Derby day joy for Burnley striker Vokes

STRIKER Sam Vokes was delighted to ram the taunts of the Blackburn fans down their throats with his late equaliser in the East Lancashire derby.

The Wales international came off the bench to earn Burnley a point with a minute remaining of normal time - his first goal at Turf Moor since returning to the club on a permanent deal in the summer.

The 23-year-old got off the mark for the season three weeks ago with another header at Ipswich, but his effort on Sunday meant significantly more in front of a virtual full house.

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Vokes and his fellow substitutes had been on the receiving end of some stick from the away support as they warmed up, and he said: “It’s fantastic.

“Going down towards the other end warming up, towards the Blackburn fans, I was getting a bit of abuse, but that’s what it’s all about.

“It was a fantastic atmosphere and a good spectacle.

“I’ve played in a couple of derbies but this was another fantastic one.

“It was a great derby and a great fiery atmosphere.

“These are the games you want to play in and to come away with something is great because I think we really deserved it.”

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The former Bournemouth and Wolves man had only been on the pitch three minutes, but climbed highest to guide fellow substitute Junior Stanislas’ free kick past Paul Robinson, cancelling out Jordan Rhodes’ opener.

Vokes believes it was the least Burnley deserved on a day when they completely dominated the first half, and had the better chances throughout: “It’s great to get off the bench and get the equaliser because I thought we played well and deserved it in the end.

“We were a strong side, especially in the first half.

“They came back and got the goal in the second half but I think late on we showed with the pressure that we deserved the goal.”

The goal might not have come about had referee Lee Mason not blown his whistle for a foul on Stanislas, rather than play advantage after the winger broke clear of Adam Henley, and Vokes smiled: “At the time I thought he would have played on because Junior was attacking goal, but we’ll take the free kick now!”

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And on his goal, he added: “It was just instinct. It was a great ball in from Junior, on the button as he always is, and it was good to get a flick on it.

“I had a chance straight after, and it would have been a nice brace, but it was good to get the goal and help the lads by chipping in.

“We started to put a bit of pressure on the game so it was good to get the goal.

• WITH Movember over, it’s time to focus on Dychember!

Burnley are planning a special day to formally welcome new manager Sean Dyche to Turf Moor when the Clarets take on former club Watford on Saturday, December 15th.

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And they have laid on a special ‘Dychember’ ticket promotion for supporters – just in time for Christmas,

For this game, all home tickets will be priced as follows: £10 - Adults, £5 - Seniors/16-18/Students, £1 - Under 16s.

There are four ways to grab your Dychember deal.

Buy online, call 0871 221 1914 (option 1), pop into the Turf Moor Ticket Office or pop into the Clarets Store on Charter Walk.

• The Burnley Express has launched a FREE football app which is now available to download on iPhone and Android devices.