Clarets stumped

The Clarets looked to have salvaged a point from a fitful opening day performance before David Vaughan struck with deadly accuracy in the 89th minute.

The hammer blow was all the more painful since Steve Cotterill's side looked like they might even snatch all three after Gifton Noel-Williams headed his first goal for the club in the 67th minute to cancel out Billy Jones' first half free kick.

But crucially, a frustrating series of stoppages late in the day gave the wilting hosts a chance to draw breath, regroup and haul the game back their way.

Cotterill insisted: "The stoppages cost us a result really because we were in the ascendancy at 1-1 and there was only going to be one winner.

"There was quite a strong wind and we had them pinned in, but they finished the game quite strongly and we have to make sure we learn our lessons."

Tough lessons they were too. Looking at the two teams on paper - with most of Burnley's pre-match injury doubts pulling through - it appeared to be a battle of brawn versus brain.

There has been enough evidence in pre-season to know that Burnley, with towers of strength running through the side, are not going to be out-muscled by anyone at this level.

And with Crewe boss Dario Gradi celebrating his 1,001st league game in charge by fielding a typically youthful side, we sat back and waited for the Clarets to exert their superior clout and steam-roller the kids.

However, in the opening 45 minutes it was Burnley who found themselves flattened as they struggled to come to terms with the growing threat of a three-pronged strike force supported by a beavering midfield trio.

The baby-faced assassins weren't afraid to mix it either, as an early elbow from Luke Varney left John McGreal pole-axed and incensed his Burnley team-mates.

Crewe fans meanwhile, targeted Ade Akinbiyi for some knockabout verbal abuse, aside from the racism row, due to his previous association with local 'rivals' Stoke City.

Could this really be Crewe, the meek little club that nobody ever has a bad word for?

Apparently so, and as the half wore on, Gradi's young guns set their sights on putting Burnley on the ropes.

Garreth O'Connor's misplaced pass sent Varney clear in the 18th minute, but after outpacing Thomas, his shot lacked the power to beat Danny Coyne, preferred in goal to Brian Jensen.

O'Connor soon offered more evidence of his intention to shoot on sight with a curler that Ben Williams in the Alex goal was equal to.

But Welsh number one Coyne was the busier of the two stoppers and he too dealt well with Darren Moss's speculative 30-yard effort.

Two minutes before the break, Crewe finally broke through the Clarets rearguard with a soft goal.

McGreal was harshly booked for impeding Jones on the corner of the area and, while Cotterill was frantically waving his arms on the sidelines to get a message across, Kenny Lunt rolled the ball sideways to Billy Jones, whose scuffed shot bobbled through a ruck of bodies and just inside Coyne's post.

It was the worst possible time to concede, but at least the break gave the Clarets boss valuable time to dish out more advice.

And that had the desired effect as Burnley emerged from the dressing room a far more cohesive unit.

Akinbiyi flexed his neck muscles to get on the end of a Noel-Williams flick, but couldn't find enough purchase to lift the ball over the stranded Williams.

And as Burnley finally got on the front foot, a short corner routine should have led to Akinbiyi opening his account for the season.

Garreth O'Connor combined well with former Bournemouth team mate Wade Elliott and picked out a peach of a cross to the far post, where Akinbiyi's free header from three yards was somehow placed wide.

It seemed the goal must come and Williams was again on hand to palm James O'Connor's goalbound drive away following great play by Elliott and Akinbiyi.

But from the resulting half-cleared corner, the deserved equaliser finally arrived.

Elliott put the ball back into the mix and Thomas rose majestically at the far post to head back across the six-yard box, where Noel-Williams nodded home.

Unfortunately, any head of steam Burnley were building up was soon stopped dead in its tracks.

McGreal clashed heads with Johnson in the 78th minute and from that point on, it's debatable whether we had five, let alone 12 minutes more football.

But crucially, just before the board signalled four extra minutes, Crewe cobbled together the one move that brought the winner from Vaughan, who blasted the ball past Coyne from 18 yards.

Cotterill instantly threw on Kyle Lafferty for his senior debut, just 22 hours after he appeared for Northern Ireland's U19 side in the Elite Milk Cup final.

And the 17-year-old almost helped conjure up a dream point, working the ball to Noel-Williams, whose spin and shot from 18 yards looped up off Akinbiyi and over the stranded Williams.

Somehow though, the Alex stopper arched backwards to fingertip the ball onto the face of the bar.

The width of the woodwork or three short runs. Sometimes the margins between victory and defeat can be minute.