AFTER the feast came the famine as goal-hungry Burnley were shut-out for the first time this season.

And having gorged themselves on dozens of chances in every match, the main concern for Stan Ternent was the inablility of the Clarets players to even test Russell Hoult in the Baggies goal.

The attendance at The Hawthorns may have been 21,442 but you can add one to that total as the home goalkeeper did not have a single save to make.

It was not a pair of gloves that he needed, it was a deck chair so that he could soak up the autumn sunshine in comfort.

There was no lack of effort from the Burnley players and in truth Nik Michopoulos was not that much busier than his opposite number despite West Brom's dominance of possession.

Ternent knows that he needs to strengthen his squad for a prolonged promotion bid and there was no doubt that the creative flair of both Glen Little and Alan Moore was sorely missed.

With next Friday's Watford game being called off because of international call-ups, Ternent admitted: "It is a good time for us to have a break, although after you have lost a game you do want to get back out there and put it right."

It is now 12 days until the Clarets are back in action at the City Ground and that will give the likes of Little and Moore time to get fit and return to the fray. After a run of one point from nine their return will be welcome.

Amid the disappointment of a second defeat in three games there was one shining light, a man of the match display from French defender Arthur Gnohere.

Ternent changed his formation to 3-5-2 to mirror that fielded by Gary Megson and Gnohere revelled in his role alnogside Steve Davis and the fit again Ian Cox.

His manager was delighted with his display and said: "Arthur is doing extremely well. He is only young but he has got a big future. This was a big match for him and he did particularly well. Ian Cox tired near the end and that was why I took him off."

Only once did Gnohere get caught out by the lively Scott Dobie, losing him in the first half, although he must accept some of the collective responsibility for the goal that won the game. Slack marking from Neil Clement's free kick allowed Darren Moore and Dobie to fight amongst themselves for who should get the glory of nodding home from five yards.

Apart from that Gnohere was superb. His athleticism allowed him to cover acres across the back-line when he was virtually alone in the closing stages as Ternent again went for broke in search of an equaliser.

He has admitted that he loves to man mark and he kept close to Dobie, with a seemingly telescopic left leg repeatedly being extended to nick the ball away from danger. In addition his distribution was excellent, rarely wasting the ball and happy to keep it simple, just finding a colleague in space.

He prefers to play in the middle and did look more comfortable in that role than at left back where he still has a lot to learn. But Ternent likes his players to be adaptable and he will work to improve him in that position.

Cox made a couple of useful blocks on his return and will benefit from the outing and he can now put in a lot of work on the training ground over the next two weeks as he chases full match fitness.

The game was a great contrast to the matches this season with so few clear chances at either end and it was not hard to see why the Baggies have got the best defensive record in the division.

Strong at the back, hard-working in midfield and with Dobie and the experienced Bob Taylor up front there is little doubt that a repeat of last year's play-off position is the minimum target. Not many teams will get much joy at The Hawthorns.

But they did not create that many chances themselves, relying instead on a series of errors from Burnley to get a sight of goal.

Lee Briscoe and Cox were both guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous areas and on both occasions the Clarets area resembled a pinball table before the ball was finally cleared to safety.

And Michopoulos, who had been an injury doubt before the game, will not have thanked his team-mates for a series of back passees that tested his fitness to the full, his groin appearing to stand up to the strain.

It was all a very different tale for his opposite number. Hoult watched Taylor head the ball over the bar in the first half and was called on to cut out a couple of late crosses but it is unlikely he will have a quieter afternoon this season.

Both managers admitted that they thought a hard fought game would most likely be settled from a set play and so it proved. In Clement and former Preston player Michael Appleton, Megson believes he has two of the best delivers of balls into the box in the division so Ternent can be happy with the way the 12 corners were defended, while angry at the sloppy marking for the goal.

He will also be unhappy that when the Clarets did at last force a number of late corners both Paul Cook and Paul Weller wasted the chance to put Hoult under some rare pressure.

After the high octane excitement of recent weeks it was a return to reality for the sizeable away following. They, like Ternent, will be hoping that after a weekend off it is back to business as usual against Forest.

RESULT: WEST BROM...1

Goal: Dobie 67

BURNLEY...0

at The Hawthorns, attendance...21,442