PHOTOS: Burnley FC 5, Nott’m Forest 1

Striker Jay Rodriguez grabbed his first league goals of the campaign in the opening quarter-of-an-hour. His first came in the fifth minute when Junior Stanislas’s superb cross was headed back across goal by Charlie Austin and Rodriguez crashed the ball in with his head from close range.

The lead was then doubled as Andre Amougou moved the ball left to Stanislas and another perfect cross from the former West Ham man was guided past Lee Camp by the head of Rodriguez from inside the six yard box.

Eddie Howe’s side had taken full advantage of a Forest side devoid of any idea or invention. Manager Steve McClaren had set his stall for a point, playing a flat back five without any width.

But even when the former England boss moved to 4-4-2 the Clarets continued to dominate. The third came close to the half-hour mark when Stanislas again provided the assist from an inviting corner, and, after Amougou attempted to turn the ball in left footed, it broke for skipper Chris McCann who side-footed the ball beyond Camp at the back post.

And the home side weren’t finished there. Ross Wallace made it 4-0 on the stroke of half-time when he picked the ball up on the halfway line before driving at Forest’s back line. The winger cut inside on to his left foot, beating Joel Lynch in the process, before drilling a low shot across Camp and in to the corner from the edge of the box.

McClaren sent his players out early from the interval but they were given little time to dwell on their first half failings as they were greeted by a carnival from pupils at St Leonard’s CE Primary School in Padiham.

Forest did eventually hit a consolation just after the hour when substitute Robbie Findlay’s hopeful, lofted pass was misjudged by David Edgar and Ishmael Miller pounced on the loose ball before driving in to the penalty area and thumping the ball low past Lee Grant.

The scoring was rounded off in the 71st minute as Austin capped a sublime Clarets display with a looping header from Brian Easton’s cross which crossed the line despite the best efforts of Forest defender Wes Morgan.

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