Teenager's golden moment sinks Clarets

ON a night when the much talked-about '10-yard rule' was never once put to the test, referee George Cain still couldn't avoid being the centre of attention as Burnley were sunk by a 17-year-old's golden moment.

Trainee Andrew Morris rose from the bench to score his first ever senior goal 15 minutes into extra-time to immediately end Burnley's interest in the Auto Windscreens Shield.

Wigan boss John Benson described it as "Roy of the Rovers" stuff as Morris made the most of another recent innovation to take the holders through courtesy of the golden-goal which gave the Clarets no chance of a reply.

But it was the hoary old chestnut of refereeing decisions that dominated Burnley's thinking following their undeserved elimination.

The Clarets were livid that Wigan were awarded a penalty for a push by Graham Branch on Jeff Peron, which allowed Carl Bradshaw to cancel out Alan Lee's first goal for Burnley seven minutes before half-time.

And, to add insult to injury, the visitors felt extra-time should have been avoided by being given a spot-kick themselves for a trip on Andy Payton.

They certainly appeared to have a case had Cain applied the same yardstick he used when penalising Branch, who certainly bundled into Peron but in the opinion of the linesman closest to the incident had conceded only a corner.

With such penalty decisions never being reversed, Burnley must only hope now that the luck evens itself out in the next cup tie they face - away to Derby County in the FA Cup on Saturday. That always promised to be the most mouth-watering of the Clarets' back-to-back knock-out fixtures.

And Burnley's following alone at Pride Park will more than double the 2,085 hardy souls who froze to the bone at the JJB Stadium last night.

But this less illustrious tie set a tough act to follow in terms of entertainment and goalmouth activity as Burnley hit the woodwork twice and Wigan once in a feast of attacking football.

The Clarets held the upper hand for more of the game than the Second Division leaders, did more of the attacking and can count themselves hard done to in exiting another cup competition at the first stage.

But there was a silver lining to the cloud as Burnley underlined the fact that they look well equipped to sustain a challenge in the one that counts the most - the promotion race.

While the Latics swapped half-a-dozen faces from their latest win, manager Stan Ternent made four changes to the side that started last Saturday.

And the introduction of Mark Robertson, Tom Cowan and Chris Brass brought the total to seven by the end.

The extra 15 minutes allowed all but Brass, a late replacement for Paul Weller, to have an extended run-out and they all took their opportunity impressively.

Weller looked inventive before running out of steam and could be pleased with his return to the side for the first in over 15 months.

Lennie Johnrose settled into an effective ball-winning role in the centre of midfield after a slow start and Lee, bouyed by his first senior goal for the club, looked a different player from the one that has struggled to make an impact so far. Other significant contributions came from Mark Robertson, when he came on at right-back, and John Mullin in a more central role as it was confirmed that Burnley do have genuine strength in depth.

Keeping everyone involved, plus the odd bit of strengthening when possible, could remain Ternent's biggest problem.

And unfortunately there won't be another round of the Shield to rotate the squad thanks to Morris's incisive run and shot in the final minute of the first period of extra-time.

Wigan have made a habit of coming from behind in recent games and this one mirrored the League meeting between the two sides of a fortnight ago.

Johnrose had seen a shot cleared off the line before Lee stooped to head home Thomas's cross and make it 1-0.

There could have been others and apart from a Simon Haworth volley against the crossbar, Wigan had barely threatened until Bradshaw drilled home the leveller from the spot.

If anything Burnley stepped up their superiority after the break and following Lee's persistence, Payton rattled the bar.

Roy Carroll then saved from Lee before the Clarets striker headed against a post from a Branch free-kick.

Wigan finally hit back and pressed for a winner themselves with Stuart Barlow going close and Thomas heading away from underneath the bar following a corner.

But Burnley were always capable of finding a way through the Latics' defence. And Weller was denied his own fairytale story by Carroll's excellent close-range block in the final minute before Payton was upended in the box by Sharp to provide the Clarets with what they thought should have been their passage to round two.

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