BURNLEY EURO DREAM IS CRUSHED
THe journey is over and only actually lasted 35 days, but Burnley exited the europa League swinging.
Last night was a blur of wasted opportunities and near misses, angst and anxiousness as the dream of rubbing shoulders with the likes of AC Milan, Villarreal or Marseille in the group stages dissipated.
Yet it was also an evening that should act as a fillip, by far the most engaging Burnley have been during a tortuous start to this season.
How they only drew the second leg — debutant Matej Vydra cancelling out daniel Podence’s 83rd-minute opener — is anyone’s guess.
Jose Mourinho, sporting a cap to keep a low profile while sitting with the scouts at Turf Moor, has plenty to think about. Play like this on sunday and Burnley might just give Manchester United a fright.
it was the sort of performance we have come to expect from a sean dyche team. Burnley’s effort and desire were unquestioned, but a lack of guile brought an end to a first european campaign in 51 years. Yet the feeling of pride is ultimately more beneficial than any extended run in the competition.
‘Back to our identity, a neversay-die attitude,’ said dyche. ‘Very pleased and very proud of the players. no disappointments, just learning. We were effective. You saw a team who wanted it to carry on.
‘Winning it would’ve been the least we deserved and we could have even gone through. The biggest bugbear is you’ve got to take your chances. it could easily have gone our way. The whole club will learn from this. it bodes well for the future.’
Burnley somehow only found the net with four minutes remaining. Before then sam Vokes has wasted chances, twice heading wide and then over when he should have scored.
dwight Mcneil’s exquisite delivery carved out both, the 18-year- old providing a real spark from the left on his full professional debut.
What an occasion for dyche to throw in Mcneil, who could become the first academy product since Jay rodriguez to impose himself on the first team.
it is only a month since the winger was made to park at a local Tesco when on the bench against Aberdeen because his name had been overlooked on the players’ car park list. This has been a rapid rise.
dyche added: ‘We said, “work hard and enjoy yourself, son”. That’s exactly what he did. He’s taken a real step forward.’
The misses mounted. There was an energy to Burnley though, one we haven’t witnessed consistently over the last month.
Composure deserted them, however, and how unlucky they were when Vokes curled beyond Andreas Gianniotis from 20 yards only to strike the far post. substitute Vydra ballooned the ball over with the goal gaping.
Podence scored on the break, Vydra nudged one back, but by then it was all over. ‘That was a tough, difficult game,’ said Olympiacos boss Pedro Martins. ‘They were better and stronger.’
BURNLEY (4-4-2): Heaton 6; Bardsley 6.5, Long 6, Mee 7, Taylor 7; Lennon 6.5 (Cork 75min, 6), Westwood 7.5, Hendrick 7, MCNEIL 8 (Wood 75, 6); Barnes 7 (Vydra 65, 6.5), Vokes 6.5.
Subs not used: Hart, Lowton, Tarkowski, Ward. Scorer: Vydra 86. Booked: Barnes, Westwood, Bardsley, Mee. Manager: Sean Dyche 7. OLYMPIACOS (4-2-3-1): Gianniotis 7; Elabdellaoui 6, Roderick 7, Vukovic 6, Tsimikas 6.5; Camara 6, Bouchalakis 6.5; Christodoulopoulos 6, Fortounis 6 (Torosidis 88), Podence 7 (Cisse 90); Guerrero 6 (Hassan 72, 6). Subs not used: Choutesiotis, Natcho, Fetfatzidis, Ansarifard. Scorer: Podence 83. Booked: Tsimikas, Gianniotis, Bouchalakis. Manager: Pedro Martins 7. Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary) 7. Attendance: 15,234.