CLARETS: Down in the 'mouth as errors prove costly

THE sombre figure of Glenn Roeder arrived with a face as long as a wet November day on Morecambe sea front.

His frosty expression did not improve much either as George Best and Rodney Marsh delivered Burnley a ghastly FA Cup encounter at Rotherham United as the razzmattaz of Sky TV beamed the first round draw into the Turf Moor press room.

Roeder had been pressed into official managerial duty after manager Chris Waddle had dashed off on urgent family business to his Yorkshire home.

But you didn't need to be a rocket scientist to identify the root cause of his ire and irritation.

Waddle's deputy had observed Burnley perform at their benevolent best to suggest that unless the Clarets get their home form on a roll, and swiftly, then it could prove a harsh and austere winter at Turf Moor.

Okay. The precious point signalled an end to Burnley's stint at the bottom of Division Two - Plymouth sinking to the foot of the table after defeat at Gillingham.

That was Surely something to celebrate after Burnley had spent the previous two months nailed to the foot of the table.

But that was negligible consolation for Roeder ,and the Burnley fans I suppose, who once again witnessed defensive ill-discipline costing Burnley dear.

Roeder was smouldering after Burnley had contrived to let Bournemouth back into this maelstrom of a contest when they should have simply shut up shop and claimed their second league victory of the season. Twice Burnley piloted themselves into a winning location, but twice they took their foot off the gas and let that hard won advantage slip through their fingers like Sahara desert sand.

And only erratic finishing in a hair-raising last quarter denied Bournemouth their first ever success at Turf Moor in 13 attempts.

"It was points lost again and we've only ourselves to blame," rapped Roeder.

"We gave ourselves a winning advantage and then let Bournemouth back in.

"We just cannot keep doing this at home because we need to get some wins together."

Burnley had surged into a startling lead on the stroke of half-time, Chris Waddle delivering his first goal for the Clarets in dazzling fashion.

Bournemouth had proved obstinate opposition until the Waddle strike and it was always going to take something out of the ordinary to unlock a concrete back four, marshalled admirably by the distinguished figure of Ian Cox, surely one of the best defenders at this level.

Burnley had huffed and puffed without genuinely threatening to blow the opposition house down, and Bournemouth, to that stage, had appeared comfortable.

The visitors, though, enjoyed an early slice of fortune after John O'Neill's attempted clearance cannoned off Gerry Creaney and only marginally wide of the post.

And when Burnley turned up the heat, Jimmy Glass dived low to deny Paul Barnes.

Indeed, it took the visitors nearly half an hour to mount their first genuine attack, content to soak up the Burnley pressure.

But when Waddle's goal arrived it was well worth the wait for the 9,000 plus crowd, yet another extraordinary attendance in the circumstances. Creaney provided the ball for the player-manager and, pulling his marker wide, Waddle unleashed a real sidewinder of a left foot shot past the static Bournemouth defence.

Goalkeeper Glass, who once had enjoyed a short loan spell at Turf Moor, was left rooted to his line as Waddle enjoyed a jig of delight on the far touchline.

It was surely the cue for Burnley to press home their advantage further.

In fact the opposite happened as Bournemouth, who pushed their man of the match Eddie Howe into midfield, began to chisel out the openings.

There was an early warning for Burnley as Howe planted a Jamie Vincent free kick on to the top of Marlon Beresford's crossbar.

Then David Eyres proved a last line of defence, chopping Steve Fletcher's header off the line.

But from the resulting corner, Burnley's defensive shortcomings were exposed as Howe, with his marker nowhere in sight, rose unchallenged to claim his first ever goal in senior football.

That only served to rock Burnley back into action, and just five minutes later they were level as Gerry Creaney claimed his sixth goal since arriving from Manchester City on loan.

It proved a odd strike as Creaney turned provider for Barnes who hooked his shot against the Bournemouth post.

The ball ran along the length of the goal line and Creaney was on hand to jostle home the loose ball, a hit not unlike his goal at Plymouth. Of course, you are often at your weakest after you've just scored.

And so it proved just two minutes later - with the Burnley crowd still celebrating -as Bournemouth grabbed a merited share of the spoils.

I thought Neil Moore was harshly penalised for a foul on the edge of the penalty area.

Nevertheless, Jamie Vincent picked his spot and thundered in a ferocious 30-yard free kick into the top corner of Marlon Beresford's net.

It was another dissatisfying Turf Moor result as the final whistle was greeted with jeers and angry shouts of "Teasdale Out".

But the truth is that Burnley cannot afford to keep flinging away precious points at home if they are going to make any presentable impression on Division Two this season.

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