Dean is back... and in the thick of it
ALL referee Mike Dean would have wanted on his Premier League return, having faced death threats, was a quiet afternoon at Turf Moor without any major decisions to make.
Unfortunately, football doesn’t work like that and the official was inevitably the centre of attention again as two struggling teams battled in blustery conditions.
Dean missed last weekend’s games after showing red cards to Jan Bednarek and Thomas Soucek which led to abuse for the referee and his family.
The last thing he needed after half an hour, therefore, was for Conor Gallagher’s loose pass to allow Matej Vydra a run on goal and for his flick past last man Semi Ajayi to hit the Albion defender on the hand. Dean didn’t blow his whistle but Stockley Park asked him to look at the monitor.
There was no doubt Ajayi handled the ball but the referee had to decide whether there was intent and if it denied Vydra a clear scoring opportunity, 40 yards from goal.
With all eyes on him, Dean produced his fourth red card in three games.
It wasn’t the end of the referee’s stress, however. At the start of the second half, Albion’s Kyle Bartley handled in the box with an outstretched arm as Burnley howled their protests. Again, Dean was unmoved and this time, surprisingly, there was no request to check his screen. If Albion rode their luck there, they deserved at least a point for a spirited showing with only 10 men.
Manager Sam Allardyce could easily have been celebrating his second win in 13 games and his players did not look like a side who are 11 points from safety.
The West Brom boss said: ‘I am definitely optimistic we will get more positive than negative results. I think if we get eight or nine clean sheets we will be fine.
‘We got our first one today and that is the backbone for any side who wants to get out of trouble. The team is looking stronger with the four signings we made in January. It was one of the best 10-men performances I’ve seen.’
Burnley (4-4-2): Pope 7; Lowton 6, Tarkowski 6.5, Mee 6, Taylor 6.5; Brownhill 5.5, Westwood 6, Cork 6, McNeil 6; Rodriguez 5.5 (Mumbongo 81min), Vydra 6.5. Booked: Cork, Lowton, Mee. Subs (not used): Peacock-Farrell, Norris, Bardsley, Long, Nartey, Dunne, Benson, Glennon.
WeSt Brom (4-1-4-1): Johnstone 6; Furlong 7, Ajayi 6, Bartley 5.5, Townsend 6; Yoksulu 7; Pereira 6.5, Gallagher 5, Maitland-Niles 7.5, Phillips 6 (O’Shea 32, 6); Diagne 6. Sent off: Ajayi (30min). Subs (not used): Button, Robson-Kanu, Robinson, Livermore, Diangana, Sawyers, Peltier, Grant. referee: M Dean 6.