BREXIT WOUNDS
Brave Dons Turfed out as they battle to death
DEREK McINNES didn’t want a gallant losers tale but in the town where the majority of residents voted to leave Europe it was Aberdeen who suffered a hard Brexit in Burnley.
And rarely has such a special goal meant so little as Lewis Ferguson’s acrobatic effort ended up being nothing more than a consolation.
It was so Turf to take on the Dons as they crashed out of the Europa League after a sickening 3-1 extratime loss, having gone toe to toe with their English rivals.
Despite a huge gulf in finances there was nothing between the Dons and Burnley over 180 minutes after Ferguson cancelled out Chris Wood’s early opener for the Clarets.
That levelled the tie at 2-2 on aggregate but Jack Cork floored the Dons with a header 11 minutes into the first period of extra time and Ashley Barnes made sure of victory with a late penalty.
It was particularly hard on Ferguson whose goal deserved to be more than just a footnote on a night of heartache in Lancashire.
The teenager is following in illustrious family footsteps with dad Derek and his uncle Barry starring for Rangers and Scotland.
But the teenager is making a good start and he will struggle to top his first senior goal after an overhead kick cancelled out £15million man Wood’s sixth-minute opener.
A tribunal is due to decide how much the Dons will have to shell out for Ferguson, with Hamilton looking for £900,000. And if his goal is taken into account then his price will surely rise.
Now Ferguson and his team-mates will need to pick themselves up after a pulsating night with Rangers the visitors for Sunday’s Premiership opener at Pittodrie.
Turf Moor is a traditional stadium with character that evokes memories of a bygone age and is rare in the cash-rich English Premier League.
England cricketer and local lad James Anderson said “most people dismiss Burnley as an absolute s ******** ” and it’s safe to say the 2500strong raucous Red Army have enjoyed more glamorous trips.
On approach to the ground is The Royal Dyche pub, recently named in honour of the Clarets gaffer
Dyche joked in his pre-match press conference that he warned the landlady things change quickly in football and his head – on the body of King Henry VIII on the sign outside the boozer – might need to be cut off if things go badly wrong.
It would have taken more than defeat here for that to happen but given the gulf in budgets a loss to Aberdeen would have been a major shock.
And the size of the mission improbable task for the Dons got bigger with just six minutes on the clock when the away side conceded.
Skipper Graeme Shinnie lost possession from Shay Logan’s throwin and Burnley showed how ruthless life is at this level as they took full advantage.
Ashley Westwood played a lovely through ball for Wood, who timed his run perfectly between Aberdeen’s central defenders Scott McKenna and Mikey Devlin.
Joe Lewis came off his line but the New Zealander, with his back to goal, spun away from the keeper before smashing the ball home with Devlin helpless on the line.
It was no more than the Clarets deserved for a strong start. Aberdeen struggled to find their rhythm with Gary Mackay-Steven’s angled shot blocked by Stephen Ward their only real effort in the opening spell.
The Dons survived a penalty claim when Aaron Lennon went down under Tommie Hoban’s challenge but Italian whistler Massimiliano Irrati, VAR for last month’s World Cup Final in Moscow, was having none of it.
And Aberdeen took full advantage as they levelled in spectacular fashion to send the travelling fans wild with
joy. Mackay-Steven’s cross was headed out by Wood but as it dropped out of the air Ferguson sent a superb scissors kick beyond stunned keeper Anders Lindegaard.
It was a psychological blow to Burnley after a dominant start and they could have been further behind if Andy Considine had directed his header on target from MackaySteven’s cross or Lindegaard failed to tip Shinnie’s effort wide.
Aberdeen looked the more likely to score before the break but early after the restart Lewis was forced into a brilliant low save to deny Johann Berg Gudmundsson from a Sam Vokes knockdown. Shinnie then had an effort just after the hour when he curled a shot over from Niall McGinn’s clever cutback.
Lewis then pulled off a superb one-handed save to deny half-time sub Barnes after Cork had picked him out with a brilliant pass.
The away side responded by launching an attack with Ferguson slipping the ball to Shinnie. But his shot was beaten away.
Burnley came so close to a second with quarter of an hour left when Lewis got the slightest touch to a Vokes header and it made all the difference is the ball crashed off the underside of the crossbar and bounced back out.
Scott Wright and Dom Ball were introduced late on but neither side could find the winner after 90 minutes as the tie went into extra time when Stevie May was thrown on.
But it was Burnley who grabbed the all-important goal when Cork got in front of Considine to plant a header beyond Lewis from Charlie Taylor’s cross.
Barnes made sure when he converted from the spot after McKenna’s hand ball.