CLARETS: Waddle's men Savage-d by classy Londoners

MILLWALL handed out some harsh lessons at Turf Moor last night when, for once in the Second Division, there was an obvious gap between a team near the top and one hovering around the bottom.

"No-one likes us, we don't care," is the anthem of the South London side's supporters.

Well, Burnley don't have to like Millwall, just learn from them, because in an almost embarrassingly one-sided first 45 minutes the Londoners produced everything that was lacking in a very disappointing home performance.

The game as a contest could have been over by half time, yet remarkably it was level at 1-1.

Credit to Burnley for hanging in there and even fighting back with a goal that came about through a classy cross from Paul Smith and an expert finish by Andy Cooke.

But, after the recent encouragement as they hauled themselves off the bottom, there wasn't too much else for the fans to shout about.

The brilliant Bobby Bowry dominated the game until he damaged a hamstring just before half time and right winger Michael Black was a thorn in the side all evening.

Yet another obvious difference was the teamwork and cohesion of the visitors who were also winning all the individual battles before the interval.

Buying is apparently not an option for Chris Waddle, who sat the game out with his knee injury.

But, even without additional resources, Burnley can surely do better than they did last night.

Millwall were so much in command of the first half that Waddle must have been delighted to get his men back in the dressing room to try to regroup. The Londoners snatched the lead inside the second minute and went on to prove it was no fluke.

Burnley were clearly caught cold and, when Dave Savage crossed, Black nodded down into the box.

It spelt obvious danger but defenders and keeper failed to react quickly enough. Bowry did and took full advantage of the hesitancy to nip in and clip the ball past Marlon Beresford.

That was just the kind of start Burnley didn't need and Millwall, with Bowry involved in everything, proceeded to dominate.

Their movement and passing was outstanding.

Beresford was in trouble more than once from crosses and Chris Brass, on at least two occasions, saved Burnley in the first half with some excellent defending.

What could have been a crucial turning point came in the 28th minute when, from yet another slick raid, Bowry set up Turf Moor old boy Paul Shaw.

A good strike produced a save from Beresford and a rapid counter-attack.

From his clearance, Paul Smith curled in a peach of a cross that was almost impossible to defend against and Andy Cooke ghosted in at the far post to volley home a clinical finish. But not even an equaliser could turn the first-half tide.

Beresford saved again four minutes later, this time from Savage, Lee Howey completing the clearance off the line and, just before the interval, Brian Law missed an absolute sitter.

From yet another cross by Black, Law had time and space to measure his shot from about eight yards but, incredibly, blasted it wide. Clearly, some intense talking sent Burnley out in more determined mood and Millwall's loss of Bowry also played a major part in evening things up.

There was certainly more life about Waddle's men as Cooke had a sharp chance deflected and Smith was not too far away with a good strike.

Significantly, it took Burnley only 13 second-half minutes to match their first-half tally of three corners.

That underlined their improvement.

But Millwall, who had dropped Shaw back to cover for Bowry, still looked as though they might threaten on the break, especially with more space as Burnley tried to push forward.

So it proved on 62 minutes when Grant's persistence won the ball away from Beresford, Black drove the ball into the penalty area and Savage drilled it home.

Despite their two goals, the visitors' finishing continued to be poor and Black marred his performance when Neil Moore's mistake left him with an easy chance which he squandered.

The home fans, understandably, were becoming impatient as their team failed to produce any real quality about their retaliation.

Waddle switched to three centre backs but, 13 minutes from time, the frustration showed when Cooke clashed with Nigel Spink and, for a moment, there could have been an all-out fracas in the box. Sensibly, things calmed down but it didn't help Burnley's cause.

With the minutes ticking away, Howey flicked a header just wide but it was too little too late.

Selecting a star man in claret and blue was a tough task because no-one stood out, unlike Millwall as individuals such as Bowry and Black excelled.

But Smith, in his first start of the season, just takes the vote as he created the goal, was the main threat and, once fully match fit, should be a real asset.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.