Verdict: Burnley rediscover their strong jaw with hard-earned win over promotion rivals Leeds United
Sean Dyche often highlighted Burnley’s “strong jaw” when they delivered a backs-against-the-wall performance to eek out a hard-earned win.
It’s fair to say we didn’t witness much of that during last season’s miserable campaign in the Premier League. While the level of opposition doesn’t always allow it, the Clarets were often their own worst enemy.
But on the evidence of Saturday’s resilient, rearguard display at Elland Road, whisper it quietly but Burnley might just have their strong jaw back.
Scott Parker is the first to admit his Burnley side aren’t where he wants them to be in terms of progressive, free flowing football. But given the turnover of players and the hectic final few weeks of the transfer window, that was always going to be the case.
But in the meantime, being thrown into the deep end with an opening weekend trip to Luton, a challenging away day against early pacesetters Sunderland, a fierce derby in the first month of the season and a clash against their main promotion rivals in front of a hostile Elland Road crowd, in taking 10 points from their opening five games, Burnley haven’t done too badly at all. And that’s an understatement.
New beginnings
What is perhaps more exciting though is that there’s still a lot more to come. This is essentially a new team.
Against Leeds, seven of the starters were signed this summer. The international break was almost akin to a mini pre-season for Parker to get his ideas across to his new troops.
Parker again showed he’s willing to be pragmatic to grind out a result, he’s willing to adapt depending on the opposition.
Leeds under Daniel Farke are possession-heavy and want the ball. They’ve averaged just shy of 60 per cent possession during their first five games, no other side in the division has averaged more (Burnley, by comparison, are sixth in the possession table with 55 per cent).
The main difference between the two sides though, is that Farke has been at Elland Road for 14 months now and has a far more settled side than Parker. His ideas and style of play is already set in stone.
There was no need for the Clarets to go toe-to-toe with the Whites, so instead they looked to sit back, soak up pressure and hit them on the counter.
While it brought about mixed results, especially in the first-half, the Clarets ended the game with a clean sheet while their winner, a sublime solo run and finish from Luca Koleosho, came via a lightning-quick break. In that regard, job done.
As always though, there’s a bit more to it than that. Leeds did look threatening during the opening 45 minutes, working the ball in-between the lines and forcing overloads far too often for Burnley’s liking.
Parker’s side also had to ride their luck no sooner than the opening minute of the game when Mateo Joseph inexplicably failed to even hit the target when he ran through one-on-one with James Trafford after last man Maxime Esteve had been dispossessed on the halfway line.
Earning the plaudits
Trafford was comfortably Burnley’s standout performer with a real coming-of-age display. We all know he can make saves, eye-catching ones too, and we saw evidence of that on Saturday with no fewer than three.
But the difference between this iteration of Trafford, compared to the understandably inexperienced and sometimes overawed stopper we witnessed in the Premier League last season, was the confident nature in which he raced off his line to claim a dangerous and threatening ball into the Burnley box during the final seconds of the game.
As soon as the cross came in, you could just tell Trafford was going to make the catch. Last season he was outmuscled and flapped at far too many deliveries. As many suspected, this season in the Championship, having been forced into the limelight in the top flight far too soon, will do him the world of good.
Game plan
It’s unfair to characterise this game as a completely one-sided affair. It was in terms of possession, but as we all know that doesn’t always tell the full story. Burnley created a couple of other good openings, namely Jaidon Anthony seeing a close-range shot blocked following some well-worked build-up play and Joe Worrall heading over unmarked from a corner.
The hosts created more in the first-half, and were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty when Worrall brought down Manor Solomon after getting the wrong side of the former Spurs man inside the box. But in the second-half they completely nullified Leeds, who soon ran out of ideas.
In terms of executing a game plan, especially away from home in a fixture of this nature, it doesn’t get much better.
It’s still early days, we’re only five games into a 46-game season. But there’s no doubt this was a big win, landing an early blow to the side most anticipated – before a ball was kicked, I hasten to add – to rival Burnley for the league title.
On a final note, and disregarding the result for a moment, how enjoyable was this game, compared to the dull, predictable affairs of last season?
It was a full-blooded encounter full of intensity and emotion, played in front of a raucous crowd in both the home and away sections.
When you add in Hannibal’s superb ‘housery’, which perhaps needs to be restrained a tad before the inevitable red card comes his way, this was a top, top away day.