At least we did not get battered.
I was expecting this before the match so I am not shocked or surprised at the result. Burnley are at the top of the table and they are 37 points in front of us. They have, also, not lost in 15 games–now 16. Burnley headed into the game with three wins and two draws, whereas we have won one, lost two and drawn two in our previous five league matches. We also have four back-to-back clean sheets at home and we have not lost there since 12 November 2022, against Reading. The visitors have scored 27 goals on the road this season and they have lost once. So, it was good home form against brilliant away form and we had to be up to the mark.
I badly wanted us to win this one because I had some teachers and friends, who were sitting in the away section, and I would have loved to see their faces if we had won. I do not think that we will go on a run of bad form and we will come back stronger in the next game. Some fans were saying that it was the poorest performance of the season, but what could we do against the best team in the league? At least we fought for a goal.
Earlier in the week, I found out that Tetteh will be out for the remainder of the season, which is a huge loss, and we are still without Connolly, who we need back. However, everybody else is fit and our line-up consisted of: Karl Darlow, in goal; Lewie Coyle, Sean McLoughlin, Alfie Jones and Callum Elder at the back; Jean Seri, Regan Slater, Malcolm Ebiowei, Adama Traore and Dimitrios Pelkas in the middle and that leaves Allahyar Sayyadmanesh up front. According to LiveScore, our formation was 4-2-3-1 and we, also, had three changes from our last game. On the bench was: Jacob Greaves; Tobias Figueiredo; Ozan Tufan; Greg Docherty; Ryan Longman; Óscar Estupiñán and Thimothée Jacques Orcel Lo-Tutala. It is great to see Traore starting his first game and I was pleased with the line-up. However, Rosenior cannot make up his mind about Tufan as he keeps starting him and then drops him in the next game.
The first period started well and we seemed to get into the game quicker than Burnley. This allowed us to have a couple of opportunities and get the ball into the box; however, like usual, we were unable to put the icing on the cake. We were also wasting time by passing the ball around the box and by the time we put it in, their defenders were able to get back and mark our players. Why don’t we just shoot or get it into the box quickly? Unfortunately, I do not think this will change as we have been doing it all season.
After 15 minutes of blowing our chances away, Burnley were able to settle into the game and it was not long until they were pinging the ball around like they were in training. They created chance after chance and they could pass from one side of the pitch to the other without putting too much power on it, which is something we are unable to do. They completely dominated and we could do nothing about it. Our defence was too easy to break and their winger’s had too much space, which is why they started their attacks down the wings.
Then, in the 43rd minute, just before the break, Tella put the Clarets in front; Callum Elder badly misjudged the ball and Tella was alert to his mistake. He twisted and then struck the ball into the back of the net. Darlow could do nothing about it and it is another defensive error that has made us concede. When are we going to switch on at the back? The defence has been strong recently; however, during a game some defenders make some pointless errors, which sometimes leads to a goal. And, like I have said before, this needs to be eradicated when we play top teams, like Burnley, as they will capitalise and make it count–just like this goal.
The first half ended 0-1.
I was pleased with the scoreline, despite trailing, as it could have been worse and we did well to prevent them from scoring more. We also made some great attacks and our passing was sublime. However, when we lost the ball, we never fought for it back, which allowed them to create an attack of their own. We should always be pressuring for the ball, especially when we have some players that have the pace and energy. I also thought that Dimitrios Pelkas was not at his best today, despite playing well at the weekend. Rosenior must have realised, as he took him off and replaced him with Óscar Estupiñán.
In the second period everything went wrong. Burnley did what a top-of-the-table side would do; they took control and were dangerous in every aspect. We were not even playing badly as well. They attacked like nobody was there and kept the ball like it was glued to their boots. When we had the ball, we just got it taken off us and any attack we tried to make was killed off. It did not take them long to increase their advantage.
In the 59th minute, Maasten, who had too much space, directed, from the left, a perfect cross, which was finished off by Tella, who volleyed the ball into the back of the net. Tella is a quality player and he deserves to be at one of the top clubs. He dribbles with the ball like it is on string, his shots are clean and he always wins his duels. Nonetheless, we did not look bothered after this and just sat back. They, no matter what the score is, should be fighting for a goal, which could possibly get them back into the game. I have seen many teams trailing by this score and they were able to come out of the game with the win or a draw.
But, the goals did not stop there as in the 73rd minute Tella got his third of the night, which means that he is the first player to get a hat-trick against us this season. The goal derived from us messing around with the ball at the back, which resulted in Jacob Greaves misplacing his pass. Again, Tella was quick to react and he ran to the penalty spot, where he smashed it into the back of the net. Some more sloppy defending and we need to cut out playing from the back. I know that Rosenior says that he likes it, but it is leading to us conceding unnecessary goals.
After this, we finally switched on and we even scored a goal. In the 94th minute, Docherty played the ball through to Substitute Tufan, who smashed the ball into the back of the net. But, we left it a little too late and the whistle blew shortly after this.
I do not know what happened in the second half and we got destroyed. We had our good spells, but they did not match Burnley’s performance. The only positives in this half, despite the late goal, were: Malcolm looks like a threat and he is going to be great for us; he just needs to be confident and score his first goal and Traore looks dangerous as he is good at dribbling and keeping the ball. He knows how to win free kicks as well.
So our unbeaten record at home has come to an end and Burnley have now extended their run to 16–home and away. We are now stuck in 15th position in the table and it feels like we have not moved. On the other hand, Burnley are 13 points clear and they certainly have not budged. Thankfully we do not have to play them again this season and I hope we do not next season.
Our defeat today was due to individual errors and some sloppiness at the back. I hope this is fixed for our next game, which is Reading away. I will be travelling to this and I hope we can get those much needed three points.