Clarets close in on top three
Blackpool, without kicking a ball, and Burnley were the winners last Saturday in the Youth Alliance League with both Walsall and Port Vale losing to really tighten things up at the top.
The worst case scenario for leaders Blackpool was that they would now be sat on top on goal difference, but they retained their three point lead when second place Walsall lost to fourth place Burnley and Port Vale, who are third, suffered a surprise 3-0 defeat against Preston.
The top two, Blackpool and Walsall, have both played 16 games but Port Vale have played two more, but our unbeaten run, which stretches back to the defeat at Walsall at the start of October, has now really taken us within striking distance of those three at the top.
With games in hand on all of them, we are really pushing them and the win against Walsall was probably as good a result as we’ve had all season and for much of the second half it looked as though we might lose it.
We trailed to a goal from Walsall’s Tobias Hayles-Docherty and that 1-0 scoreline remained until eight minutes from the end despite Burnley playing really well. Then it all went our way. Oliver Younger equalised from a corner, Dwight McNeil (pictured) gave us the lead from a free kick and, finally, Nashé Chakwana got a third in stoppage time as Walsall pushed on looking for an equaliser.
Elsewhere, Bury remained just a point behind us with a win against Carlisle but Accrington, who have two games in hand, slipped with a surprise defeat at Morecambe. It was a sixth win of the season for perennial bottom club Morecambe who have now reached twenty points this season.
In the one remaining game, it was another defeat for bottom team Wrexham who went down 4-3 at home against Fleetwood.
All the recent results are below along with this week’s fixtures, our goalscorers and the current table.
The League Table is updated as results are confirmed. It can be found with our Fixtures and Results within U23/U18 Stats on the top menu.
RECENT RESULTS
Saturday 4th February
Burnley 3 Walsall 1
Bury 4 Carlisle 3
Morecambe 1 Accrington 0
Port Vale 0 Preston 3
Wrexham 3 Fleetwood 4
Tuesday 7th February
Rochdale v Burnley – postponed
THIS WEEK’S FIXTURES
Saturday 11th February
Blackpool v Burnley
Bury v Rochdale
Carlisle v Walsall
Fleetwood v Tranmere
Morecambe v Wigan
Preston v Shrewsbury
Wrexham v Accrington
BURNLEY’S GOALSCORERS (League & Cup)
7: Tommy Wood
6: Olatunde Bayode, Nashé Chakwana
5: RJ Pingling
4: Dwight McNeil
2: Tyler Shrimpton, Scott Wilson
1: Tristan Jumeau, Kwasinkosi Mpofu, Oliver Younger
CURRENT LEAGUE TABLE
| Team | pld | w | d | l | f | a | pts |
| Blackpool | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 44 | 15 | 34 |
| Walsall | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 14 | 31 |
| Port Vale | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 25 | 31 |
| Burnley | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 20 | 28 |
| Bury | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 26 | 25 | 27 |
| Accrington Stanley | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 24 |
| Shrewsbury Town | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 30 | 24 |
| Rochdale | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 22 |
| Wigan Athletic | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 28 | 21 |
| Morecambe | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 27 | 29 | 20 |
| Preston North End | 17 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 30 | 17 |
| Fleetwood Town | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 42 | 16 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 17 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 23 | 14 |
| Carlisle United | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 18 | 32 | 13 |
| Wrexham | 17 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 38 | 10 |
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