Burnley (U21s) 3-0 Barnsley (U21s)

Burnley (U21s) 3-0 Barnsley (U21s)

Premier League Professional Development League

Monday 14th November 2022

As the scoreline suggests, this was a pretty straightforward and comfortable win for Burnley over Barnsley in the Professional Development League.

The Clarets were easily the better team and dominated most of the game. Goals by Mike Mellon and Owen Dodgson saw them open up a two-goal cushion by half-time, before the notorious A.Trialist (always a regular at this level) fired home a third, via a deflection, late on.

This was my first time watching Burnley’s U21s this season and I was certainly impressed by the confident style in which they played. They retained the ball really well for prolonged some periods, put some excellent moves together, the speed at which they transitioned from defence to attack on multiple occasions was good, they exploited space (especially on their left flank in the first half which led to Barnsley's Alex Anaman being substituted at the break) yet probably the most impressive in the Clarets' performance was their work-rate to win the ball back when they didn't have it.

They certainly gave a good account of themselves, the hours and work put in on the training ground was evident in some of their play, and their quality was blindingly obvious.

My last visit to Turf Moor was in May 2016 on the day Burnley beat QPR to win promotion to the Premier League. It was 1-0 on that occasion and it could have been 1-0 within the first 20 seconds or so of this game as Mellon saw an effort saved by Barnsley 'keeper Jamie Searle.

Although Barnsley pressed well in response over the next few minutes with the Clarets being forced to retain the ball in tight and dangerous pockets of space inside their own penalty box on a few occasions and Fabio Jalo having a shot saved, Burnley gradually began to step things up at the other end and their pressure almost culminated in an opener when Marcel Lewis teased Anaman with some fancy footwork to weave his way inside and open up an angle where he flashed a cross into the six-yard which ricocheted off Dara Costelloe and into Searle's grasp.

Lewis certainly made his presence felt on that flank and another good cross just a few minutes later was cleared by Amir Ariely, before another was claimed by Searle, but the Barnsley 'keeper was eventually beaten on the half-hour mark when some excellent build-up led to a hooked up cross from the inside-left which was flicked home by Mellon.

Confident and in command, Mellon should have added a second for Burnley on 39 minutes when he blazed a volley over the upright following some excellent skill down the inside-left channel by Seb Thompson, but it didn't matter too much because the Clarets made it 2-0 in their next attack with Dodgson applying the finishing touch after yet more subtle, piercing and precise build-up play involving several players which was a pleasure to witness.

Burnley's win could have been much more emphatic and they continued to look bright, dominant and lively throughout the second half as they created numerous openings.

Will Hugill and Joe Bauress linked up in another move which nearly put Costelloe through and he'd have finished had it not been for a last-ditch interception. From the resulting corner he headed over, before Lewis and Thompson skewed efforts narrowly wide as the pressure intensified.

Dodgson also flashed a ball across the box with around a quarter-of-an-hour remaining and more good play in effective areas by Burnley around the Barnsley penalty area resulted in Searle having to palm behind a low drive by Thompson which bounced up en route to goal.

Mellon was then thwarted in a one-on-one scenario when Searle stuck out a leg to deny him and although Jalo then had an effort for Barnsley up at the other end, the result became a foregone conclusion in the last minute of normal time when A.Trialist found the net with a deflected shot to wrap up the points.

There can be no complaints about the outcome because Burnley were really good, by far superior and very impressive for all the reasons already mentioned.

Amongst their best performers were Mike Mellon (son of Micky Mellon) who read situations well to break between the lines on a few occasions and he'll know he should have scored more goals with the three or four good chances he had. His talent was evident. Marcel Lewis (No.11) hogged the left touchline excellently in the first half - even when play was on the opposite flank and was really intelligent with his skill. Lewis' positioning and movement caused Anaman so many problems as he had a tendency to drift inside; thus creating space and when Lewis got on the ball his contribution was excellent. Both of Burnley's wing-backs were good; Owen Dodgson showed a tenacious streak, scored one goal and whipped a ball across the face of goal late on (unlucky) and made a very good impression, whereas Will Hugill was good with his distribution and stood out in a similar positive way. They're both still young but neither look as though they'll have any problems when it comes to making the transition into mens football; such was the maturity in their respective performances. Seb Thompson was also lively ahead of him and made some good contributions over the course of the 90 minutes.

Although Barnsley didn't properly lay a glove on Burnley, bar a few bits of high-pressing and notable work-rate, the Clarets also had a good defender in Jack Turner. He sometimes dropped a little bit deeper than his centre-back partners but his reading of the game was excellent, his passing was strong, his towering height made him visibly stand out and, having stepped up from non-league in the summer to earn a deal at Turf Moor (already checked that out), he certainly has something decent about him.

From a Barnsley perspective, they didn't do enough to win the game. They had a few shots, got the ball into some good areas at times but Burnley were by far the better team.

Individually, Fabio Jalo was lively and was involved in a funny incident in the second half when he went chest-to-chest with an opposition defender (No.6) who was about a foot taller than him and it required the referee to sort it out. Jack Butterfill worked hard and was relentless with his effort levels but both the service to him and the end product just wasn't there for a multitude of reasons - and he can take comfort in his performance, whilst Harrison Nejman was just about Barnsley's other best player. He got behind the ball when he was out of possession, competed well and his short-passing was precise on the whole. Much more was needed to effect the game in an attacking sense but Harrison's performance and his contribution highlighted the fact he's learning, improving and I can see the development in him compared to a few months ago and that's a sign which bodes well for the future.

I feel a bit of sympathy for Alex Anaman because he's still an U18s player and was up against a quality opponent in Marcel Lewis and he was left exposed on various occasions when others in Barnsley shirts could have played their part in helping him out a bit more. However, it's a learning curve, he'll get better from these experiences and he shouldn't feel too disheartened because Burnley are just a quality team whose quality shone through.

Hearts B 2-1 Gretna

Hearts B 2-1 Gretna

Lowland League

Saturday 12th November 2022

Having not been able to watch these Hearts B Team boys since early in the season, it was brilliant to see how much progression they’ve made since then and watch them earn this deserved win over Gretna.

Stylish in victory when they battered Edinburgh University last time out, these three points were earned through showing very different characteristics. The Jambos bagged twice early on to open up a lead, then conceded from a controversial free-kick shortly before half-time, but showed grit, guile and character thereafter as they battled well in a scrappy second half to make sure it was another ‘Happy Saturday’ with three points to show for their efforts!

Adam Forrester was the unlikely goalscoring hero as he got both the goals with Murray Thomas claiming the assist on each occasion thanks to two quality set-piece deliveries.

Gretna’s manager is Michael McIndoe; a figure notorious throughout football for all the wrong reasons. In his playing days at Coventry City, he once turned up to training carrying a briefcase which inside it he claimed were ‘important documents’ yet when his team-mates forced it open out of curiosity, all they found was a pencil and a calculator… awkward!

And that's a genuinely true story as this very recent article in The Athletic explains.

Anyway, it sums up the bloke (pun intended) and you’d have been forgiven for thinking he’d planned Gretna’s set-piece defending on a calculator considering how haphazard their marking was for Forrester’s first goal on 12 minutes. The quality of Thomas' floated ball towards the back stick can’t be understated but nobody in a black and white shirt properly tracked his run and he was easily able to slot home from just a few yards out.

It was 2+2=5 defending and McIndoe definitely wasn’t happy about it. However, things got worse for his team just 10 minutes later when another quality set-piece by Thomas saw the ball drop inside the six-yard box to Forrester who was able to bundle it home again for 2-0. 

If only Mr McIndoe had a rubber to erase that type of defending!

At this point, Hearts were looking good; dominating territory, enjoying more possession and really frustrating Gretna whose afternoon got worse when Conor Duffy landed awkwardly and appeared to have dislocated his shoulder. He left the pitch in agony with his arm in a makeshift sling and was replaced by Kieran Moyles.

Nevertheless, games can sometimes turn in an instant and that’s pretty much what happened next thanks to some controversial refereeing which helped Gretna pull a goal back out of nowhere.

Harry Stone came off his line and caught a ball on the edge of his box under very little pressure. The linesman (in line with the incident) kept his flag down whereas the referee (some 20 yards behind it) decided Stone had handled the ball outside the box and duly booked the ‘keeper! Good consistency as usual from the officials!

Nobody was happy and low and behold, after quite a few protests and the referee being told he was pish (an accurate description in my opinion), Aidan Munro's resulting free-kick ended up flying low and into the back of the net.

Furious and unhappy, the boys were rattled and it seemed for a few minutes afterwards that they might lose their composure and quickly relinquish what they’d built up. The intensity was already decent anyway but thanks to that decision by the referee, things suddenly felt a lot more feisty - and that continued into the second period where Hearts still had more possession but the game as a whole was much more scrappy.

Gretna had some sporadic shots as they sought an equaliser. Stone held a low and on-target attempt before another Gretna player shanked a shot so horribly wide that if ‘Daft Dave’ from the local boozer had tried his luck after downing a dozen pints, he’d have probably hit the ball closer to the target.

Aided by ‘Naisy’ on the touchline who really encouraged the lads to keep the ball and keep it well, Hearts had three or four lengthy spells of possession in Gretna's half where they moved it about for a good minute or two. Aidan Denholm was particularly bright in these spells; showing quality on the ball to help it around and resilience too, because he was kicked and certainly targeted a few times by Gretna players who wanted to stop his influence.

The lads weren’t able to open up the visitors through the middle but caused various problems from wide areas. Thomas twice cut inside and saw curling efforts parried away within the space of a minute and he also whistled a free-kick just over the upright after Denholm was brought down after a weaving run. Another set-piece delivery by Thomas also had a touch too much height on it when Forrester and others were at the back-post in good positions.

In the last 10 minutes, Gretna really went for it - leaving three players on the halfway line when they defended set-plays in the hope of a quick counter-attack, but when they did get the ball forward, it was often long and over the top, and they couldn’t breach the Hearts backline. 

Stone caught everything that came into his box, big Arron Darge was excellent in the air and ferocious in the tackle and put in a proper captain’s contribution as he defended well, whilst Luke Rathie’s no-nonsense ‘Boot it hard and boot it long’ style helped alleviate a lot of pressure.

Kirk was twice denied on the break as Hearts went close to a third goal and, after four minutes of injury-time, the screams of ‘YESSSSSSS’ and noise coming from the dressing room afterwards showed what it meant to the lads.

After quite a few games where they’ve either lost a lead or dropped points in the latter stages (Broomhill, Gala Fairydean and Rangers B are three which spring to mind), this one felt good. The grit, the endeavour, the ‘rolling up of the sleeves’ to dig in and get the points was evident in abundance. There was character. There was a tenacity. There was a resilience. It was aggressive at times. They dealt with Gretna's physicality really well and it shows the boys are learning the ropes and improving. Earning the win - a result to prove that progress is being made - is a reward for all that development.

Aidan Denholm’s laughing straight in the face of a Gretna player who was trying to target him followed by a ‘cheeky wink’ a few minutes later, holding the ball up by the corner flag, stifling things plus all his quality on the ball (because he was good in possession and battled really well) were brilliant contributions. He was excellent throughout and as I said to him at full-time, ‘You’re a shit-house but you’re a lovely shit-house’ and it felt worth the 500-mile round trip just to see his performance because his infectious energy, his personality, his character, his leadership in the middle are all fantastic qualities and they helped so much in this game.

You could tell he was enjoying himself (and all the dark arts stuff), because he had a big beaming smile on his face in the latter stages when victory was getting tantalisingly close. I love all that and I’ve got a lot of time for it! Legend!

Although he got a dead leg in the first half, Callum Sandilands’ gamesmanship late on was good too. I was nearly laughing because I don’t know how he didn’t get booked for a deliberate foul midway through the second half but the yellow card he did get in the latter stages (and kicking the ball away again) was a superb contribution as it stopped a quick free-kick being taken and bought a few seconds to organise. I don’t mind those bookings whatsoever and it's excellent game-management which so many young players don't always do.

Offensively, he had a quiet game by his standards but he’s got nothing to prove to me and his hat-trick last Saturday (which he was probably dreaming about during the team photograph back in the summer) proves what he can do. What a lad!

I do feel a bit sorry for Kenzi Nair though because, unlike Sandilands, he came on and was booked straight away for his first offence which, considering the referee let similar things go, it just makes my mind boggle at the inconsistency.

A strong contender for a ‘Man Of The Match’ award in a strong team display was Murray Thomas.

The quality of his set-piece deliveries were excellent, he took up some great positions during open play in spells of possession and was a proper nuisance for the Gretna defence with his quality at times. The only thing he didn’t do was score because he had three or four decent chances - the best of them being a header at 0-0 which he’ll know himself he could have done more with. He looked raw and enthusiastic at the start of the season; in this game it was evident to see his development/progress and when he reflects on this year as a whole (a little mention for his goal at Hampden Park), there’s lots of good takeaway memories and he’s only going to become a better player with the more minutes he has on the pitch.

Elsewhere, Mac Tait put in a shift, competed well, and gave a good account of himself with his tenacious qualities. At set-plays, he put himself in some really exploitative positions where he could have hurt Gretna. It was good to watch. Callum Hambrook attacked really well at different points, posed a threat - especially in the first half, and produced a lovely bit of footwork with a lovely pirouette to spin between two Gretna players and keep the ball. His technique and trickery at times was notable and Harry Gordon was excellent in midfield during spells of possession where he battled and completed passes. Makenzie Kirk also got on the ball quite a bit in the second half, always offered an outlet, was flagged offside in ridiculous fashion in one instance - although the referee brought it back for a free-kick, and he could have scored twice in the dying minutes when he was denied by the Gretna ‘keeper.

A special mention again for the defence again; Harry Stone who commanded his box superbly, claimed about half a dozen crosses with perfection in the second half, and was exactly what you’d want from a ‘keeper. Plus Arron Darge (a well-read diving header to stop a cross just before half-time - that was good too), Luke Rathie (absolutely no-nonsense and lovely to watch late on with how he defended like a proper old-fashioned unit).

And lastly, Adam Forrester, who played at right-back but will be buzzing to be the match-winner with two goals which will do his confidence levels the world of good. He also put in a solid shift and the fact he scored twice just epitomises the threat he carries in attacking situations.

The final word has to go to whichever Gretna player shouted: ‘They’re just a bunch of kids. They’ll crumble’ after Forrester's first goal of the afternoon.

All I can say in response is that by my calculations (and not from Mr McIndoe’s infamous calculator either) the kids didn’t crumble, son, they got three points and they’re very happy with them!

P.S: If anyone wants to see the goals I managed to record all three and they're on my Twitter (link here) and it'll probably be the only time I manage to do it this season!

Team: Harry Stone, Arron Darge, Mac Tait, Aidan Denholm, Mak Kirk, Murray Thomas, Harry Gordon, Adam Forrester, Callum Hambrook (Kenzi Nair), Luke Rathie, Callum Sandilands. Unused Subs: Liam McFarlane, Ryan Duncan, Gregor Crookston, Rocco Friel.