Lawrie load of trouble

ADAMS Park, that graveyard of Burnley dreams, took on yet more nightmare proportions for the Clarets as they had two men sent off while extending their losing record on the ground to four matches.

This latest defeat was compounded, and contributed to, by the dismissal of recent signing Lenny Johnrose.

His 25th-minute red card for a two-footed tackle on Jason Kavanagh left Burnley with a mountain to climb.

They looked capable of at least scaling sufficient heights to secure a draw before a disastrous 60-second spell early in the second half saw Wycombe score twice to settle the contest.

And things went from bad to worse for Stan Ternent's men when Peter Swan was stretchered off.

Then Ally Pickering was ordered off for a second bookable offence two minutes from time.

Referee Brian Coddington therefore found himself at the centre of controversy.

Burnley's post-match claim that the Sheffield official had shown a lack of consistency in not sending off Nicky Mohan for a crude challenge on substitute Brad Maylett carried some weight.

But while a second red card might have brought some justice, it may have come too late to alter the course of the game.

Johnrose's dismissal, however, left Burnley to play for over an hour with 10 men against a side desperate for a win to bolster their survival hopes. Burnley boss Ternent argued later that his challenge was a yellow card offence.

And certainly the actions of Wycombe manager Lawrie Sanchez and his staff left a lot to be desired.

They overstepped the mark in making their feelings known to Coddington and seemingly trying to influence his decision as the incident triggered off some touchline argy-bargy.

But as soon as Johnrose jumped in with both feet and failed to win the ball he was walking on thin ice.

Thankfully for Kavanagh the contact was minimal.

And while the Clarets midfielder might have got away with it another day, Coddington's decision to deem the challenge serious enough for a dismissal was not an outrageous one.

Pickering could count himself more unfortunate.

The right-back made only a couple of fouls in an impressive second half.

But, as each were bookable offences, he also had to go.

And that will leave Burnley without two key players for the game at Wigan in a fortnight when they will be searching for points to avoid getting sucked into the relegation dog-fight.

Johnrose's departure led to an inevitable re-shuffle with Gordon Armstrong pushed forward from his sweeper's role back into midfield and Andy Payton left to hover between midfield and attack.

However, Andy Cooke was also given support up front by Graham Branch who looked lively early on and caused Wycombe plenty of problems with his direct running.

Wycombe, joint bottom of the table and told by their manager that this was a "must win" game, preferred a more aerial route into the penalty area.

Occasionally the home side worked the ball well to the flanks but they also relied on a more basic front-to-back delivery from Jason Cousins with Keith Scott the target.

Burnley keeper Paul Crichton was uncertain at times under the high ball but, with Brian Reid having been passed fit and giving as good as he got in a running battle with Scott, the Clarets weren't unduly bothered. Wycombe's only real chance fell to Mohan but he volleyed wide before the half-time interval, which was marred by a section of visiting fans who tried to get at Sanchez and his assistant Terry Gibson as they went down the tunnel.

Ternent calmed the situation in his role as peacemaker and his outside expression never betrayed the emotion he was presumably feeling inside in light of the Johnrose fracas.

And the manager's mood can hardly have been helped by events early in the second half as Wycombe delivered a two-goal salvo to set up their first victory of the year.

Former Burnley full-back Chris Vinnicombe played a major part in the first, drilled home by Michael Simpson.

And then within seconds Kavanagh curled a perfect cross onto the head of Scott to make it 2-0. Ternent's response was to throw on Swan and Maylett and to their credit, Burnley, despite their numerical disadvantage, had a real crack at getting back into the game.

If Branch had either slipped his shot past the advancing Taylor or squared the ball to Payton, Burnley would have reduced the deficit and planted some major doubts in the minds of a Wycombe side not used to winning.

But, despite playing some constructive football, the visitors had only efforts from Maylett and Davis to show for their labours as the goal that would have offered a ray of hope wouldn't come. Davis had moved into the attack after Swan collapsed in agony when challenging for a high ball with Cousins, who was penalised for going into the back of the Clarets substitute.

But it was Wycombe who went closest to a third.

Crichton saved well from Matt Lawrence and then Jermaine McSporran following Pickering's dismissal.

Burnley didn't play badly but the defeat, their third in 10 games, means they have just a five-point breathing space above the drop zone, while Wycombe are just four points away from a safe spot under their new boss.

But while Burnley's assistant manager Sam Ellis exchanged lengthy words with Sanchez after the final whistle, it's safe to assume he wasn't wishing the Wycombe boss well in his fledgling managerial career.

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