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Burnley 1-1 Stoke City
Match Reports, 21:59, March 10, 2010 ,
Burnley and Stoke played out a dull draw at Turf Moor to leave Burnley's hopes of Premier League survival hanging in the balance.
The first half was entirely uninspiring and largely devoid of clear cut chances, with both teams preferring a slower pace to the game.
That was until just as Burnley were starting to retain possession effectively and mount a few attacks of their own through Chris Eagles and Martin Paterson, Stoke won a throw-in, which, unsurprisingly, was taken by Rory Delap. His trademark long throw was met by the head of Mamady Sidibe, who flicked the ball on to the head of Tuncay. It was a goal against the run of play, although neither side had really merited taking the lead in this clash, and Burnley took some time to adjust to going behind.
Paterson had a decent chance to equalise for the home side after latching on to the end of a lovely pass from Eagles with a side-footed volley but his scuffed attempt went wide of the target.
Burnley started the second half with a greater sense of purpose and didn't have to wait long to get their rewards for this approach. Paterson mystified the Stoke defence before floating a lovely cross towards David Nugent, who jumped higher than Robert Huth and headed home.
For much of the second half, Stoke were content to sit back and absorb increasing pressure from Burnley, whilst mounting the occasional break forward themselves. Eagles worried the away side with a few attempts from distance but Thomas Sorensen remained largely untroubled by Burnley's efforts in attack. Eagles had a chance in the dying minutes of the half to win the game for the home side but he skied the ball over the bar from a great position.