Match Details

Davis (2)

Wright

Reports

Crichton Cox Davis Thomas Little Mullin Cook Johnrose Branch Cooke Wright

Subs Jeppo ( 90 mins for Mullin ) West, Brass, Mellon, Smith

The natives had turned out in force for this one, the attraction of Ian Wright having driven another 600/700 locals away from Sainsbury's & the out of town shopping precincts. The Clarets got off to a very somnolent start, inviting Colchester to score in the second minute.

However despite a clear cut and well worked opening, Moralee demonstrated the lack of finishing technique which was repeated on every future occasion, as apart from the goal, this was the last time that Crichton was seriously troubled.

This acted as a bit of a wake up call and from then on the defence were on full alert as Colchester demonstrated that they could play a bit, with McGavin lurking on the right behind a front two.

After about 10 minutes the Clarets began to establish themselves, by shoring up the back, creating a barrier across the middle and building a platform to go forward. More and more of the game was beginning to take place in the Colchester half with opportunities arising for Cooke and best of all a superb cross from Branch picked out the Gold Toothed One at the far post, only for him to stab the ball straight at the keeper from close range. Never mind, after a long spell of Burnley possession a final neat interchange of passes down the left hand side saw Cook arrow the ball across and Big Stevie turned the ball neatly into the net at the near post on his left peg.

Colchester came back strongly but the Clarets looked to have contained the surge, when Crichton fed a back pass out to Branch on the right side of the penalty box and was bushwhacked by McGavin.

Branch seemed to over hit his return to Crichton and the latter miscued his clearance hitting McGavin who controlled the loose ball and slotted home before the defence could recover. A comedy of errors, but these days this is the only way I can see the opposition scoring against Burnley, i.e. self inflicted disasters.

Not to worry, the same pattern continued with United spurning another good opening and after another Ian Wright miss and a Cook special which just cleared the bar, the Clarets pressure resulted in a corner where Little picked out Big Stevie at the back post, looking as if he had brought a set of stepladders , who powered the ball home into a rippling net.

After that they changed round & the game meandered on to the finish, as the Clarets shut up shop and invited Colchester to have a go.

The Clarets could have scored more, but again Ian Wright messed up a golden opportunity when he tried to chip the keeper when Cooke was in acres of space at the back post with the net result being a pass to the keeper.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

The attacking three of Cooke, Wright and Little looked very disjointed to me and were playing as individuals rather than a unit. The bottom line was that despite the defence holding the opposition at arm's length and the midfield providing the platform, the Clarets had to rely on a sudden return to goalscoring form of a centre back to clinch the points.

However on the plus side, the Clarets rarely looked like losing this contest and were comfortable throughout. Colchester played their wild card in the form of the exotically christened Tresor Lua Lua who looked a tasty player, with nice touches and a bit of zip, his only problem was that Coxy followed him everywhere, so he didn't get a look in. Clearly Stan had done his homework and negated this tactic.

The back three are beginning to take on the dimensions of one of the best defensive units assembled for many a year and it is a pity that they are so long in the tooth, as they have rapidly acquired a mutual understanding.

Again the midfield showed that it is the ultimate in shape and balance, though one might carp about the lack of goalscoring opportunities they carve out for themselves.

Apart from his part in the Colchester goal, I thought Branch had an excellent game, his cross to Wrighty being one of the highlights of the day.

After a poor start to his Burnley career he looks to have finally settled in at the left wing back slot, BTW one feature of his play noticeable here is his prowess in the air.

The front two remain an enigma. Cooke had another Cooke like game, bags of effort, commitment, some good touches and good hold up play etc. however once again around the box, Andy never looks like hitting the net.

His decision making is often poor whenever he gets in or around those white lines and angles. He shoots when he should pass or vice-versa. however there is no need for some of the quite audible abuse he gets from the odd individual, in our own "support"

Lastly the Wrighty storm blew out with a whimper in the second half with his best move being the tweak given to the Colchester Eagles beak, as the stuffed bird harboured the vain hope that he might be allowed to bask in the Wright after glow.

No chance. I begin to wonder if despite all the talking whether Wright is really up for it, and he can discover his sharpness before the end of the season?

He seems to have slotted in quite well, but basically hasn't looked remotely like putting away any of the numerous chances presented to him. Last week the oppo goalie had a stormer, but this week there was no such excuse.

The crunch will come post Preston when Stan will have to tackle the number one question on most Clarets minds, will he re-instate Payton or what? Stan's failure to make the correct decision may affect the outcome of the season. Let's hope whatever it is, that they are all men about it, and get on with the job.

If they don't, it will be a crying shame, as I feel more strongly with every game that I see since Cox arrived, that the side can get in the top two as there is still a long way to go and as Preston demonstrated on Saturday, its not all plain sailing. Even if key players are missing like Thomas & Payton on Saturday, there is enough strength in depth and flexibility to cover. A reversion to 4 - 4 - 2 should cover them on Saturday with West coming in on the right side, or if Armstrong is fit, a straight swap.

Keep believing.

Igor

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