlapping Mo Camara saw his ball into the unmarked Moore cut out in the nick of time.

However, that was a rare foray forward in a half that saw Burnley increasingly pushed onto the back foot.

And a devastating five-minute spell midway through the half ended with the Rams finally battering down the door to equalise.

Idiakez fired the first warning with a 25-yard shot at the end of a lightening raid that smashed off the inside of Jensen's right hand post.

Moments later, Peschisolido was sent clear and Jensen made a terrific block to deny the pint-sized Canadian.

But in the 70th minute, Peschisolido was the grateful recipient as Jensen blocked Bolder's initial shot, only for the ball to bounce to the inrushing striker.

The connection was far from sweet, but the backtracking Cahill was beaten and Derby had their foothold in the game.

Rasiak almost brought the house down soon after with a snapshot that had Jensen scrambling across goal.

And Burnley survived a late scare when Lee Roche was awarded a foul in his own area for pushing just before raising his hand and sparking 23,000 penalty appeals.