Verdict: No need for doom and gloom after Burnley's derby disappointment against 10-men Blackburn Rovers

Scott Parker’s men were already dominant, a 10-minute spell aside, while it remained 11 men a piece. But once the odds were stacked firmly in Burnley’s favour following Blackburn’s dismissal, you fully expected them to go on and get the job done.

Of course it’s never quite as simple as that. Blackburn, it has to be said, defended well, getting men behind the ball and closing down the spaces in and around their box.

It might not have been pleasing on the eye, but they also ‘managed’ the game well during the final 20 minutes or so, taking advantage of the referee’s gullibility in awarding soft fouls. If the official lets you get away with it, you’d be a fool not to capitalise.

For Burnley though, they had more than enough time to take matters into their own hands, but they couldn’t manage it.

Encouragement

This is far from a doom and gloom tale though, far from it. After the couple of weeks Burnley have had, Parker can rightly take a lot of positives from this display.

Handing out two debuts, one to a player who signed on Thursday in Jaidon Anthony, the other Josh Laurent, whose move from Stoke City was only finalised on Friday, the Clarets didn’t exactly have ideal preparation for a game of this magnitude.

Parker made five changes from the defeat to Sunderland – and while that was most welcome, adding some much-needed depth – it’s very rare drastic such change results in a positive performance. Certainly not at such late notice, anyway.

But Burnley ultimately dominated this raucous East Lancashire affair. They fed off the crowd’s energy to make an eye-catching start (ignoring that near nightmare from James Trafford after just 15 seconds).

We saw a real glimpse of how Parker wants his side to set up, showing a real intensity both on and off the ball. Everything was done at a breathless pace and Rovers, quite simply, couldn’t deal with it. They pressed in packs and suffocated John Eustace’s men.

It took just 10 minutes for the hosts to deservedly edge their noses in front and it was some goal too.

Josh Brownhill started it off with a clever backheel to set Anthony free, but the debutant still had plenty to do to pick out Lyle Foster in the centre. The winger managed to do exactly that though and the striker did the rest, sticking it away with aplomb. Que lift off inside Turf Moor.

At this point you sensed a second and a third would soon follow, but alas it wasn’t to be.

Against the run of play

Instead, Rovers – who had barely ventured into Burnley’s half, never mind create a meaningful chance – levelled matters with a goal out of absolutely nothing.

To dish out another compliment to Blackburn (I’ll try not to make too much of a habit of this), it was some strike of Andi Weimann to pick out the top corner from all of 30 yards. Yes, the ball sat up nicely for him but he still had plenty to do to beat Trafford from that far out.

For five to 10 minutes, the Clarets were left startled and the momentum of the game totally shifted.

They were fortunate not to go 2-1 down, too, after a generous offside call saved their blushes when Tyrhys Dolan slotted home after surging through on goal (although there’s also a case that Maxime Esteve was clearly being blocked before the ball was played through).

Nevertheless, Burnley fought their way back into the game and soon took control again and really ought to have restored their lead before the interval, Foster coming closest with a glancing header that rebounded off the foot of the post.

The second-half, by comparison, wasn’t quite as frantic. Instead, the whole dynamic of the fixture changed when Makhtar Gueye was sent off in bizarre circumstances, receiving a second yellow for waving an imaginary card at referee Tony Harrington after being fouled by Esteve.

As a result, Blackburn only retreated further and allowed Burnley to have the ball. But, as Parker himself conceded afterwards, they didn’t do anywhere near enough with it. Instead, their decision-making really let them down as they resorted to hopeful potshots from long range.

Instead, it was the visitors who looked the more dangerous on the counter-attack, causing a couple of scares – particularly late on – utilising the acres of space behind Burnley’s backline. Had they conceded though, that would have been particularly harsh.

Time to knuckle down

As it was, they were forced to settle for a draw, a result which certainly suited Rovers more than it did Parker’s side.

But he also has cause for optimism. While naturally frustrated not to deliver a derby win for the Clarets faithful, he’ll have seen positive signs from large elements of the performance.

Coming off the back of deadline day, he’ll also be relieved that 1) the window is now shut and 2) he’s not got both quality and squad depth at his disposal, because it was only a few days ago that wasn’t necessarily a guarantee.

The Clarets might not storm the Championship like they threatened to do with their back-to-back wins to start the campaign, where they scored nine goals in the process, but Parker has got plenty to work with.