Moore finishing like that, Ian!

ANY similarity between Ian Moore and Gianfranco Zola is purely coincidental!

The pocket-sized Italian built a career enchanting millions at the very highest level with a dazzling array of dribbling skills, flicks and tricks, while Moore has spent the last decade plugging away in the lower leagues trying to carve out a goalscoring reputation of his own.

But the boy from Birkenhead finally took a leaf out of the old master's book to come up with a cheeky little finish Zola himself would have been proud of.

"It was just a simple tap-in off the heel - a little bit like Zola though," Moore later laughed!

And who could argue? After all, it was the one flash of genuine class and intuition in an absolute stinker of a game that carried about the same mouthwatering appeal as a three-day old pizza accompanied by a corked bottle of vintage Italian red.

The glorious moment came as Burnley were still reeling from Noel Whelan's 53rd minute effort - a strike in keeping with the fare on offer all afternoon.

Seven minutes later, Luke Chadwick flung across one of the few quality crosses of the afternoon to force keeper Tony Warner to palm the ball out past his far post.

However, Delroy Facey was the right man in the right place at the right time and he instantly drilled a first time effort back across a crowded six-yard box.

The ball fizzed slightly behind Moore, who instinctively flicked out a left heel to whip the ball at a 90 degree angle past startled defender Paul Robinson and into the gaping goal. Bellisimo!

Moore must have known it was only a matter of time before his magical moment would arrive. After all, he's made a habit of taming the Lions ever since their paths first crossed while he was a teenage rookie at Tranmere over 10 years ago.

Strikes against Millwall in three of his last four games for Burnley also put him in pole position as the man to bag the breakthrough for the Clarets.

Even boss Stan Ternent had worked out the odds - quietly pulling Moore to one side in the dressing room before the game to provide a final shot of confidence by backing him to score.

So guess who was left regretting not putting a few quid on the inevitable?

Moore bemoaned: "I just wish I had a tenner on myself. Sometimes I do because I get quite a few of the first goals, but I didn't do it for some reason.

"Even the gaffer was on at me before the game telling me I would score again!"

He added: "I don't know what it is about Millwall. It's gone right from the start, on my debut, to what it is now. I've not found I have any particular lucky clubs but I just find that every time I play against Millwall I score.

"All day long the balls were being whipped across, but nothing with a bit of quality. They were just hopeful balls, so I was thankful Del finally got in a position and picked me out.

"It came at me pretty fast and I managed to adjust my feet, let it go through and caught it so well it probably looked a decent finish."

For a short while after grabbing the leveller, Burnley too looked like providing a decent finish as they went for the jugular and an unlikely victory.

But the threat eventually faded and few could argue that old pals Ternent and caretaker Millwall boss Dennis Wise deserved to end up shaking hands and sharing a glass of wine on equal terms.

The day began badly for Burnley as Paul Weller suffered a nasty looking calf injury after only four minutes. Thankfully, midfield is the one area Ternent has cover for in an otherwise threadbare squad, so Tony Grant stepped up for pretty much a full work out.

But as the sluggish Clarets struggled to find any early rhythm, they had keeper Brian Jensen to thank for keeping them in the game.

The Dane stood tall when Bob Peeters raced clear of a static Arthur Gnohere on 17 minutes, then made a magnificent low save to deny the Belgian striker again following a sweeping move down Burnley's right.

Striker partner Neil Harris, the provider of that gilt-edged chance, soon spurned another glorious opportunity by mis-kicking in front of goal from Paul Ifill's wicked low cross.

Thankfully for the Clarets, Harris crocked himself in the process and the razor-sharp hitman was forced out of the action. Unfortunately, replacement Whelan came up with the fortuitous strike seven minutes after the break to leave Ternent's troops facing an uphill battle.

Robbie Ryan hoisted a routine free kick into the Burnley box, Peeters flicked on and, as defenders stood and watched, Whelan stuck out a toe to deflect the ball away from exposed Jensen and nod into the empty net.

At that stage, little had been seen of the Burnley attack, other than a first half Chadwick snapshot comfortably dealt with by giant stopper Warner.

But out of the blue, Moore came up with his party piece to finally spark the home side into action. Robbie Blake soon lofted a delicious ball over the top for Facey, whose goalbound effort was effortlessly plucked out of the air by Warner.

Mo Camara just failed to get the ball out of his feet and create another match-winning chance, before late sub Gareth Farrelly lifted a short corner onto the roof of the net.

So, despite their first half dominance, it would have been harsh on Burnley if Kevin Braniff had beaten Jensen with a late, low effort that smacked the foot of his post.

The net result is that despite all the problems with personnel, Burnley have now lost just once in eight games.

Who needs Italian flair?