Clarets given the blues by Hughes

SOME things you just can't explain.

And alongside quantum physics, the theory of relativity and Ivan Campo's hairstyle, you can now place the First Division table.

How else do you possibly explain the logic of a one-dimensional, kick-and-rush side like Reading lying one tantalising point off a play-off place, while Burnley still nervously glance over their shoulders at the relegation zone?

It's enough to make your hair curl - badly!

The Clarets were the talk of the press room moments after James Harper had struck deep into stoppage time to earn the Royals a wholly undeserved point after goals from Ian Moore and David May looked to have won all three.

Southern counterparts scratched their heads at how Stan Ternent's men failed to win a contest they had controlled from start to finish.

Hardened northern hacks reminded them Burnley never do things the easy way.

All the hard work appeared to have been done. After falling behind to a goal that will surely resurface on some second-rate bloopers video next Christmas, Burnley recovered and got on with the task they had started - ruling the Royals.

In injury time, the job appeared complete. Moore and May gave the scoreline a more realistic slant, despite a noticeable absence of genuine goalmouth activity in either box all night long.

Possession wise, it had been no contest as the side 11 points and eight places below Reading in the table dished up proof that statistics often taint reality.

Burnley looked up for the fight from the opening moments, pinging the ball around and heeding manager Stan Ternent's warning of improving their ball retention.

Robbie Blake was free of the shackles that have seen him play a slightly more withdrawn role in recent away games, operating up alongside the lively Moore in a statement of intent.

And after chipping away at Reading for the opening 10 minutes, the first chance of the contest fell to the Clarets top scorer following a lightning break upfield.

Paul Weller's clearing header found Moore in midfield and the striker in turn fed Blake, who teased right back Graeme Murty but could not find an angled drive powerful enough to beat Marcus Hahnemann at his near post.

Disaster though, first reared its ugly head in the 19th minute following a hopeful punt upfield by Ivar Ingimarsson. Mo Camara raced back, Brian Jensen needlessly rushed from his goal and it was patently obvious that communication between the two was non-existent.

Camara really should have seen the great big Dane in bright orange bearing down on him, but inexplicably he headed a bouncing ball over his own keeper's head 35 yards from goal to leave Lloyd Owusu the laughable task of walking the ball into an empty net.

The flip side of the coin may be that had Jensen stayed at home, all danger would have been easily averted - but the bottom line was a shambolic goal reminiscent of the desperate defending seen earlier in the campaign.

For a few minutes tails were down and Burnley almost conceded a second as Ingimarsson's header was cleared off the line by Glen Little.

But within four minutes, heads were up as Camara atoned for his part in the comic-cut opener, sliding a ball down the left wing for Moore to race in behind Ingimarsson and slide the equaliser under Hahnemann from the corner of the six-yard box.

That 12th goal of the season was a fitting reward for Moore, who has covered more miles than Judith Chalmers in recent weeks and is probably still having nightmares over his costly miss in the FA Cup defeat at Millwall 10 days ago.

Now the Clarets regrouped and recovered their composure. Even Lee Roche found himself advancing into enemy territory, and perhaps should have done better when Grant found him overlapping with a peach of a pass.

The right back cut back inside the area, but failed to pick out Blake with a weak cross that Hahnemann smothered easily.

After the restart, Burnley were again the better of the two sides and Little and Blake soon combined well twice to carve out opportunities for each other that were both wasted.

However, Shaun Goater, so often Burnley's nemesis in recent meetings, served notice he was lurking for his seventh goal in eight games soon after, heading Murty's sweet right wing cross just wide.

Back came Burnley though and in the 68th minute, they got their reward for all that earlier endeavour.

Blake's corner was only half cleared to the left wing, where Bradley Orr, on at half time for the injured Richard Chaplow, dispatched a low cross back into the mix.

The ball whipped up off a Reading boot and May, still goal-hanging following the flag kick, nonchalantly side-footed home his second goal in as many games from close range.

Blake almost made the game safe seven minutes form time with a trademark free kick that Hahnemann held well diving across his goal.

But such forays upfield were now taking second place to running down the clock as the visitors held a winning hand.

All Reading could offer was the hopeful punt into the Burnley box, praying something dropped for strikers starved of quality service.

They almost struck lucky in the 90th minute as Owusu got a lucky break and rattled the Burnley bar with a rising drive that brought back memories of Ipswich's last-gasp chance at the weekend.

This time though, there was no similar reprieve as, three minutes into the four added on for stoppages, Harper found the freedom of the box to keep Reading in the play-off hunt.

Like I said, some things you just can't explain!