BEFORE last night's match the big debate was which of his fab four strikers Stan Ternent would name against Millwall.

By the end of the match the answer was a simple one - all of them!

Having opted to return to Gareth Taylor and Dimitri Papadopoulos from the start, the Clarets boss decided that with 24 minutes left and his side a goal down he was going to fling Ian Moore and Robbie Blake into the mix.

It looked like his gamble was one four-card trick that would not pay off until three of his front men combined for the equaliser with just five minutes left on the clock.

Blake turned cleverly inside the Millwall half and burst towards the penalty area. His pass was stepped over by Papadopoulos and Moore accepted the invitation to run on goal and produce a commendably cool finish.

"As the manager you have to make decisions and fortunately that paid off for us," explained Ternent as he reflected on the removal of wide men Alan Moore and Glen Little who had struggled to make an impact.

"It was a nicely worked goal and Ian Moore was good and kept his cool. I am pleased for him because it is his first goal of the season and it came after a nice bit of passing."

The goal will not have done Moore any harm in his bid for a starting place at Valley Parade on Saturday but nor will Blake's part in the equaliser.

And Ternent, while not happy with all of his players, did have praise for the two men who started in attack, not least Papadopoulos who completed his first 90 minutes for the first team and was unlucky not to score for the third game in succession. He forced a couple of good saves from Tony Warner and was the biggest Burnley threat on the night.

"He really is a lively lad and did well again," said Ternent. "He is getting stronger but Gareth also led the line well and we just didn't get enough service to him."

And that, in simple terms, was the problem for a Burnley side that left their manager disappointed with their overall display.

The Clarets were second best in midfield where the impressive Paul Ifill was the star of the show.

Ternent may have had doubts as to who to play up front but in the middle of the park his options are far more limited, especially with Paul Weller still injured.

Tony Grant struggled to impose himself in the first half alongside Lennie Johnrose and then in partnership with Paul Cook after the break while the fact that both wide players were removed suggests Ternent was looking for more from Alan Moore and Little.

With Ifill at the heart of almost every move it was the visitors who made the better start with Christophe Kinet forcing an early save from Marlon Beresford.

So it was slightly against the run of play when Burnley grabbed the lead in the 18th minute from their third penalty in the last four games.

There looked to be little danger when Alan Moore slipped a pass towards Papadopoulos in the area and he was heading towards the relative safety of the corner flag when the muscular Stuart Nethercott bundled him over.

The Millwall skipper was furious but there seemed little doubt that he was needlessly clumsy, a feeling echoed by his manager Mark McGhee after the match.

With Blake, scorer against Derby from the spot, on the bench and Taylor having missed against Blackpool, the responsibility to score from 12 yards fell on the shoulders of Dean West. He made no mistake as he hammered the ball past Tony Warner.

Almost immediately Little saw a drive cleared from just in front of the Millwall goal line but any hope of building on the lead was lost when Millwall levelled on the half hour.

Not surprisingly Ifill was the catalyst breaking down the left but when the ball reached David Livermore in the area Grant made a great block. The problem was the ball broke to Matt Lawrence, his shot deflected back to Livermore and this time he made no mistake.

As half time approached both Kevin Davies and Gareth Taylor had great chances to give their sides the lead but the former fired wide and the latter hammered the ball into the chest of Warner.

And then the former Liverpool keeper made a great save to deny Papadopoulos and recovered brilliantly to clear Taylor's header from the follow-up.

They looked like being crucial saves when Millwall took the lead in the second half. Beresford had already produced a stunning stop to tip the dangerous Christophe Kinet's free kick onto the bar but he had no chance with Kevin Davies' first goal for Millwall. Once again Ifill caused the trouble with a run and pass that found Steve Claridge, he rolled the ball to Davies who tucked the ball into the corner of the net as the helpless Beresford scrambled along his line.

That was the cue for Ternent to show his full hand of strikers but the fact that both Blake and Moore barely got a touch for nearly 20 minutes suggested it was going to be another miserable night for the Clarets.

But Moore's strike ensured the unbeaten run would continue. But Burnley must improve before facing Bradford on Saturday.

BURNLEY 2

Scorers: West pen 18, Moore 85

MILLWALL 2

Scorers: Livermore 30, Davies 64

Attendance...11, 878