Dave's take on the Saints game....
Clarets Mad resident feature writer Dave Thornley reflects on Saturday’s point picked up at Southampton, when perhaps it should have been three?
First the good news: Burnley showed resilience and strength of character to come back from 2-1 down and leave Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium with a point. It also seems that Maxwel Cornet is the player all Burnley fans hoped he would be.
Now the bad news: the wait for the first league win of the season goes on and has become a millstone; Burnley again failed to convert a lead into a victory and defensive frailties down their left flank were once again exposed.
In the corresponding fixture last season, Burnley led 2-0 but went on to lose, it was the beginning of a pattern of leads being squandered which continues to this day.
The latest manifestation of this came after Cornet headed Matt Lowton’s skilfully delivered cross into the corner of the Southampton goal after thir**** minutes.
For the remainder of the first half, and the early part of the second, Burnley were obliged to absorb waves of pressure from the home team. During this time Nathan Redmond contrived to miss the sort of point-blank chance that will crop up on every “open goal misses” blooper reel from here to eternity, and the impressive ****age winger Valentino Livramento saw his angled shot rebound off the post. Both those chances were created as a result of too much space being conceded down Burnley’s left.
In the Gillette Soccer Saturday studio, Jeff Stelling, commenting on Livramento’s miss ventured the opinion that Southampton fans were probably feeling that this wasn’t destined to be their day.
Soon afterwards, Stelling announced that perhaps it was going to be Southampton’s day after all when Livramento headed in a corner as Burnley’s set piece defending was found wanting.
I generally like Jeff Stelling, and I realise that it is his job to inform viewers when goals are scored, but did you have to sound so damn enthusiastic, Jeff?
Soon after the break Southampton went ahead when Chelsea loanee capitalised on a loose pass out of defence by James Tarkowski. A most un-Tarky-like unforced error and one which looked as though it would set the home team on course to secure all three points.
But Cornet had other ideas. A half chance at best, spinning away from his marker and thumping the ball low and hard into the Saints’ goal. A brilliant and instinctive goal from a player whose qualities have emerged fully formed following his arrival from Lyon.
Thereafter, Burnley played pretty well, Dwight McNeil, Chris Wood and Johann Berg Gudmundsson all had presentable chances to score the winner and some of Burnley’s attacking moves showed a polish and fluidity that hasn’t been apparent enough in recent months.
If they can combine this aspect of their game with the defensive solidity they showed for the most part at Manchester City last week, then results should improve, but they need to do so quickly, draws, normally welcome, are of less and less use the longer this winless run continues.
Editor’s note: It is becoming increasingly clear that the Clarets will have to find three teams who will accumulate less points than them if they are to escape relegation. This may sound blatantly obvious, but could this be the season when one team will stay up with less than thirty points on the board? (TEC).
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