Glenavon 1 Burnley 1 - Tony Dewhurst on tour with the Clarets

WITH British Army helicopters hovering above the Mourne View floodlights and Kevin Keegan on the substitutes bench, the night had promise.

"I'm speechless - was Kevin Keegan really out there? Because I didn't see his perm," joked Clarets player-manager Chris Waddle.

The KK in question was a promising 18-year-old Ulsterman who lit up a drab affair in Lurgan as a second half substitute.

But while it would be wrong to read anything of consequence into the third of Burnley's pre-season build-up fixtures, this was the most disappointing of the tour so far.

While the Clarets carved out numerous opportunities in front of goal, they lacked rhythm and shape.

Once again though, the line-up had an experimental look about it as Gerry Harrison was named in the side for the first time under Waddle.

After Waddle's debut at Windsor Park on Tuesday, the player-manager featured for his first full 90 minutes in a Burnley shirt.

Waddle received a warm reception from the appreciative crowd and observed: "We played some nice football at times, but we were a little undisciplined.

"That was probably the major point that annoyed me.

"There were a few tired legs out there and one or two people got a little bit frustrated when things didn't click.

"We gave away too many silly free kicks and a better team would have punished us more.

"However, some of our set play was quite good and I'm quite positive about things. "We are only a week into our pre-season fixtures and we are still giving people games and tuning our fitness levels up.

"Players like David Eyres and Paul Barnes have played every match and that's quite a demanding schedule in just six days.

"Overall it was a reasonable performance and if we had taken our chances then we could have come away with a comfortable win.

"I'm not at all negative about the situation. There were a lot of pluses to come out of the game and the tour so far.

"I've seen some nice things and, in other displays I've seen, the weak points. It has given me plenty to think about and work on."

The Irish Cup holders - warming up for a Cup Winners' Cup tie against Legia Warsaw next month - forged ahead in the third minute.

And Glenavon punished Burnley for slack defending. Tony Grant created the opening, catching Jamie Hoyland in possession close to the halfway line.

The lively Grant delivered a slick pass for Glenavon's man of the match Glenn Ferguson to guide his shot neatly past Marlon Beresford into the keeper's left hand corner.

That early goal shook the Clarets, who subsequently took time to settle.

Glenavon, beaten at home 6-0 by Scottish Premier Division side Hibernian last weekend, were certainly anxious to prove a point.

And only perceptive defending by Paul Weller, who turned in another sound performance for the Clarets, saved Burnley from going further adrift.

Finally, though, the Clarets began to get a grip on the proceedings and twice Waddle was instrumental in creating a Burnley attack. First Waddle's 25-yard pass set Mark Ford free on the left flank.

The industrious midfielder released Paul Barnes and the striker's centre was a perfect delivery to Andy Cooke whose on-target header was hacked off the line by full back Stephen Caffrey.

David Eyres then tried to get in on the act as well, testing goalkeeper Dermot O'Neill after more creative work from Waddle.

The fixture momentarily threatened to get out of hand as Cooke was involved in an ugly incident with the Glenavon goalkeeper.

Several players were involved in the ensuing brawl, and Cooke, quite wisely, was quickly substituted on the referee's orders.

Burnley, though, were determined to hang on to their unbeaten record going into tomorrow's final fixture against Glentoren in Belfast.

And again it was Paul Barnes who came to the rescue with his fourth goal in three games.

Michael Williams set the ball rolling with a clever reverse pass to David Eyres.

The Clarets skipper found Barnes in space and he executed a well-driven effort from 10 yards.

Waddle added: "Paul Barnes is looking very sharp indeed.

"And he is scoring some very good goals. Let's hope he's not used them all up in Ireland."

BURNLEY: Beresford, Weller (Matthew 81 mins), Harrison (Winstanley 63), Hoyland (Vinnicombe 67), Blatherwick, Williams, Waddle, Ford, Cooke (Gentile 67), Barnes, Eyres. Subs (not used): Huxford, West.

GLENAVON: O'Neill, Caffrey, Glendinning, Docherty, Byrne, Quigley, Gregg, Tumilty, Ferguson, Grant, Prizeman. Sub: Keegan.

Approx attendance: 450.

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