Clarets win comfortably against QPR
Burnley secured a third win in five games in the Professional Development League this afternoon with a 3-1 victory against QPR at Turf Moor.
QPR scored in the last minute of normal time and that was followed by a straight red card for Dean Marney just after moving into stoppage time, but that can’t disguise the fact that this was our most comfortable win of the season and matched the 2-0 win against Ipswich at Gawthorpe back in August.
This really shouldn’t have been a two goal win though. That late goal came out of the blue in a game where we could so easily have been five or six goals in front at half time and the visitors will probably return home to West London thankful they weren’t on the end of a hiding.
We opted to play Tinashe Chakwana up front with Ntumba Massanka with Tunde Bayode and Dwight McNeil in the wide positions. So many times they tore the QPR defence apart in the first half but far too often the strikers were guilty of missing gilt edged chances.
The opener on 17 minutes came from Massanka (pictured top). He’d already come close on two occasions but this time made no mistake after he’d been set up by Oliver Younger following a corner. Almost immediately he should have added a second but we did double our advantage just before half time when Chakwana (pictured bottom), having seen his first effort blocked, turned in a Bayode cross.
Tom Heaton, making his first public appearance on the Turf since the day he suffered his injury against Crystal Palace, had little to do. He made one routine save just before half time and his major contribution in the first half came during a stoppage for an injured player. He spent the entire time talking to Younger and trialist Teddy Perkins. clearly giving them lots of advice.
Nothing really changed after the break and eleven minutes in we got our third and this was the goal of the game when Chakwana got on the end of an Aiden O’Neill cross after a superb build up down the right hand side. O’Neill, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Fleetwood, had a hugely impressive afternoon.
We continued to dominate. McNeil hit the bar with a shot from the left and we came close on other occasions.
Massanka gave way to youth team striker Craig Ellison on the hour but he had to be substituted himself a quarter of an hour later with an injury. That disrupted things but at no point at all did QPR look as though they might get a goal back.
But they did, with 30 seconds of normal time remaining. Perkins, who is at Leyton Orient, had done well but he gifted them their consolation goal allowing substitute Charley Kendall to score. And with the ball back in the centre circle, referee David Underwood, who, along with his assistant in front of the Bob Lord, had hardly covered himself in glory, waved his red card aloft. Dean Marney was the player sent off. It wasn’t at all clear what had happened but apparently he had a word with said official.
He’ll be suspended for the next three under-23 games but will be available for the first team during that period.
A 3-1 win it was and that takes us within four points of Barnsley with a game in hand and the two teams still to meet.
The teams were;
Burnley: Tom Heaton, Jordan Cropper, Teddy Perkins, Oliver Younger, Ali Koiki, Tunde Bayode, Aiden O’Neill, Dean Marney, Dwight McNeil, Tinashe Chakwana, Ntumba Massanka (Craig Ellison 60, Marley Blair 76). Subs not used: Aidan Stone, Mace Goodridge, Edward Cook.
QPR: Marcin Brzozowski, Aiden Mesias, Jack Williams (Nathaniel Orafu 64), Charlie Owens, Caden Genovesi, Charlie Fox, Wes McDonald (Rui Da Costa 15), Zenon Stylianides, Aramide Oteh, Romeo Akinola (Charley Kendall 80), Hugo Cardoso. Sub not used: Tyla Dickinson.
Follow UpTheClarets:
Share this page :