Half century for Vokes on a big international night for six Clarets
Six Burnley players have featured in World Cup qualifiers tonight. None have finished on the losing side and there is no doubt that it is Sam Vokes who must take top billing after winning his 50th cap for Wales.
He won that cap in a 1-1 draw against Serbia in Belgrade, winning the penalty from which the Welsh took the lead in the first half when Aaron Ramsey converted.
Sam had 21 caps when we signed him five summers ago and so tonight has brought him his 29th as a Burnley player. That’s the second highest ever won for Wales by a Burnley player; he’s now behind Brian Flynn who won a total of 66 caps with 34 of them as a Claret.
There were no records set earlier when the Republic of Ireland drew 1-1 against Austria in Dublin. All four Burnley players lined up for the game, as they had done last week in a friendly against Uruguay. That meant a competitive debut for Kevin Long who came close to scoring with a header from a Robbie Brady corner.
Brady did get an assist; his long ball up the pitch led to Stoke’s Jonathan Walters scoring their late equaliser.
Of the two draws, it was probably a better result for Ireland than Wales. Serbia lead Group C with 12 points with Ireland behind them with the same number of points. Wales are currently in third place with 8 points.
That leaves one more Burnley player and it’s been a fantastic night for Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Iceland for whom Bristol City defender Hordur Magnússon scored a 90th minute goal to beat Group I leaders Croatia 1-0, the points taking them level in what is a tight group. Both have 13 points with Turkey and Ukraine two points behind. Iceland have still to play both of those two along with the two strugglers at the bottom of the table, Finland and Kosova.
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