Burnley 1 Reading 1 - Pete Oliver's big match verdict

BURNLEY may be back among the big spenders of the lower divisions, but a scrambled draw salvaged only by a last-minute goal proved again that they are not yet one of the big hitters.

Having taken his outlay to almost £1.4 million pounds with the purchase of Lenny Johnrose, Burnley boss Stan Ternent made it clear that he still wants further new signings to mount a promotion challenge next season.

And the Clarets certainly looked far from the end product against Reading as it took Brian Reid's second goal in three games to prevent a third straight home defeat.

That they aren't the finished article two thirds of the way through a frustrating, transitional season - brought upon by the late influx of cash and new players - makes getting too carried away by individual results a bit pointless. Burnley won't be going up or down.

But the supporters still expect to see their side winning and the response the Burnley side got as they left the pitch at half-time confirmed that most were not happy.

The 5-3-2 formation Ternent selected, to counter the loss of Glen Little and to allow Graham Branch to replace Andy Payton up front, didn't work.

And it took the half-time introduction of Payton, left on the bench because of a niggling back problem which may have contributed to some lacklustre performances in recent weeks, to fire Burnley into life. The Clarets flew out of the blocks with Payton helping to pull everything together in a three-pronged attack, with debutant Johnrose far more active just behind them and a flat back four restored.

Royals' keeper Neil Howie was suddenly a busy man as he made a brilliant save from Reid and more straightforward ones to deny Johnrose and Branch.

But while Burnley were now buzzing up front, they were still dozing at the back.

And Reading made up for their first-half wastefulness by snatching the lead out of the blue.

Tony Thorpe was given time and space to gather Andy Gurney's long ball and wait for Darren Caskey to offer support.

When Caskey arrived unattended he picked up Thorpe's pass to jink past Reid and prod a shot past Paul Crichton.

That was to be the story of the half as Burnley pressed for the equaliser but threatened to concede again almost every time Reading broke.

Crichton saved well from Grant Brebner, Paul Brayson and Thorpe when a second goal would have sealed it for Reading.

But despite their defensive alarms, Burnley, who had a legitimate penalty appeal turned down when Brebner blocked Reid's volley with a hand, had worked themselves back into the game as Mellon and Johnrose made dangerous bursts from midfield and Payton provided a pivot up front. Steve Morgan also got in on the act with a great run and cross which picked out Brad Maylett who was the latest to be frustrated by another excellent save from Howie.

And the Scottish keeper denied the young substitute his first senior goal again when reacting quickest to a through-ball from Davis, who had been thrown forward to grab a point.

He went close when appearing to get the final touch to a corner cleared off the line by Chris Casper.

But it was his defensive partner Reid who saved the day when the corner that followed dropped to Reid's right foot which flashed a half-volley past the despairing Howie.

An unlikely but welcome hero, Reid had been on the receiving end before the break as Burnley's three central defenders were given the run-around, the midfield trio were outplayed - despite Mellon's best efforts - and up front Branch and Andy Cooke barely saw the ball in the penalty area.

The Clarets' best moments came when Ally Pickering got forward far enough and combined with Mellon to deliver some crosses from the right and, ironically, when Branch found himself back in a wide position and planted a cross on the head of Cooke who headed straight at Howie.

If Reading had possessed a cutting edge Burnley could have been in trouble but Thorpe missed the target when clean through following Neil Moore's error and Brayson, without a goal all season, wasted further openings.

When he did shoot straight, Crichton, as ever, was equal to it. Davis did his best to kick-start the Clarets with some excellent distribution from the back.

But even he got into a terrible mess when losing possession to Thorpe. And as Burnley's last line of defence bar Crichton, Davis was fortunate not to be sent off when pulling back his former Luton Town team-mate.

A yellow card was deemed sufficient punishment by referee Kevin Lynch who made it a hat-trick of bookings for the hosts inside the first half-hour.

Thankfully for Burnley things got better, even if they did leave it late.

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