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Match Details
30.08.1999
Burnley team:
Crichton, Armstrong  , West, Cowan (off 63), Thomas , Little , Cook (off 70), Mellon , Brass, Branch, Payton, Grant (sub), Maylett (sub), Robertson (on, 63), Mullin (on, 79), Jepson (on, 70)
Bristol Rovers team:
Referee: K. D. Hill
Reports
GETTING paid, rather than paying to watch, was the only
consolation to be drawn from this dismal game which saw Burnley's
15-match unbeaten League run ended by a penalty that should
never have been.
Neither side played well and, with defences on top, there was
barely a worthwhile chance created in the 90 minutes. But sadly
much of the blame for a stop-start, disjointed affair must also
be aportioned to referee Keith Hill.
In these days of almost constant referee-bashing it can be too
easy to blame the officials for shortcomings elsewhere. But on
this occasion the hapless Mr Hill deserved all the stick that
came his way.
The 30-year-old from Royston in Hertfordshire, in his second
season on the Football League list, contrived to book nine
players in a 22-minute spell up to half-time.
He made it into double figures near the end of the game and it
was something of a surprise that he avoided sending off more than
just Bristol Rovers defender Trevor Challis in the 85th minute.
At a push half the cautions were justified in a match where there
was perhaps one bad challenge, a late tackle by Challis on Paul
Cook which earned his his first yellow card.
But the fact that the referee managed to penalise some 42 fouls
gave a further indication of the way in which he handled a
contest that was competitive but never even robust.
And it was therefore perhaps fitting, if wholly unsatisfactory,
that he also decided the outcome. Make no mistake Burnley, who
failed to function effectively going forward, didn't deserve to
win the game.
But a penalty apart, it looked to have 0-0 written all over it -
which would have suited the Clarets down to the ground as they
looked to extend their undefeated record.
It wasn't sour grapes then when the visitors' camp complained
bitterly against Hill's decision to penalise Mitchell Thomas for
a pull on Jason Roberts which allowed Jamie Cureton to stroke
home the 36th-minute winner from the spot.
Thomas and Roberts had a ding-dong battle all afternoon but on
this occasion there looked to be no obvious foul on the Rovers
striker before the referee pointed to the spot and sparked
furious protests from the Burnley players.
Thomas went into the book for his complaints and with three of
Burnley's defenders having been cautioned by this point they
spent the remainder of the game walking on egg shells.
With Cook and Micky Mellon also having been shown a card, the
Clarets, without injured ball-winner Lenny Johnrose, struggled to
put in a tackle running up to half-time and Rovers almost made
them pay. But Chris Brass was able to put a foot in.
And his challenge on Cureton epitomised the effective job Thomas
and Brass, starting a League game for the first time this season,
did on the free-scoring Rovers front pair. Despite an
encouraging opening burst, Burnley struggled to piece much
together going forward.
Graham Branch was lively early on and the returning Glen Little,
introduced as one of three changes to the side that beat Stoke on
Saturday in the absence of the injured Johnrose and Paul Smith
and the unavailable Alan Lee, produced a couple of mazy runs and
telling crosses.
But from the best of those Branch was unable to get in a shot at
the far post.
Without the badly missed Andy Cooke, Burnley are massively
reliant on Andy Payton for goals and when he is starved of
chances the Clarets' threat is greatly reduced.
Payton's sole chance yesterday arrived just after half-time when
Cook managed to find him in space between Bristol defenders.
But this time the Midas touch deserted the striker whose
first-time effort was easily held by Lee Jones.
Saturday's defeat at Wrexham was the first time this season that
Rovers had conceded goals in the Second Division and having been
gifted a lead they were not about to let it go.
Robbie Pethick went closest to doubling their advantage with an
angled shot which Paul Crichton tipped over, while Gordon
Armstrong made an excellent block from Roberts and Andy Tilson
headed over the top in the final minute.
Burnley's best bet for an equaliser looked like being to get into
the box and win a decision from the referee as they lacked the
width far enough forward, despite Little's deployment on the wing
in the second half, to get behind the Rovers defence on a
regular basis.
The Clarets, who threw on Ronnie Jepson and John Mullin in a bid
to pep up their flagging attack, were given one helping hand when
Jones picked up a back-pass.
But they made such a hash of the free-kick from an angled
position 10 yards from goal that Jepson's effort went out for a
throw-in.
It was that sort of afternoon. But all good things come to an end
and if they can get back to winning ways against Bournemouth on
Friday night, the Clarets will consider this as a blip in an
otherwise impressive start to the season. Burnley were beaten 1-0 by Bristol Rovers today but the match was
marred by referee K D Hill who dished out 11 yellow cards and
one red.
The Clarets will not complain too much about the defeat as on the
day they were second best, but the use of the card by the
official was far too regular for both manager's liking and it
meant that the game proved to be a stop start affair which was
not allowed to flow.
Bristol were the brighter of the two sides in the first half and
deserved the 1-0 lead at half time.
Mitchell Thomas was adjudged to put a foul in on Jason Roberts
and Jamie Cureton duly stepped up to slot his 3rd in 3 games past
Paul Crichton from the penalty spot.
Cowan and Payton both had chances in the second half to even up
the affair but once again it fell to the referee to ruin the flow
of the football as minor infringements were picked upon,
generally leading to yellow cards.
In the dying moments of the match the inevitable happened, Trevor
Challis picked up a second bookable offence for an innocuous
challenge on Glen Little and was forced to leave the field in
what had been a very clean game all round.
The memory of the Clarets 1-0 win at Stoke was by now a distant
memory as Andy Payton failed to relive his goal scoring heroics,
so it looks like a case of back to the drawing board for the
manager as Burnley try to get back on track ahead of Wednesday's
trip to Bournemouth. Errors? Comments? Opinions to add to this page? Mail us!
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