Bristol Rovers 3 Burnley 4 - Pete Oliver's big match verdict

THE revitalised Clarets won't want to score four goals every time to win away from home this season.

But there will have been few complaints within the dressing room and among the 661 Burnley supporters who made the trip to Bristol after this seven-goal thriller.

Manager Stan Ternent admitted afterwards that his side could have been defensively more solid.

And no doubt the Clarets will be working overtime at Gawthorpe this week to rectify that situation.

But that aspect of Burnley's performance shouldn't detract from a marvellous attacking display which eclipsed their 4-0 win at Colchester in October - the Clarets only previous success on the road this term.

With Rovers equally potent up front in the shape of Jamie Cureton and Jason Roberts it made for a remarkable game in which you could barely afford to blink.

Six goals flew in during a frenetic first-half which saw Burnley gain and surrender the lead three times.

And it was a major surprise that there was only one goal after the break as Andy Cooke bagged the points for Burnley with a 54th-minute strike.

It was Cooke's first goal in 10 games and may not only have signalled a return to form for last season's leading scorer but also hammered home the point that Burnley have surely turned the corner.

Unbeaten in four games now, Stan Ternent's side collected their first win in six League games to confirm the belief that they are capable of making strides up the table. Evidence to support the theory came in the shape of Cooke's goal, a 17th of the season for Andy Payton and a scoring contribution from other areas of the team.

Graham Branch capped an exciting first-half performance with his first for the club and Steve Davis resumed goalscoring mode in a claret and blue shirt with a headed opener.

Add to that Davis's defensive performance in the second half, when he stood firm to repel Rovers' considerable threat, another excellent performance by keeper Paul Crichton and an outstanding debut by £350,000 signing Micky Mellon.

Mellon had a direct hand in three of Burnley's goals, including Cooke's winner, tackled all afternoon and made the sort of darting runs forward that bode well for the rest of the season.

Things have turned round quickly for Burnley following the introduction of a few new faces but it promises to be more than a flash in the pan.

The reaction of the players at the final whistle demonstrated both their delight and a strong will to win and if they can start winning regularly at Turf Moor again then the season may not just be about building for next year.

Burnley have set themselves new standards and must stick to them. The brave new world masterminded by Ternent and chairman Barry Kilby was tested to the full, however, by the livewire Cureton who was unlucky to finish on the losing side.

He ran at the Burnley rearguard from first to last and with sidekick Roberts gave Davis and Brian Reid a distinctly uncomfortable first 45 minutes.

Crichton's diving save stopped Cureton giving Rovers an 11th-minute lead.

But typical of a game where fortunes fluctuated wildly, the Clarets were in front within two minutes when Davis met Mellon's corner beyond the far post and headed downwards into the net for his seventh League goal of the season.

There then followed a crazy five-goal burst in the last 20-minutes of the first period as the two sides played tit-for-tat against less than watertight defences.

Crichton's only misjudgement of the game allowed Cureton to slot home the equaliser after he timed his run perfectly to stay onside and leave the Burnley keeper in no-man's land.

But five minutes later the visitors were back in front, Branch catching out David Lee and showing great control to round Lee Jones and slide the ball home from a tight angle.

Burnley didn't learn their lesson, however, and were unable to take the sting out of the game as Cureton and Roberts linked up again for the latter to make it 2-2.

Crichton denied Roberts a quick-fire double as he blocked well with his legs and the Clarets then turned defence into attack in stunning fashion to restore their advantage with a classic goal.

Gordon Armstrong bravely won the ball deep in his own half to release Cooke up the right. He fed the ever-willing Mellon - whose inclusion came at the expense of Mark Ford - and when Mellon picked out Payton with the perfect cross, Burnley's leading marksman jinked past Steve Foster to crash home an unstoppable volley.

Yet even that was not enough to take a lead into the dressing room as Rovers commendably hit back again with a scorcher from David Lee to make it 3-3.

But Burnley were not finished and their more clinical finishing allied to a more resolute showing at the back earned them their victory.

Cooke's agonising wait for a goal finally ended when Mellon won possession to tee him up with a left foot shot which ripped into the back of the net.

And fittingly that proved to be the winner as Roberts fluffed a chance and Crichton made sure of the points with a close-range stop from Gary Penrice which could prove as valuable as Cooke's famine-breaker in the final reckoning.

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