Please leave ratings for all players who have played 20 mins or more.

Scoring is from 3 to 10 as follows:

10 - Out of this World
9 - Excellent
8 - Very Good
7 - Good
6 - Average
5 - Below Par
4 - Poor
3 - Abysmal

7 - Heaton
8 - Lowton
8 - Keane
8 - Mee
8 - Ward
6 - Boyd, despite the goal I thought he was poor tonight
6 - Hendrick
6 - Barton, him getting outpaced by Adam was really something
6 - Defour, thought he was our best player in the first half, clear upgrade over Arfield
6 - Vokes
6 - Gray

Heaton 7 - largely untroubled
Lowton 7 - solid and consistent and linked well with Boyd
Keane 8 - Won his battles all night
Mee 8 - as solid as a brick wall
Ward 8- silly booking but did well especially with no one in front of him in the first half
Boyd 9 - defended well, passed well, tackled strongly, our best midfielder, closed everything down, scored a goal.
Hendrick 7 - decent enough, worked hard and showed some glimpses of class
Barton, 7 - tackled everything and not helped by a shocking ref
Defour 6 - got the ball on the wing and didn't know what to do so played in the middle for the rest of his game, some good touches
Vokes 6 - won some aerial battles but largely ineffective
Gray 7 - full of running and movement despite having 2 defenders hanging onto him, fed off scraps

7. - Heaton. no real saves to make but that catch was top drawer.
8 - Lowton
9 - Keane simple outstandin
9 - Mee as above
6 - Ward struggled and lost just about every header, but stuck at it
7 - Boyd, worked hard tonight and a good finish
8 - Hendrick not people ate seeing what he does 90% of the time, but beat 3 to set up the goal.
7 - Barton, A hard night against two seasoned midfielders
7 - Defour, not his position but still showed moments od class
6 - Vokes hard night against two solid CB's
6 - Gray if only he could actually control a ball. limitations showed tonight
7 - Barnes, our Burnley bully

Great result that hopefully settles the nerves of us fans

Heaton 7 good hands a couple of times from long range shots little else to do
Lowton 7 solid as usual
Mee 8 cleared up well, superb game complements Keane wonderfully
Keane 8 used his pace well in the first half a few times to get us out of trouble and had an excellent game
Ward 6 shakey first half with little help from Defour who was roaming around. Could easily have received a second yellow and been sent off. Stronger second half performance.
Barton 6 0ff the pace again tonight again but better than Saturday
Hendrix 7 plus one for the assist thought he was average until the goal then better when pushed forward after Tarkowski came on.
Defour 7 retained the ball well and looked bright until the injury but would be much better used in the centre and had to roam around the pitch to get on the ball and try and make things happen leaving Ward a bit exposed.
Boyd 6 plus one for the goal, thought he was poor apart from that.
Brady 7 positive impact when he came on
Gray 6 tried hard but frustrating night
Vokes 7 thought he won his fair share in the air and held the ball up pretty well
Barnes 7 Got away with murder when he came on but his cheating was highly effective tonight! Won plenty of free kicks and helped us see out the game.

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Keane 8
Mee 8
Ward 7
Boyd 7
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6

Important thing was to get the win and we did, despite it being one of those ugly games against a very physical Stoke side. We're in touching distance of safety now.

Haven't had time to think but Ben Mee definitely gets a 10 from me

7 - Heaton
8 - Lowton
8 - Keane
9 - Mee
8 - Ward
7 - Boyd
6 - Hendrick
6 - Barton
6 - Defour
6 - Vokes
6 - Gray

Special marks for Barnes for really getting under their defenders skin when he came on.

Stoke's players were embarrassing, throwing themselves around at every opportunity.

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 8
Mee 9*
Ward 7
Boyd 7
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6

Heaton 7 nothing to do
Lowton 7 solid
Ward 8 great game despite booking.
Mee 9 superb won everything
Boyd 7 never stopped and great finish
Barton 7 battled well
Hendrick 7 extra mark for fantastic skill for the goal
Defour 6 nice touches but another 'injury' in a physical game.
Vokes 6 living off scraps.
Gray 7 thought troubled them needs to stop grappling defender and concentrate on hitting the ball.

Heaton 7

Lowton 7
Keane 8
Mee 9 MOM
Ward 7

Boyd 8
Barton 7
Hendrick7
Defour 5

Gray 5
Vokes 6

Barnes 7
Brady 6

7 - Heaton
7 - Lowton
8 - Keane
8 - Mee
7 - Ward
6 - Boyd, despite the goal I thought he was poor tonight
8 - Hendrick (+1 for the setting up of the goal)
5 - Barton, looks to be struggling with fitness
6 - Defour
6 - Vokes
6 - Gray
6 - Brady
507 Barnes - couldn't have done any better than he did, perfect substitution

Heaton 6
Lowton 7
Keane 7
Mee 8
Ward 6
Boyd 7
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 7
Gray 6

Brady 6

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 9 Joint MoM
Mee 9 Joint MoM
Ward 7
Boyd 7
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6

Heaton 7 little to do though great hands for the Adam shot
Lowton 7 Alert and decent game
Keane 7 as above better than Sat
Mee 8 playing superbly atm a real unsung prem hero
Ward 7 continued his good form really improved this yr
Boyd 7 1 for his goal not his best game but that's Boyd
Barton 7 very busy and tackled anything and everything
Hendrick 7 better from Hendrick drove forward more
Defour 7 good 1st half but 1st game back so tad rusty
Vokes 6 Not a lot of service without properwingers
Gray 6 Ran hard maybe a touch out of form

Brady 6
Tarky 6

The win was all in a scrappy nervy game,they're a decent side and v physical and not adverse to cheating . The relief was there to see on the players faces at the whistle

Heaton 8
Lowton 6
Ward 9
Keane 8
MEE 10* (I have been regularly critical of his rare but crucial errors, this shows I am not a Mee-hater)
Barton 8
Hendrick 7
Boyd 8
Defour 7
Vokes 6
Gray 7

Brady 7
Barnes 9 (I know not on long enough but his game management warrants a mark)

What a dire game. Stoke's weird spoiling formation looked like throwing us by playing as narrow as I have seen any side play against us. Hendrick has done nothing for games but then produced the match's defining moment. Hats off to him. Lucky Defour was puffing hard and limping a bit to make Dyche's decision easy.

In truth the stats said we were too good to go down, and our home form was too good to lose two on the trot. Stats don't always predict the future, but they do most of the time, by definition. We're staying up now.

Final word on Mee. His occasional errors have cost us dear but I have said in previous games that he has been magnificent other than his errors. Today he made none. So he was impeccable, against an aerial onslaught. Well done Ben.

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Keane 8
Mee 9
Ward 7
Boyd 8
Barton 7
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 8
Mee 9
Ward 7
Boyd 8
Barton 7
Hendrick 8
Defour 7
Gray 7
Vokes 8

Brady 7

Heaton 6 - Not much to do really
Lowton 7 - A solid performance (delighted he's signed a new deal)
Ward 6 - Thought diouf caused him problems first half and he could have seen red, but excellent last 20mins
Keane 8 - Outstanding second half
Mee 9 - MoM
Boyd 6 - Thought he was distinctly average until he scored then his performance and confidence (like others) increased ten fold
Defour 6 -A couple of probing passes, comfortable in possession, glad to see him back in
Barton 5 - Overall poor again, though like others, played better and had a greater more important influence as the game progressed
Hendrick 7 - Goes about his business quietly but effectively and his quality for the goal was top notch
Vokes 7 - Won lots of headers, brought others into play, solid return
Gray 6 - Huffed and puffed against strong physical opposition, some really good bits, but ultimately didn't threaten their goal enough

Brady 7 - Thought it was the best we've seen of him, tidy and a threat on the counter

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Keane 9
Mee 9 MOM
Ward 6
Boyd 8
Barton 7
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Gray 7
Vokes 7

Brady 7

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Keane 9
Mee 10
Ward 7
Boyd 8
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 5
Gray 6
Vokes 6


Brady 6

Heaton 6
Lowton 7
Mee 9
Keane 8
Ward 7
Boyd 7
Defour 5
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 8

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 8
Mee 8
Ward 7 (-1 for messing up, then getting booked for it!)
Barton 6 (Joey is doing the ugly side really well just now and that's crucial, but he KEEPS giving the ball away when he tries to be creative)
Hendrick 8 (+1 for great run and set up)
Defour 7
Boyd 7 (got himself in the right place to score that crucial goal)
Vokes 8 (actually won his share of headers which isn't easy against that lot)
Gray 7 (as on Saturday I disagreed with SD and I'd have left him on, but this time SD had the last laugh as Barnes was absolutely magnificent in a horrible sort of way!)

Brady 7
Barnes probably not on long enough to count, but 9 from me for totally spoiling Stoke's chances of getting something

A very, very hard fought and absolutely crucial win against a tough, physical side who can probably play decent football, but seem to choose not to. In Joe Allen and Charlie Adam they have an excellent midfield and Barton and Hendrick struggled against them imo.
Gray, I simply can't fathom. People on here will say he gets zero service and that may be true at times, but tonight I though he got plenty of good service and time and again he just can't control the ball when it should be so easy. I don't get how a £7 million? player can struggle with something so basic. His running and his movement are excellent at times, but what's the point if the ball is never in your control?
Anyway, a great win and even I feel SLIGHTLY optimistic about our immediate future in this league as I make my plans to visit Boro on Saturday!

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Ward 8
Mee 9*
Keane 8
Defour 7 (Brady 7)
Hendrick 8
Barton 7
Boyd 9
Vokes 8
Gray 7 (Barnes 7)

We still had a long way to go after taking the lead and I can't recall us managing a 1-0 lead as well as that this season. We were fortunate at times though, particularly with how poor arnautovic was.

Mee has been superb again tonight. Thank heavens no one can find my post last season when I stated he was too small for a CB IMO

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Keane 8
Mee 9*
Ward 7
Boyd 7 (for the goal)
Hendrick 6 (for the run)
Barton 6
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6
Barnes 9 (outstanding.)

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Keane 7
Mee 9 outstanding mom
Ward 7
Boyd 7 lot of mileage + one for well taken goal
Barton 7 some wayward passing again though
Hendrick 7
Defour 7 adds some quality
Vokes 5
Gray 5

Thought the front two were disappointing

Barnes made a huge impact when he came on

heaton - 7 handled well, good catch from stoke's only shot on target

lowton - 8 bang in form

keane - 8 majestic tonight

mee - 8 less majestic but no less effective

ward - 6 struggled a bit, especially in the air and was on a tightrope after his booking

boyd - 7 lovely finish and helped kill the game at the end with some canny bits of play

barton - 6 a bit wack really

hendrick - 7 twinkle toes moves elevated what was a solid but uninspiring performance

defour - 7 get him in the middle and get him on the ball and we have a proper player. stick him on the wing and we don't. all our best football in the first half came when he drifted inside and got on the ball.

vokes - 6 won a few, lost a few

gray - 6 disappointing to see him brought off again as he was keeping us playing higher up the pitch and we invited pressure on ourselves again as soon as he came off. barnes and vokes don't worry defenders like gray does.

brady - 6 getting better


a deserved win against a typical mrs doubtfire team, full of whiny cheating *****. whats happening to the stoke renaissance since pulis left? its just same old same old from them.

anyway, this was a pretty turgid affair until late in the first half when both sides woke up a bit and the referee annoyed the crowd. that the game had two highlights - a really good goal and a bloke falling over taking a corner - pretty much said it all.

stoke might be a set of bellends but they're no mugs and we had to be strong defensively to see the game out. despite their bombardment, they never really troubled us and the only decent footballing move of the game has won us the points.

Heaton 7 - barely anything to do but did well what was needed
Lowton 7
Keane 8
Mee 8 - another strong defensive display by the back 5
Ward 7
Boyd 8* - interesting views on here about Boyd. I have him as MOM yet others don't think he did much. Same with Gray, who I though was poor tonight but some though was good. It just shows that people look at different things I guess
Barton 6 - average again
Hendrick 7 +1 for the goal, other than a 5 minutes spell, average
Defour 6 - as above
Gray 5- just seems lacking in confidence and ideas at the moment
Vokes 5 - no better than Gray tonight
Barnes 6 - nothing special, just caused problems
Brady 6 - thought again he showed glimpses of what he's about (on the left wing)

A stubborn display against a very typical Stoke/Hughes side. Their diving and cheating was very much like.... Stoke away. Hughes felt they deserved to win but they looked poor to me and I can't see how he can think that. We weren't much better going forward but the 3 points is huge

Heaton 6
Lowton 6
Keane 7
Mee 8*
Ward 6
Boyd 8
Hendrick 7 including extra for the assist
Barton 5 gave ball away too often
Defour 5
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 7
Barnes 8 did the ugly well

Couldn't see how we were going to score tonight until that moment from Hendricks. Happy with the 3 points. With better finishing that could have been a defeat and a huge problem. Hopefully a better performance and another 3 points on Saturday.
UTC

Heaton 7

Lowton 7
Keane 8
Mee 10 - <3
Ward 7

Boyd 7 - Plus 1 for nice goal. Hopefully gives him a required boost
Hendrick 7
Barton 5 - Sloppy. I'd give Westwood a game.
Defour 6 - Wasted out left.

Vokes 6 - Tough for him against those creatures
Gray 6 - Stage one: control the ball. Build from there

Brady 7 - Looked lively
Shout out to Barnes who sure ruffled their feathers when he came on and Tarkowski always does a job.

Tense watch but great win. Stoke mirror their very unlikeable manager in the way they go about games. Masters of the dark arts and the sorry ref was too useless to control it.

If we're insistent on Defour out wide then at least put him wide right.

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 9
Mee 9.01*
Ward 8
Boyd 7
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6
Barnes 6
Tarks 6

Heaton 7

Lowton 8
Keane 7
Mee 9
Ward 7

Boyd 8
Barton 7
Hendrick7
Defour 7

Gray 6
Vokes 6

Barnes 7
Brady 6

Great team performance and a shift by everyone.

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 9
Mee 9*
Ward 8
Boyd 8
Barton 7
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6

Heaton 7

Lowton 7
Keane 7
Mee 7
Ward 7

Boyd 8
Barton 5
Hendrick 7
Defour 5

Vokes 7
Gray 5

Subs

Brady 7

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 8*
Mee 8
Ward 6
Boyd 6
Hendrick 7
Barton 6
Defour 6
Vokes 7
Gray 6

Brady 6

Heaton - 7
Lowton - 7
Keane - 8
Mee - 9
Ward - 7
Boyd - 9* and he would've got an 8 without the goal.
Barton - 7
Hendrick - 8
Defour - 7
Vokes - 7
Gray - 7

Brady - 7
Barnes - 7

Heaton 6 Nothing to do
Lowton 6
Keane 7
Mee 8*
Ward 6 was very close to being sent off, think he was on his very last warning
Boyd 6 before the goal was awful, but got in there and finished well. They can be difficult to keep down and on target.
Hendrick 7 +1 for assist. First time a midfielder ran at them and tried to commit a defender.
Barton 5 gave ball away far too often. The cheat Allen got to ref first half, which made Joey even less effective.
Defour 6 tried to be positive
Vokes 6 did ok on his first real game back. Tough job against 2 man mountains.
Gray 6 did ok as above, some good touches, but didn't move to the ball enough, which turned over possession.

Brady 6
Barnes 7 I've never seen him win as many free kicks. Got right under Indi's skin and helped us see out 6 minutes with relative ease.

A game we could well have drawn and had no complaints about.
1 moment of Magic from Jeff and driven on by the fans in the biggest game of the season to date.
A really needed victory which will drive us on to safety under a lot less pressure going in to Saturday.

Heaton 7 - not much to do well protected by some last ditch blocks

Lowton 7
Ward 7
Keane 8
Mee 9 - possibly one of the best centre half displays I have seen by a Burnley player.

Boyd 7- worked hard great goal
Defour 6 - when involved a class act, just not involved enough
Barton 6 - got stuck in wasteful with ball far too often
Hendrick 7 - great run for the goal

Vokes 6 - Not much seem to stick with him
Gray 6 - Worked hard lacked quality

Brady 6 - Seems a bit of an headless chicken too me.
Barnes 6 - Wound them up at just the right time,

Massive 3 points which is undoubtedly the most important thing at this stage. In terms of a performance we created virtually nothing all night (great goal aside) and we rode our luck a little at times.

You were 't alone mdd2, there were respected contributors on here that rated Mee a Division 1 player at best when Howe was in charge, few at that time saw the outstanding centre back in him. Mind you there were those who thought similarly about Ings.

Heaton - 7 - Had nothing to do aside from one decent shot from Adam.
Lowton - 7 - Decent enough defensively, didn't offer anything going forward.
Keane - 8 - Good game, made a few mistake which could and maybe should have been punished
Mee - 10 - Outstanding from Mee, didn't put a foot wrong all game.
Defour - 6 - His use of the ball was good but didn't see enough of it, wasted out wide but better than Arfield
Barton - 6 - Works hard but gave the ball away a number of times, did really well to put pressure on Arnautovic when he was played in by Berahino
Hendrick - 7 - Extra mark for the assist, first time we really tested them
Boyd - 8 - Had a good game and an extra mark for the goal, worked tirelessly as always, helped out defensively.
Vokes - 6 - Not his night
Gray - 6 - As above, he was man handled by their CB's, should have been awarded more free kicks than he was.

Brady - 6 - Best overall contribution so far in a Burnley shirt
Barnes - Annoyed their CB's, won vital freekicks. Did well.

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 8
Mee 9
Ward 7
Boyd 8 - how anyone can say he was poor last night i don't know.
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 6

Brady 6
Barnes 9

Three points is three points but what a dire affair it was in all honesty.

7 - Heaton Not too much to do but he did it well
8 - Lowton Rock solid. Stoke will know they've been in a match.
8 - Keane See Lowton
9 - Mee MOM Awesome game
8 - Ward See Lowton
7 - Boyd, 1 extra for goal. Great strike and worked hard. Lacks a yard of pace TBH.
6 - Hendrick, His run was possibly the only quality move we made all night but it was a lovely ball to Georgie Boy.
6 - Barton, Absolutely awful 1st half but bucked up 2nd.
6 - Defour, Clearly not fit and possibly does not fit into our style. Square peg; round hole springs to mind.
6 - Vokes Battled to no avail all night.
6 - Gray See Vokes
7- Barnes What a cameo from Ash. Ran down the clock beautifully in the corner. He must be a nightmare to play against.
10-Agent Arnautovic **** MOM ****

Heaton 7
Lowton 7
Keane 7
Mee 8*
Ward 7
Boyd 6
Barton 6
Hendrick 7
Defour 6
Vokes 5
Gray 5

Brady 7 - Bright spot of the night (other than the 3 points) obviously. Still not great but a lot better than he has been. Needs to relax a bit and understand his job isn't quite the same as Boyd's.

A solid but unspectacular performance.

Heaton 6. Not a great deal to do
Lowton 7. Had another decent game
Mee 8. Outstanding
Keane 8. Outstanding
Ward 7. Steady and reliable as ever
Boyd 8. Ran his nuts off. Helped out the defence through out, and scored a cracker
Hendrick 7. Improvement on Saturday especially 2nd half. Marked up for making the goal
Defour 6. Played out of position. Best corner and free kick taker at the club. I know what frustrates Dyche he lack work rate
Barton 7. Big improvement he was crucial in the last 15 min his experience and composure saw the game out
Gray 7. Another good performance. His game is improving all the time now. I thought is old up play and use of the ball was terrific.
This lad is special and we will really struggle in the summer to hold on to him
Vokes 7 Played well and won loads of flick ons. Was up against to aggressive CHs

Barnes 8. He absolutely bullied the Stoke centre halfs
Brady 6. Did ok and had a hand in the goal. He really needs game time

Was Surprised when he took Gray off. But credit to Dyche it was the correct decision. Barnes was awesome and gave Stoke hell, he battered them

Don't imagine there will be much demand for the match video, but that's besides the point on these occasions.

Heaton - 7 - Largely untroubled, but solid.

Lowton - 7 - Solid enough, passed up a few opportunities to do better in attack.

Ward - 5 - had a bit of a shocker first half, troubled by Diouf in the air and on the deck, needlessly booked and perhaps a tad lucky to stay on the pitch when he slid into Diouf after he slipped (very similar to Herrera's second booking in our game at Old Trafford). Much better after the break.

Keane - 9 - His pace got us out of potential trouble on several occasions, and he did it all with effortless poise.

Mee - 9 - Not as effortless as Keane, but every bit as effective.

Barton - 5 - His use of the ball in the first half was appalling, but he improved in the second half and he always does the basics pretty well.

Hendrick - 7 - Better than on Saturday, and generally fairly steady and unremarkable, but then lit up Turf Moor with a move of real quality.

Boyd - 7 - Another for whom the ball was a hot potato in the first half, but as ever he covered the ground, and his first time finish was almost as good as Hendrick's assist.

Defour - 6 - On the periphery on the left hand side, but one corner apart he used the ball well and when he drifted into the centre and even out to the right, he knitted our football together better than anyone else.

Gray - 6 - Used his pace and power to worry their back 3 on occasions, and stretched them down the sides too.

Vokes - 5 - Largely ineffective in attack, but put himself about and helped us defensively on occasions.

Brady - 7 - Thought he looked nice and composed, took up some good positions and influenced the game. He's getting used to us and we are to him.

Barnes - 8 - Really important cameo in getting us up the park and out of harms way.


We've played far better than this during the season and come away with 1 or 0 points (Liverpool, most recently) but that really is an irrelevance. Last night was about the 3 points and we dogged it out. Stoke were the better side, certainly in the first half when they created 3 clear chances to our none, and whilst the second half was more solid and we looked much more like our usual selves, Stoke still created as much as we did. Ultimately, this was a game of fine margins - there wasn't much between this Burnley performance and Saturday's effort against Spurs, but Stoke aren't as good as Spurs and we managed to produce one move of quality which was as good as anything we've produced all season. The other difference was probably that our centre halves were at their best tonight and that provided the base on which we could produce.

If the game changed at all, it was when Brady replaced Defour. Stoke's threat all night had come from Diouf down their right, with Ward left a bit exposed by Defour and havig a rough night. But Diouf was also clearly their weak link in defence, and the space was always in behind him. Again, Defour - understandably - wasn't equipped to exploit it, but Brady coming on gave us an option down that side and it was no surprise when some link up play and a classy run down that flank created the opening for the goal.

The job isn't done yet, but we are close.

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Keane 8
Mee 8
Ward 7
Boyd 8
Barton 6
Hendrick 6
Defour 6
Vokes 6
Gray 5

Brady 6
Barnes 8
Tarks 6

I was there last night and just watched highlights. I came away from the game thinking : how the Billox did we win that, and having watched the highlights, it confirms that we were, arguably, pretty lucky. They had 6 or 7 very good situations where they could have scored : we had probably only 1 , where we scored, possibly one other. I can look at this 2 ways: (1) we were lucky, or, (2) it is down to good management/organisation/ spirit. As a more established and expensive team, I think player for player Stoke are quite a bit stronger, but we turned them over and you have got to give Dyche and the team credit for that, so maybe a dollop of both. I found Dycha's spin on the game in the interviews a bit "rich" but he seemed to believe what he was saying that we deserved the win, so who am I to contradict him.

Heaton 7
Lowton 8
Ward 7
Keane 7
Mee 9
Barton 5
Hendrick 5
Defour 6
Boyd 8
Gray 7
Vokes 4

Brady 7