Burnley 1 Bournemouth 0 - Tony Dewhurst's big match verdict
THE bold figure of Chris Brass strode into the press room sporting a smile as wide as the Ribble Valley.
And why the heck not. Because life is pretty rosy for the fearless Easington lad.
Shown the door at Ipswich Town as a raw recruit, Brass took stock determined to bounce back after that kick in the teeth.
Six years later that bitter Portman Road experience is a dark but distant memory.
He is carving out quite a name for himself at Turf Moor.
Brass is the sort of character you'd want by your side in the trenches with the enemy closing in.
Eager, tough, unyielding, he's an intrepid North-Easterner with plenty to offer the great game.
Affable, courteous, yet tough as a granite block, Brass is a credit to Burnley and his manager.
Coach Terry Pashley once told me that he'd never worked with a youngster with such a good attitude.
"He is such a willing lad. A good learner. You'd stake your life on him."
He added: "He's a smashing competitor. He'd kick his grandmother out on the pitch!"
At 21, Brass is playing the best football of his career.
There can be no doubt about that. And against Bournemouth he underlined that fact.
He played a pivotal, indeed man-of-the-match role, in another Clarets victory roll.
It was an all-action performance from Brass and his Burnley team-mates.
Brass spent the first half slugging it out in defence alongside the rugged and determined figures of Peter Swan and Gerry Harrison.
The second half saw him march into midfield, mopping up, creating and carrying alongside Steve Thompson and Paul Weller. Products of the Turf Moor youth scheme - Brass, Paul Smith and Weller - are the new kids on the block.
Manager Adrian Heath reckons it's like having three new signings.
" I can't speak too highly of all three of them. They are willing young men who put the time in. They listen and learn.
"We know that Chris and Paul Weller can perform at this level and Paul Smith has a lot going for him.
"The young players are developing within the squad. They are our future lifeblood."
Smith has blossomed under the Heath regime while the manager has handed extended opportunities to both Weller and Brass.
Brass has grasped his chance with both hands. "I'm loving my football, I really am. I feel good about life and it's a satisfying stage of my career.
"The manager has helped me a lot. He's come in with different ideas and different views.
"The club, under Adrian Heath, is a bit more professional now.
"He's put a lot of confidence in the young players and I'm sure it is paying off.
"We're all confident working under him. He's told us to go out and make things happen instead of letting the other players make things happen.
"There's a great sense of optimism within the dressing room.
"All the lads are pulling together now. We all want promotion."
Heath watched with satisfaction as Brass, Weller and Smith helped Burnley to their fourth win on the bounce.
Three in the league and the FA Cup success over Lincoln represents Burnley's best sequence of results since Heath took the helm in March.
It was a victory too which planted Burnley back into a top six place, and a play-off spot, for the first time since September 21.
That fact alone has to be cause for a quiet celebration today as Burnley continued to build on that impressive midweek success at Bristol Rovers.
So are the Clarets on the march?
It's too early to stay but the signs are most encouraging. There is a potency and belief in Burnley's approach to their task. They are becoming more clinical in their play and, unlike last season, they are playing for each other.
Heath has found a reasonable blend and is shaping a squad which could yet challenge hard for an automatic promotion place.
Have a look at the Division Two table. They are three points behind second-placed Brentford.
The away-day curse was broken at the Memorial Ground, yet those promotion aspirations will surely live or die away from Turf Moor.
While Bournemouth were troublesome opposition, the Clarets deserved this worthy success.
They had too much quality for a struggling Bournemouth who are already staring at a relegation dog fight.
Burnley grafted and ground this victory out and the unstoppable Paul Barnes was the man who finally demolished the visitors' foundations.
He hobbled off early in the second half but not before Turf Moor's record buy had put Bournemouth to the sword with his ninth goal of the campaign.
The crucial strike arrived after a swift and skilful interchange between Paul Smith and David Eyres.
The wing-back flashed in a dangerous centre and his cross took a wicked deflection.
Barnes, as instinctive as ever, looped a back-header over the defence and out of reach of goalkeeper Jimmy Glass, a former Burnley loan player.
Bournemouth had their chances and there were a couple of near things at the other end.
Marlon Beresford produced a couple of stunning stops and Matt Holland scooped over the bar from six yards.
Barnes was denied a double by the sidenetting and Kurt Nogan and Peter Swan were unlucky not to find their way on to the scoresheet.
Indeed, Burnley were full value for their eighth home win of the season.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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