It was blood and thunder and muck and nettles
Andre Gray’s penalty earned Burnley a 1-0 win against Blackburn Rovers at Turf Moor this afternoon, but it was an unhappy Paul Lambert who left the ground, pointing the finger at Premier League referee Mike Jones for his team’s loss, claiming that his side should have had two penalties.
“We should have been coming away from here with all three points,” Lambert said. “I thought in the Middlesbrough game (last Tuesday) we were fantastic but we raised the bar again.
“The chances, the two penalty claims were massive, we dominated the game from start to finish. In big games you’ve got to get the big calls in big moments right and I thought the referee missed two huge calls.
“Everyone in this stadium, I think if they are honest, knew Blackburn Rovers were the better side. I’ve told the players that they can go out of here with their heads held high because they were fantastic.
“We are disappointed to lose but they played a really good match, there was only one team that looked like winning.”
Sean Dyche took a more realistic look at the game. He said afterwards: “When I got here, I was told we hadn’t beaten Blackburn in 34 years or whatever. Well, we haven’t lost now since I’ve been here in six games and we’ve done the double over them.
“That means a lot in these parts. For me, it’s about the points. It’s a badge of honour, somewhat, but it doesn’t mean anything more than that. It’s another big win for the people and I am delighted for them.”
He added: “We were nowhere near our best today and we’ve won, which is a fantastic thing. Our players were bound to be a bit nervous. They knew before the game how long it had been, but we’d beaten them away and it was about can we now beat them at home?
“All that goes into the mix, and in the second half we never performed by our own standards, but in balance our framework was excellent and our will and desire were there.
“However, the outcome is everything in these games. That’s my sixth and there hasn’t been a classic, football wise, yet. It was blood and thunder and muck and nettles and we’ve come out on top again today. That’s so important because it means a lot to the people in this area.
“You have to be in it to win it and we are very rarely out of a game. The great thing about this team, and teams I have worked with here, is that even if someone gets the upper hand, we have a marvellous way of getting something from a game.
“No matter what it takes, we can find a way. We went through a spell of scoring threes, fours and five. I think we are still top goalscorers in the division, but the other side of it is if it’s not your day how do you win a game? Well we’ve shown really good signs of how to do that.
“In the second half we have dealt with constant long balls coming in the box, and I’m amazed by some of the decisions that went against us, but we defended resolutely enough to take all three points.
“Of course, tonight we will all enjoy this for different reasons. Some of the lads have friends and family up here, and some even have Burnley relatives, but tomorrow morning we will be recovering and ready to go again because we have another important one on Tuesday.”
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