A grumpy Dave Thornley gets his mojo back after an amazing Clarets turnaround…

At 3.45 yesterday afternoon the day was not going well: Burnley were 2-0 down, Blackburn Rovers were winning by the same margin, and to make matters worse, the day’s news was filled with the increasing likelihood of that bumbling integrity vacuum Boris Johnson returning as Prime Minister – no, I can’t believe it either.
Having reached peak grumpiness, I took the only course of action I felt to be open to me; I took the dog for a walk.

Returning half an hour or so later, I caught a glimpse of the rolling score panel on Sky Sports. Thinking I had mis-read it, I grabbed the remote and re-wound; there it was, Burnley had turned it around and were now leading Sunderland 3-2 at their Stadium of Light home.

A comeback as unlikely, but infinitely more satisfying, than that being contemplated by Johnson. There then followed the customary nerve shredding last twenty minutes as the Clarets looked to see out a match in which they held a one goal lead.
They had failed once again to do so in the midweek fixture against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s; Johan Berg Gudmundsson’s beautifully struck long range shot with a quarter of an hour remaining was equalised shortly afterwards and the match finished in one of those frequently occurring and frequently infuriating 1-1 draws. “A fair result” was the opinion of the Sky Sports reporter covering the game.

Yesterday, however, there was no cause for alarm as Josh Brownhill secured the points with a fourth goal three minutes from time.
To say yesterdays was a mixed bag of a performance would be something of an understatement; a poor first half performance saw Burnley concede through the impressive Diallo and Neill within the opening twenty minutes.

Things needed to change. For the second half Vincent Kompany replaced a struggling Ashley Barnes with Manuel Benson and instructed his team to release the hand break. With the half only five minutes old, Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed across the face of the Sunderland goal allowing Nathan Tella to apply the finish from close range.

Clarets fans have become accustomed to Tella’s goals being a little more spectacular than this one, but whatever the aesthetics, it was a welcome arrival.

Burnley were back in the contest and now had the bit lodged firmly between their teeth.

Ten minutes later Benson, all gleeful trickery, cut infield from the left and sent a curling ball into the Sunderland penalty area, it evaded the outstretched necks of two Burnley players before nestling in the corner of the Sunderland net. Cross or shot? Only Benson knows but, frankly, who cares?

Enter Annas Zaroury. What a player he looks like becoming, and what an impact he is having in his relatively short time as a Claret. His superbly struck long range shot on sixty-nine minutes put Burnley ahead.

When Brownhill’s deft finish sealed the points, it seemed the day hadn’t turned out all that bad after all, and a feeling of contentment returned as I was able to sit back, relax and watch Tony Adams embrace the majesty of dance on Strictly!

Later, I was treated to Danny Murphy’s in-depth analysis of James Tarkowski’s defending on Match of the Day. Backed up by a selection of statistics, Murphy ventured to suggest that “Tarky” was indeed the best option for Gareth Southgate in the centre of the England defence in the World Cup.

Oh Danny, we’ve being saying that for years here at Burnley, if only you – and others – had cared to listen.

Howe, Pope, Wood, and Trippier sit fourth in the Premier League, add Tarkowski to the mix and God only knows what could happen! (TEC).

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