Jimmy Moorhouse's verdict as Burnley drop more points after conceding a late equaliser on the road at Cardiff

"If you're reflecting very honestly, you can say that we have had better performances this season."
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It is often said that good teams find a way to win games when they aren't at their best, and for much of the second half against Cardiff City on Saturday, it seemed as if Burnley were about to do just that.

The Clarets were, perhaps understandably, rusty after three weeks without a game, with the 2-1 triumph over Bristol City feeling like a lifetime ago due to the enforced break.

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Cardiff meanwhile, were fast out of the blocks, with players no doubt keen to impress interim manager Mark Hudson in what was his first game in charge following the recent sacking of Steve Morison.

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany speaks to Cardiff's interim manager Mark Hudson

Photographer Ian Cook/CameraSport

Skybet Championship - Cardiff City v Burnley - Saturday 1st October 2022 - Cardiff City Stadium - Cardiff
 
World Copyright © 2022 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley manager Vincent Kompany speaks to Cardiff's interim manager Mark Hudson

Photographer Ian Cook/CameraSport

Skybet Championship - Cardiff City v Burnley - Saturday 1st October 2022 - Cardiff City Stadium - Cardiff
 
World Copyright © 2022 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany speaks to Cardiff's interim manager Mark Hudson Photographer Ian Cook/CameraSport Skybet Championship - Cardiff City v Burnley - Saturday 1st October 2022 - Cardiff City Stadium - Cardiff World Copyright © 2022 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

The Bluebirds had the first real chance of the game when Josh Cullen was robbed of possession in a dangerous area, with Callum Robinson dragged his shot from the edge of the area well wide of Arijanet Muric's post.

Far too many passes from the usually reliable Cullen and Josh Brownhill weren't finding their mark, and Vincent Kompany cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines, as Cardiff dominated the opening 15 minutes.

However, Burnley remained resolute, with the reliable centre-back pairing of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Charlie Taylor, heading away, blocking and clearing any attacks that Cardiff had to offer.

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Slowly but surely the Clarets grabbed hold of the game, as Kompany made two subtle tactical changes to his side.

Burnley's Nathan Tella celebrates scoring his side's first goal with team-mate Ian Maatsen 

Photographer Ian Cook/CameraSport

Skybet Championship - Cardiff City v Burnley - Saturday 1st October 2022 - Cardiff City Stadium - Cardiff
 
World Copyright © 2022 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.comBurnley's Nathan Tella celebrates scoring his side's first goal with team-mate Ian Maatsen 

Photographer Ian Cook/CameraSport

Skybet Championship - Cardiff City v Burnley - Saturday 1st October 2022 - Cardiff City Stadium - Cardiff
 
World Copyright © 2022 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - admin@camerasport.com - www.camerasport.com
Burnley's Nathan Tella celebrates scoring his side's first goal with team-mate Ian Maatsen Photographer Ian Cook/CameraSport Skybet Championship - Cardiff City v Burnley - Saturday 1st October 2022 - Cardiff City Stadium - Cardiff World Copyright © 2022 CameraSport. All rights reserved. 43 Linden Ave. Countesthorpe. Leicester. England. LE8 5PG - Tel: +44 (0) 116 277 4147 - [email protected] - www.camerasport.com

Jay Rodriguez had looked isolated in the opening 20 but he dropped significantly deeper and started to influence the game, finding Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson with a couple of beautiful switches of play.

Connor Roberts too had struggled to have any real impact but he notably moved further inside, which freed up a lot more space for Guðmundsson on the right wing.

The Clarets could have gone ahead with their only real opening of the first half, as Nathan Tella's intelligent backheel set up Cullen, but the former Anderlecht man's shot was straight into the arms of Ryan Allsop.

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Tella had looked threatening at times in the first half, making a number of good runs in behind but the Southampton loanee showed his Premier League quality early in the second half.

The 23-year-old showed a sign of things to come when he breezed past Perry Ng on the wing, with the centre-back picking up a booking after he cynically brought him down.

Cardiff couldn’t cope with Tella’s pace and the youngster would show his goalscoring instincts with 48 minutes on the clock, being in the right place at the right time to turn home Ian Maatsen’s cross.

Cédric Kipré was the next victim of the Burnley winger’s electric pace, as he too picked up a booking when he was forced to halt Tella’s marauding run.

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It was something of a surprise therefore when, with Burnley well on top, Kompany opted to replace Tella with Anass Zaroury, with Rodriguez and Guðmundsson also replaced as the Belgian boss rotated his entire front three in one swoop.

This seemed to kill any momentum that Burnley had and from that point on, it felt as if the Clarets were clinging on to the three points, rather than pushing to increase their lead.

The Bluebirds were largely limited to shots from range, so it felt as if Burnley would hold on for an important three points until Callum Robinson’s header found the net with just seconds remaining of normal time.

Kompany spoke in his post-match conference about the “crucial” nature of winning second balls but when Maatsen headed away Jack Simpson’s long ball forward, there were only Cardiff players waiting to pounce.

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The ball was worked wide and Callum Robinson was left in acres of space to head past a helpless Muric to earn Cardiff a point.

It was a cruel repeat of the recent draw against West Brom, although, given the lack of chances created by the hosts in comparison to the game at the Hawthorns, Burnley will feel rightly disappointed that they didn’t hold on.

Both Hudson and Robinson waxed lyrical about Burnley in their post-match conferences, with the former labelling the Clarets the "best team in the league" but in truth, their performance was a far cry from some of the displays from earlier in the season.

Kompany said: "If you're reflecting very honestly, you can say that we have had better performances this season. We have made it a little bit difficult for ourselves. It was always going to be a game with a little bit of an unpredictable narrative.

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“You have got a new coach coming in which creates a little bit of a lift and unpredictability in terms of tactics and everything that goes before the game.

"The international break as well with players travelling over the world and coming back, so I won't surprise you by saying that I have seen this before. Unfortunately, today it was a little bit more of a challenge for us. When you concede in the last minute of the game you will always be hurting."

Another game unbeaten for Kompany’s men but the Clarets must discover that killer instinct if they are to realise any automatic promotion ambitions this season.

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