Professional Development League
Monday 27th February 2023
The phrase ‘smash and grab’ best describes this game as Burnley came from behind to win at Hull City in the Professional Development League.
With the visitors having already equalised in both halves (and against the run of play in each instance), the scoreline was locked at 2-2 when Seb Thompson found the net with a late volley to ensure the three points went back to Lancashire.
It was harsh on Hull because they were the better team who created the better openings and were good in their transitions at times (that was noticeable) but they just didn’t take enough of their several chances - many of which came about from Burnley’s tendency to mess about with the ball at the back in silly areas.
Will Jarvis was the stand-out performer on the night and grabbed a well-deserved goal to prove he’s got an end product to go with his quality.
Despite having watched plenty of PDL games this year, somehow I’d not seen Hull prior to this game - so this was an ideal opportunity to learn what they’re all about. Burnley, I know a few bits about having watched them thump Barnsley in November and their blueprint to play through the thirds was very apparent throughout.
The Tigers started really aggressively and dominated the early stages; going close a few times including an instance where the trialist at RWB nearly scored with a dipping effort from about 40 yards that had to be tipped over by a back-peddling ‘keeper.
And eventually, the pressure paid off as Hull went 1-0 up on the quarter-hour mark with a delicious through ball (didn’t see who played it, sadly, but it was one of the best passes of the night - so credit to whoever it was) that found Allahyar who’d already breached the offside trap and then retained his composure to smash the ball hard into the bottom corner. The technique and finish itself was every bit as good as the initial pass and it was a very well-crafted and well-taken goal which I’ve got a lot of respect for. Sharp, swift and ruthless play.
Allahyar looked very lively during his 45 minutes but completely out of the blue, Burnley soon grabbed an equaliser when the Clarets’ own No.11, Marcel Lewis, got in-behind the Tigers defence and unleashed a shot across David Robson that nestled in the bottom corner. Another good finish and a glimpse of what Lewis can do when he gets half-a-yard of space that he knows he can exploit with his pace.
Shocked by the leveler, it took Hull a little while to get themselves going again but went close before the break as Oliver Green’s neat lay-off was fired over by Callum Jones.
Towards the end of the first half, Will Jarvis started to come into the game much more and, having switched to the left flank after Allahyar was substituted at half-time, he looked even more menacing after the re-start.
He quickly began the danger man, showing a good touch a few times to get the ball down, and certainly wasn’t afraid to take on his man either. Although Burnley’s No.2 (Keelan Williams) just about held his own in one-v-one scenarios - worth noting for any scouts who might be reading this, Jarvis’ technique soon helped him to create a chance for Matty Jacob whose effort was deflected wide.
A few other chances also came to nothing as Harry Vaughan had an effort blocked on the line in one promising attack whilst Denis Franchi made another save to keep Burnley on level terms after they were caught playing out from the back.
But it was Jarvis who finally got the goal he deserved for his impressive efforts just shy of the hour mark to put the Tigers ahead again when he picked up a loose ball after more Burnley sloppiness, carried it a few yards to open up a shooting angle, and ruthlessly executed a bullet strike into the corner. Poor by Burnley, but very good by Hull.
With the Tigers now ahead again with half-an-hour to go - and Burnley playing some nice football in other parts of the pitch but really being very hurtful with it, it seemed probable that Hull would go on to win and they should have made it 3-1 when the Clarets yet again conceded possession in their own final third third - only this time Franhci got down low to spare the blushes of his defence and pull off an instinctive, and crucial, save from Jim Simms’ shot.
And that save proved vital… because straight down at the other end, the visitors forced a corner and from the resulting delivery, a Hull defender handled the ball at the back-post. Appeals were instant, it looked very obvious and the referee was in the perfect position and duly pointed to the spot from where Ne-Jai Tucker ignored the kids waving their arms behind the goal in an effort to distract him, and dispatched the penalty with aplomb past Robson. 2-2.
Hull’s players were no doubt feeling a bit aggrieved at themselves with their own poor finishing to only be on level terms at this point, but in the last minute of normal time came an even bigger sucker punch as Burnley pinched the three points thanks to a Seb Thompson volley which found the bottom corner, via the post.
And that was that!
In reflection, Hull will certainly want to replicate Burnley’s attacking ruthlessness in future games if they’re to secure that PDL Play-Off spot behind runaway leaders Sheffield United - and if they’d put their chances away they’d have won this game, but it was just one of those frustrating nights they’ll have to learn from.
Oliver Green (No.4) and Callum Jones (No.8) put in good shifts and were good in their respective roles, plus I can easily appreciate what Matty Jacob (No.3) is all about from watching this game, but Will Jarvis (No.7) really grabbed my attention with how he set about things.
For all of the reasons already mentioned, he was decent. There was an aggressive in his play; being forceful, direct and not afraid to run at his man in more than one instance (something which I don’t think you see enough of nowadays) and it was complimented by good link-up play and intelligence demonstrated a few times - such as the chance when Matty Jacob nearly scored. Sometimes, players can go through the motions and it can be a bit ‘blaise’ at U21s level, but his liveliness and tenacity was something I enjoyed. It appeared as though he really wanted to be there and to make a good impression and testament to his good individual showing is that he provided an end product with his goal on a night when Hull were wasteful with the opportunities they had.
If there was a ‘Man Of The Match’ award, he’d have won it. There isn’t - therefore he’ll have to make do with this write up, but it was a strong individual showing which won my respect and I’d like to think that there’s more to come from him.
Burnley deserve some credit for sticking to their principles and playing through the thirds but they ought to have been punished given the 4-5 instances where they were caught ‘over-playing’ in dangerous areas. Their players will benefit from learning how to deal with the ball under pressure and in tight pockets of space, and get better in the long-term (and the way they play as a whole is just how academy football is nowadays) although, from a personal perspective, there’s a time and place for ‘playing’ and sometimes you’ve just got to defend in a more ‘old school’ manner.
