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Burnley came home from Aston Villa with a point in a 2-2 draw but there is no doubt it was a game that the two managers saw very differently with home boss Dean Smith pointing his finger in the direction of our players and referee Lee Mason.

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He started with Mason and his contribution to our first goal. “I felt aggrieved with their first goal,” he said. “Marvelous Nakamba, who I thought was excellent, it’s come off a Burnley lad’s heel and the referee gives a throw in for them. I also thought it was a foul, Chris Wood on Neil Taylor which was right in front of me. They get a free kick and launch it 50-60 yards and we didn’t deal with the cross. I thought our response was good.

“The second goal was a lapse in concentration. We didn’t get tight enough and we didn’t stop the cross.”

Then he turned his attentions on us and added: “John McGinn’s been whacked by Jack Cork when he turned him and Cork should have got booked. He gets the other side of Erik Pieters and he pulls him back. He’s all action, gets in the opposition box and scores goals. He wins free kicks but today, for me, he wasn’t protected. How they came through that first half without a yellow card on McGinn was beyond me. It was almost like a tag team volleying him. He’ll have a few bruises, that’s for sure. He doesn’t mind a rough and tumble tackle as long as it’s a fair one but, today, there were too many that were unfair. They’ve targeted him because he’s one of our better players.”

Smith continued: “I’m a little bit disappointed and frustrated because the first half was as good as we’ve played all season, such was the domination. Burnley can be a very tough team to play against, they get it to their front two very well, get it wide and get crosses into the box, we dealt with it really well.

“We played Jack (Grealish) higher and John McGinn’s had a headed chance, El Ghazi’s had one, we scored a goal and looked good. Nobody would have argued had we gone in at two or three-nil up at half time.

“We didn’t start the second half well. It was scrappy. We took the game back to them, had a couple of chances. Jack’s gone through, if it keeps it low he scores and then we had a great ball from Trez who found McGinn who scored a deserved goal. He was outstanding today.

“The second goal was a lapse in concentration. We didn’t get tight enough and we didn’t stop the cross. Burnley will go home with what they came for, you seen that with how long they were taking with goal kicks. The game was going to be a stop-start with their rhythm. If it was one team who were going to win it, it was going to be us. It’s three points we deserved today but we need to kick on.”

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Sean Dyche, and I would think most fair observers, didn’t see it quite like that with Smith behaving like a manager clearly feeling the pressure.

“We thought it would be hard here,” Dyche said. “They’re new to the division and never lie down, but neither do we. Seeing out games is difficult in the Premier League, so I always fancied us to come back, even after the second goal. I didn’t know it would be so quickly, but these lads are never beaten. Their spirit, drive and determination came to the fore again.

“We had to change the shape at half time, when Corky had to come off after hurting his shoulder, but also we felt it was the right thing to do. I told them ‘trust yourself to go and play in that change of shape because you did it in pre-season and at Brighton’. It’s something we can adapt to when necessary and today it definitely had an effect on the game.

“I was pleased with the second half delivery and how effective we were. It’s never easy away from home and they probably had the upper hand in the first half, but after the break we really took the game on and had so many moments in which we should have played a better final pass.

“They can be important moments, but as regards effort, mentality, will and desire we were outstanding again and our two goals both came from brilliant crosses. Erik has done brilliantly to dig one out for the first and it’s a great header from Jay. The second one from Woody is a sublime goal. He comes off his shape and when it’s played wide he drives into the box, and it’s a magnificent cross and a great header.

“It was four great crosses and four great goals to be fair today and we definitely deserved something.”

Asked to respond to Smith’s view of the game, the Clarets’ boss said: “It was a funny kind of game. A lot of odd decisions. I don’t think they made a big difference, but the injury time amuses me. Apparently we were wasting time, then they score and funnily it slowed down their way, a marvel of the modern game.

“We’re not trying to waste time, neither is anyone. I put the clock on it, how long it takes for us and the opposition to play out from the back, but it’s another joyous moment for the fans, which makes me laugh.”

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