24th January 2000 

Tipton presses

STRIKER Paul Beavers has suffered yet another blow in his troubled first season with Athletic. 

The 21-year-old, who has started only three games since signing on a free transfer from Sunderland, is now nursing a groin injury. Beavers had to pull out of the match at Burnley on Saturday, leaving Athletic short of cover up front. They were assessing the problem today and hoping that Beavers — already hit by an Achilles injury, a lack of overall fitness and a struggle to settle in new surroundings — will not face another long break. 

It was only last week that Beavers made his first-team comeback after a four-month absence. His latest setback saw teenager Ryan Sugden called into Saturday's squad as Craig Dudley has a foot problem and Mark Allott is struck down with gastro-enteritis. Allott was a late withdrawal, but Athletic are confident he will recover before next weekend's match against Oxford. Meanwhile, Dudley is progressing well and could play for the reserves on Wednesday. Richard Graham was named among the substitutes at Burnley as he continued his comeback from a back complaint. 

Manager Andy Ritchie chose not to use him during the 3-0 defeat and says Graham will need a couple more outings in the reserves. "Richard was mainly there as cover because Shaun Garnett had a bit of a calf strain. He still looks a bit off the pace." Garnett will rest this week to ensure his injury has plenty of time to heal. 

Payton seals Latics' fate with double strike

EVERY team is entitled to a bad day at the office . . . and Athletic paid a steep price for suffering theirs at high-flying Burnley. Their fate was sealed by two-goal Andy Payton, who kept up his remarkable record of scoring against the Boundary Park club. But Athletic were beaten in all areas of the field and, just a week after recording their best win of the season, they promptly slumped to their biggest defeat. Payton’s first goal — doubling Burnley’s lead just past the hour mark — killed off an Athletic team who found that Turf Moor is no place for those well short of their best. The eventual scoreline didn’t flatter Stan Ternent’s play-off chasers. They were firm in defence, direct in attack and have now taken 34 home points out of a possible 39. Athletic, for their part, will simply hope that this was a temporary blip. It wasn’t a throwback to the bad old days of August, but they were without almost all of the spark and spirit which lifted them so dramatically out of the mire.

Andy Ritchie’s men encountered one of the age-old problems of visiting a team with excellent home form. Burnley, already with 10 wins out of 12 at Turf Moor, were out of the blocks quicker than a champion greyhound. Any side with their kind of record loves the sanctuary of home advantage, especially when, like Burnley, away results are dragging them down. Seeing a chance to put things right, the hosts were automatically armed with a confident, ebullient approach. Athletic had neutralised that force in their previous away match at Wigan, holding the ball up front to provide a break from the inevitable pressure. When they failed to do the same on Saturday, Burnley made their dominance tell with the opening goal — one which consigned their opponents to chasing the rest of the game. Only after falling behind did Athletic become equal partners in a fast-paced North-West derby. With better possession in the middle, they were able to regroup and play the more expansive style which suits them. But when they did have overall charge — and that period lasted for at least 20 minutes — they couldn’t make it count. The front two of Steve Whitehall and Matthew Tipton were industrious without making any impression. Service from the flanks was rarely up to scratch. And, despite facing a succession of corners, Burnley were able to defend with only a handful of serious scrapes.

Admittedly, Athletic were badly hindered by the absence of Mark Allott. The leading scorer can lead the line well, particularly away from home, and without him they were overpowered. But, even allowing for Allott’s illness, this was a surprisingly weak effort from a side boosted by three successive league wins. Their fourth defeat in 19 games was the biggest collective off-day for weeks — and one they will immediately want to get out of their system. Burnley’s intentions were clear within 12 minutes, with Payton slicing wide under pressure and going on to waste the first clear opening of the match. The prolific striker was found by a long ball over the top after Athletic tried to hold the line and play him offside. He cleverly lifted the ball over Mark Hotte, only for his angled volley to screw wide of the far post. Burnley were already playing with precision and Andy Cooke was furious at referee Steve Lodge when the Premiership official ignored his claim of a foul in the area. Cooke’s mood was entirely different, however, when he put his side in front after 24 minutes. Midfielder Paul Cook delivered a free-kick from a deep position on the right and the forward rose eight yards from goal to glance a header beyond Gary Kelly and inside the far post. The Cook-Cooke combo had ended Athletic’s run of 432 minutes without conceding a goal. But Burnley had been coming to the boil for some time and the heat had simply become too much for their over-burdened opponents.

Cooke met another cross moments later, Kelly this time grabbing his header as he dived to his left. Athletic’s first effort — a Paul Rickers drive which whistled over from 25 yards — looked to be no more than a token which would fail to turn the tide. But resilience is an important facet of their game and they hauled themselves into the contest by taking a foothold in midfield. From a 37th-minute corner, they also created their first chance of the afternoon. Home goalkeeper Paul Crichton lost his footing as he stretched for John Sheridan’s kick, but Andrew Holt couldn’t keep his header on target as he lunged in at the far post. Shaun Garnett was a couple of yards wide with a header before Crichton pulled off a stunning — and, as it turned out, crucial — save from Steve Whitehall, whose deflection of a Rickers shot looked sure to fly past the wrong-footed ’keeper. That moment signalled the end of Athletic’s best spell and Kelly was soon back in action to flick away Graham Branch’s swirling cross.

He was helpless, however, to stop Burnley going two in front through Payton in the 62nd minute. The ball fell kindly for Payton after Cooke, Hotte and Holt got in a tangle 30 yards from the visitors’ goal. He advanced on Kelly, paused to leave the goalkeeper unsure of his next move and, with the minimum of fuss, tucked the ball underneath him. Kelly had to palm away Cooke’s goalbound shot as Burnley pushed forward in the search for more. Although Lee Duxbury came within an inch or two of bursting the net from 20 yards, Kelly was still the busiest man on the field and made a brilliant reaction stop from Payton’s close-range header. Twelve minutes from time, Neil Adams squandered an opportunity after finding a yard in the box. It was Athletic’s last chance to recover as, two minutes later, their misery was complete. Burnley produced the move of the match for their third, with a sweeping attack sending Cooke away down the right. His low cross found Payton, who was waiting at the far post to notch his 16th of the season. Only Holt’s goalline clearance prevented Payton completing his hat-trick in injury time. Adams could also have scored late on, but his close-range shot summed up Athletic’s whole afternoon — plenty of good intentions, not enough direction.

Players can learn from defeat, says Ritchie

ANDY RITCHIE hoped defeat at Burnley would bring long-term benefits for the players he is nurturing at Boundary Park. The Athletic boss was philosophical after the 3-0 reverse and thought some valuable lessons had been on offer. “It’s a learning process,” he said. “We let Burnley dictate to us for the first half-hour and I hope the players will realise that and take something from it. “I’m disappointed, but we have to put it behind us. They showed us how to finish and if the young lads have learnt something, then it was worth it. “What cost us most was that we didn’t start well. We only started to play after half an hour had gone and, when we were one down at half-time, I told them they had got away with it. “It was there for us to get back into the game in the second half and, to their credit, the lads started it well. “But we pressed the self-destruct button. People talk about Roberts and Cureton at Bristol Rovers, but Andy Payton and Andy Cooke are the best front two in the division and you can’t afford to make the mistakes we made.”

Ritchie was also disappointed with Athletic’s attacking efforts. He admitted that they failed to make the most of their dozen corners and said Mark Allott, who had been struck by gastro-enteritis, was missed. Ritchie added: “He’s the one who really holds the ball for us and that probably showed. “I still thought we created as many chances as Burnley over the game, but we probably weren’t in it as much at the end because we were throwing caution to the wind. “You may as well lose 4-0 as 2-0, so we threw Shaun Garnett up front and went for it a bit. “Last season, we were good on corners. Maybe someone has been doing their homework. “We might be a bit predictable with them now, so it could be time to go back to the drawing board. “Having said that, we could have played all night and I don’t think we’d have scored. “It just wasn’t going to be our day.”

AS SURE as night follows day and England lose a Test series abroad, Andy Cooke was destined to end his goal drought at Turf Moor on Saturday. After a further week of transfer speculation surrounding the Clarets' search for a striker which had irked manager Stan Ternent and suggested the need for greater fire-power, Cooke provided his own emphatic reminder that he is still very much in business. And just for good measure, Andy Payton confirmed that the Clarets have two potent front men by firing a second-half brace which wrapped up an important first win of the year and took him past a half-century of goals for the club in just 94 starting appearances. There has never been any doubting Payton's penalty area prowess and Cooke's record as a Burnley player makes pretty impressive reading too. His 55 goals have come in just 129 starts. However, there's no denying he also needed a goal now for himself and the team, even if Burnley's recent quest for a loan signing was just to add to competition for places. His last League goal had come back in November and every striker is bound to dip in confidence with that sort of lean spell behind him. But Ternent's public show of faith in the player going into Burnley's first home game of the 21st-century appeared to have the desired effect as Cooke looked revitalised even before he headed Burnley in front after 24 minutes.

His all-round contribution was so much better than in recent weeks and he posed a threat all afternoon against an Oldham side that had won their previous three League games and hadn't conceded a goal in four. Cooke could feasibly have had a hat-trick, as could Payton, who followed up his goal in the first meeting between the two sides with his 15th and 16th of another prolific campaign as the Clarets secured their first double of the season to cement their place in the top-six. There were a couple of wobbles along the way and Paul Crichton needed to make two excellent saves to record his first clean sheet in eight games. But overall this was an emphatic win which was just what the Clarets needed to re-affirm their authority in the promotion race. And as well as confirmation that the Payton-Cooke partnership remains in good order, Burnley's 11th win in 13 home games brought out the best in one or two others as well. Lenny Johnrose was an inspirational figure in midfield and must have removed any of the doubts some of the Burnley fans still harboured about the former Bury man.

He appeared to be everywhere at once, winning countless tackles and header and using the ball constructively in a Herculean performance. With Glen Little suspended and John Mullin's comeback from flu started via the bench, Ternent played with three in central midfield and wing-backs in Dean West and Graham Branch. And Branch was another one to seize his chance. There was the odd moment of uncertainty but taken as a whole the wideman produced one of his most captivating performances, running well with the ball at pace and unfurling a couple of delightful passes. Mullin was also at the top of his game when he came on 10 minutes into the second half and added greatly to Burnley's attacking threat. One of the most encouraging aspects of the performance was the number of chances the Clarets created after a couple of punchless performances away from home. There were one or two anxious moments at the back as Oldham prospered either side of half-time but Bristol Rovers, Wigan and Preston will have taken note and may be glad of their points cushion when they come to Turf Moor in the next few weeks. Burnley were purposeful from the off and after Payton had volleyed just wide following a lovely piece of skill to defeat Shaun Garnett, Cooke headed them in front. Paul Cook won the battle of the pass-masters with John Sheridan and it was his perfectly delivered free-kick that allowed Cooke to rise first and power an effort beyond Gary Kelly. He almost repeated the medicine from a Steve Davis cross two minutes later but this time Kelly was equal to it and Oldham rallied to go close with two heading chances of their own for Andy Holt and Garnett.

When Crichton was forced into a stunning save to tip over a deflection from Matthew Tipton just after half-time it looked briefly as though Burnley may be made to pay again for failing to kill a team off. But with Mullin on and chances starting to flow again at the other end a second goal was always on the cards. In came in bizarre fashion as pressure from Branch and Johnrose in midfield forced a defensive error from the Latics and left Kelly in no-man's land. Payton isn't one to pass up a chance, however, and he kept his cool to slip the ball below the Oldham keeper and effectively make the game safe with just less than half-an-hour to go. With their tales up and Oldham committed to attacking whenever possible, Burnley continued to carve out openings and after saving from Cooke, Kelly made a point-blank stop to deny Payton following a piece of Mullin magic. Neil Adams was close to pulling one back 12 minutes from time with a header which Crichton saved but two minutes later Burnley claimed their third in scintillating style. Johnrose set the ball rolling with another successful challenge and after Mullin had led the break, Cooke delivered the final cross which Payton despatched at the back post. The hat-trick beckoned when Mullin again opened up the Oldham defence but Payton's effort was blocked on the line, while at the other end Crichton saved superbly from Adams to leave Burnley's work unflawed.

We're the Andy-est combo, says Payton

ANDY Payton insisted that Burnley still have the best strikeforce in the Second Division after he and Andy Cooke shared the goals in the Clarets' impressive 3-0 win over Oldham Athletic. Payton moved on to 16 for the season and Cooke also got back on the goal trail to take their combined tally for the campaign to 23. In all they have bagged some 75 goals between them since Payton joined the Clarets in January, 1998. And he believes there will be more to come as Burnley, back up to fifth in the table thanks to their 11th-home win in 13 attempts, maintain their promotion challenge. Payton said: "Andy created one for me and we can get this partnership going, which we've had for two years now and scored quite a lot between us. "We are both confident in each other. I think we are the best strike partnership in this division and hopefully we can go from strength to strength. "But it isn't just about us, it's about Burnley as a team and everyone did well. Crichts did well, we kept a clean sheet and Lenny was man-of-the-match." Cooke spoke of his relief after heading Burnley in front to claim his first goal since the FA Cup winner at Derby over a month ago, and also feels that the duo will continue to prosper. "You go through little sticky patches and I'm glad it came when it did," said Cooke. "Just because one of us isn't scoring doesn't mean the partnership isn't working if the other is setting him up or still working for each other. "As Andy said, since we've played together we've had a hell of a strikerate and we're always going to score goals. "Andy is obviously a bit more prolific than me but with us both working hard, goals are always going to come and I think we've proved that."

While they are fit and scoring goals, Payton and Cooke will always be two of the first names on the team-sheet. And whether manager Stan Ternent continues to look-out for some extra back-up in the striking department or not, the pair are determined to ensure their weight of goals keeps them in the side. Payton brushed off speculation about reinforcements as he insisted: "It doesn't effect me. I remember my time at Celtic when they were linked with every player in the country every weekend so it's totally irrelevant really. "If somebody comes in, good luck to them, but they've got to replace me or Andy and they've got to do it on merit." And Cooke was equally adamant in his desire to fend off any competition for his place. He added: "I think with what we've proved over the years if somebody comes in they've got to get past me and Andy. "I'm not going to give my place up easily and I don't think Andy would." While it was an important afternoon for Cooke in underlining his credentials, the Clarets' win over an in-form Oldham side should also help the collective cause as Ternent's men embark on a run of games against their promotion rivals. Cooke added: "We hit a sticky patch at Christmas and have drawn some games and you think 'when is the win going to come?' It was a very big game for us.

"The whole team worked very hard. We went out from the start and got that goal early on. "We didn't want to make a mistake like we did last week in letting the other side get back in it. "We nearly did at the start (of the second half) but we overcame that and we killed them off with two very good goals." The only disappointment for Burnley was a fifth booking of the season for Dean West, who will now miss the visit of high-flying Bristol Rovers in a fortnight's time.

Stan's prediction comes true

STAN Ternent's pre-match prediction that Andy Cooke would deliver the goods was borne out as the striker's first goal in seven games set Burnley on their way to an eighth successive home win. Cooke ended his barren run by heading his seventh goal of the season mid-way through the first half to pave the way for a 3-0 win over Oldham Athletic which lifted the Clarets a place to fifth in Division Two. "I'm extremely pleased for him because he does a lot of hard work and he's very important to our team," said Ternent. Top-scorer Andy Payton took his recent tally to six in five games to secure the points with a second-half double, while Lenny Johnrose also caught the eye with arguably his best performance in a Burnley shirt. "I know Lenny and I know what I'm going to get from him," Ternent added. "It's taken him a little time to win the fans over but it isn't your best 11 players technically that make your best team. "Lenny Johnrose has an abundance of other things that make him very important and he compliments Paul Cook, Michael Mellon and John Mullin and whoever else might be playing in the team. "But they all played their part and worked extremely hard. It was a good all-round performance against a form team. Nothing's easy but we ran out convincing winners in the end." The Burnley boss added: "I thought we played very well. Oldham are the form team in the division and played very well and it was a good derby match. "It was a convincing victory but we had to work extremely hard for it and all credit to the lads. "They showed a lot of patience and resilience because they had spells in the game when we weren't in in command and we stuck at it."