Pashley has to mix and patch

Youth team manager Terry Pashley had to cobble together a side for their Football League Youth Alliance game at Bury on Saturday and named a bench with four schoolboys out of five.

But it was that fifth player, 18-year-old winger Mark Rasmussen who struck the goal in the dying seconds that gave the Clarets the club's first win at any level this season.

"We had to mix and match a little bit and play players in positions that aren't quite their best," explained Pashley as he looked back on the victory. It is not ideal but you do just have to do that sometimes.

"It was a tough game for us very competitive but we made it hard work for ourselves at stages.

"Although the result was right that is not all that matters at this level. We gave away two bad goals and we missed two very easy chances."

As part of the young players' learning curve, Pashley is hoping such mistakes will be ironed out in the coming weeks and months.

They let the first goal in just before the break but defender Liam Eves soon popped up to put them level.

When promising young striker Matty O'Neill put the Clarets ahead it looked as if they would go on to win well but more sloppy defending allowed the home side to get back into the game.

That was the cue for Rasmussen to clinch the three points late on, although it was still not enough to satisfy Pashley.

The team was missing injured striker Damian Hindle but featured nine players who had been in action for the reserves last week against Huddersfield Town.

With the playing resources at the club continuing to be stretched the youth team stars are going to have to get used to playing a number of midweek matches and also showing versatility as they fit into the gaps that will be left at both reserve and youth team level.

Burnley's team on Saturday was: Salisbury, Pitham, Scott, Pilkington, Townsend, Eves, Richardson, Blakey, Grimes, Chaplow, O'Neill. Subs: Carter, Hale, Avery, Pugh, Rasmussen.