Dan Black's derby verdict: Ashley Barnes — put some respect on his name!

The big names for the big occasions, and they don't get much bigger than the East Lancashire derby.

Say what you want about Ashley Barnes's form this season — good, bad or indifferent — but the Burnley striker has done enough over the years to warrant respect.

It's been a challenging and tumultuous spell for the long-serving 33-year-old, who had netted just once in 40 league appearances prior to Remembrance Sunday, but that 18-month stretch doesn't define his legacy at Turf Moor.

His opening goal against Wigan Athletic that sealed promotion back to the Premier League in 2014 is the first of many hallmarks which carpet the former Brighton man's entry to the club's hall of fame.

Barnes, whose transfer would become a feather in the cap of ex-boss Sean Dyche, would enhance his claims to stand alongside Burnley's pantheon of greats when converting against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park to shift his side closer to Premier League safety in 2017.

The veteran forward's finish at home to Stoke City the following season saw the Clarets climb to fourth in the top flight, he scored against Aberdeen in the Europa League in 2018 and he beat Alisson from the spot to end Liverpool's 68-game unbeaten run at Anfield in the PL.

The club's second highest scorer in the Premier League, behind Chris Wood, has also found the net at Old Trafford, the Etihad, White Hart Lane, the Emirates and Stamford Bridge throughout a prolific career, and now he's saved the best 'til last.

If the ex-Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United goalscorer wasn't guaranteed immortality in these parts beforehand, he certainly will be now after sticking it to the not-so-noisy neighbours.

Barnes's brace against Blackburn Rovers not only sent Vincent Kompany's side clear at the top of the Championship heading into the break for the World Cup, it also secured Burnley's biggest margin of victory against their arch rivals in more than 57 years.

Coincidently, that 4-1 victory at Ewood Park in February 1965 was also the last time a Burnley player had scored a double in the derby, with Willie Irvine's pair adding to Brian O'Neil and Alex Elder strikes.

"I like these stories," said Kompany. "Every day of pre-season I spent my time talking about the squad. We do spend a lot of time on players who are not necessarily getting a chance and when it happens like this it hits home for everyone.

"You have to be patient sometimes, keep your standards high and consider yourself part of the team. You get your moments and sometimes it doesn't work and Barnesy has had a few chances and today was his day and he has chosen it well."

The name of Rovers' latest conqueror was ushered alongside players of such ilk just 10 minutes into the second half when he got on the end of Anass Zaroury's high-class delivery to guide the ball and, subsequently, goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, into the back of the net.

The 30-year-old Belgian stopper denied the frontman in the seconds leading to Zaroury's sixth goal of the campaign in all competitions, but there was nothing he could do to keep out his well-taken finish nine minutes from time.

Kompany continued: "There is no age to learn, you can always learn. I have been in this position in my career and the only thing I can relate to are those moments when you are a little bit in the shadows; if your habits drop, your standards drop and then you would never be able to do what he did today because your chance would come and go.

"If you hang in there and stay level mentally and emotionally then when you get the opportunity you can prove you deserve to play and he has done that today."

The hosts, who are now eight games and 13 years unbeaten in this meeting, and have won four derbies on the bounce without conceding for the first time since 1899, dominated possession and territory in the first half, but were unable to find a way through a well-organised rearguard.

Kaminski made two smart saves to deny a couple of Barnes headers from a couple of Josh Cullen assists, though while his first mirrored his excellence this term, the second was more for the cameras.

Kompany suggested that his players' hearts couldn't carry them against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, as their legs and minds toiled, but there were no such concerns when faced with Jon Dahl Tomasson's team.

The visitors were limited to one shot on target, a season low across all sides in the division, which came early in the second half when Jordan Beyer's misplaced header was collected by Jake Garrett, the forward switched play to Hapton lad Ben Brereton Diaz, who was denied by Arijanet Muric at his near post.

A timely last ditch challenge from Callum Brittain to deny Cullen from close range then set pulses racing while Dominic Hyam's attempt to intimidate Zaroury backfired as his bullish behaviour, which resulted in Burnley's summer signing colliding with the hoardings, only served to fire up the Belgium Under 21 international.

When he supplied the cross for Barnes to head home in the 55th minute, it was essentially job done. Rovers didn't carry a threat and six touches in the box, compared to their opponents' 27, is a damning indictment of their ineffectiveness.

Zaroury gave the scoreline a more fitting complexion, which was reflective of the fixture's imbalance, tapping home from close range when Barnes's volley was repelled, after the Clarets had smothered the away side and forced the error.

It was two fingers up to their nemesis, though Nathan Tella was soon brandishing three to Hyam. It was the substitute's 'off the back' pass, when channelling his inner Ronaldo, that led to the nail in their rivals' coffin.

Brownhill did well to slip alongside his marker and pick out Barnes from the right hand side, leaving the striker to take care of the rest, bagging his first brace since a 3-0 win over Southampton in August 2018.

Kompany concluded: "It's one thing to do well, but it's another thing to do well in these types of games. I've been involved in many of these encounters and you can't really predict how they go.

"They can go in all different directions, like finals a little bit. What they've done today is something they can grow with and it should give them confidence."

He continued: "We just prepared like it was any other game. It's a special game, but it's for the fans. Craig Bellamy said to the players before the game, 'every game is a derby for us'.

"We don't overthink it or raise our standards because we have derbies, we play every game that way, and that's got to stay. That lived on the pitch today so I'm happy with that."

Carl Foggarty, Dr Who [Matt Smith], Lee Mack, Jack Straw, Phil Jones, Tim Farron, Chris Sutton, David Dunn. Your boys took one hell of a beating!