Dyche's derby delight


Scott Arfield's second half stunner settled a game in which the hosts had the best openings, but in the end, Burnley celebrated a second-successive win over the old enemy, with Dyche still unbeaten against Rovers in five attempts.


Dyche - who was unhappy at the failure to award a first half penalty after Joey Barton went down under a challenge from Grant Hanley - said: "I mention it a lot, been flippant with my words, this is a division where you have to find different ways to win.


"Sometimes you can win it by turning up and playing very well, sometimes you fight. Sometimes a moment of quality mixed with a fight, which was today’s performance.


"Let’s make it clear, my words will probably be turned around but credit to Blackburn, they’ve come and made a real go of it and had best chance of the game, if not two but certainly one.


"In balance to that, how we didn’t get a penalty is beyond me, that’s eight now this season.


"One at Forest the other night and I couldn’t believe that, I’ve seen it back and that’s a definite penalty in my opinion.


"And if it’s not a penalty, Joey Barton gets tripped up walking away from the incident and now we all knows what happens if that’s the other way round with Joey. We want parity for him and us. "Beyond that, it’s a fantastic goal. Worthy of winning any game."


Dyche was satisfied with the first half performance, and admitted: "We played well first half, apart at the very end that when one dropped to Rhodes 20 yards out. I thought we played well, there was a calmness to our play I was really pleased with but we had not been productive as I’d hoped. "In the last seven or eight minutes we had a couple of crosses flash across the goal and Andre nicked one off the keeper.


"Second half starts a bit of a ding dong and we didn’t want it to be that. We scored a fantastic goal. "It’s hard as a manager, you want your players to play with calmness but of course their instinct to win a derby is to drop a bit, stay solid and defend it out.


"That’s not a gameplan but we had to do that today. Comes back to finding ways to win and we’ve done that again."


Rovers had the better chances, but Burnley stayed solid, with captain Tom Heaton unflustered, and Dyche felt Burnley winning against the balance of play was overdue after recent hard luck stories against Rovers: "The defending was excellent and Tom Heaton so secure, he does so many simple things so cleanly and so well and it brings a calmness.


"Over my period of these games, and you’ve seen all of them, first game, Robinson was absolutely outstanding, the second game they have a three-yard goal offside in the last two minutes and we had 10 men. The third game they get a deflected goal. The fourth game and we finally win it. There is a balance to how the luck has adapted over those games Moment of luck today with golden chance missed but we certainly found a way to win."


And he dedicated the win to the supporters: "It means so much for the people. It’s the people’s game for both sets of supporters. It’s fantastic for them. Enjoying what the club is about, they're enjoying the team and what they give. Seen them give everything today. That’s a real marker and you remember when I walked in three years ago in five days’ time, I said the only thing I can guarantee is that the players will always give everything to the cause and we’ve seen that today."

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* Blackburn Rovers 0, Burnley 1