Kompany’s revolution has Burnley bouncing
TuRF MOOR has not bounced like this for a long, long time. Vincent Kompany has somehow completely transformed the mood around these parts in just four months.
Top of the Championship but that is not the half of it. This is not the Burnley you thought you knew. This is not the Burnley the town had come to accept.
It is young, fresh, vibrant — a team desperate for the ball, desperate to entertain — and even if they do not regain their Premier League status this season, at least Kompany has brought some fun to proceedings.
Kompany has heard constant reminders of the magnitude of this derby, arguably the biggest in a generation and maybe another on top of that. By the end, the Belgian was joining loanee Taylor Harwood-Bellis in pumping fists at a crazed crowd. This was a big statement.
The two vicious rivals have not both been upwardly mobile in the same division for decades and here they are, occupying two of the top three spots. The eventual divide, though, was huge. Ashley Barnes helped himself twice, the sparkling Anass Zaroury scored the other.
‘I never expected this when I walked in,’ Kompany said. ‘We planned for the worst. Debt repayments were talked about. My first day was the loss of huge players — Ben Mee, Nick Pope, Dwight McNeil, Maxwel Cornet, James Tarkowski, Nathan Collins — and 16 players in to replace them in a league I didn’t know. It was a perfect storm.
‘We had no expectations and they now come with what people see. We are not treating ourselves as favourites.’
That may have to change. Burnley controlled this from the off and Thomas Kaminski superbly thwarted two Barnes headers. The striker was not to be denied later.
Blackburn barely ventured into the home half, appealing for a penalty when Ben Brereton Diaz was bundled over by Jordan
Beyer and registering their only shot in the 47th minute. What their brief adventure offered was additional space and Burnley capitalised on that eight minutes later and took the lead.
Zaroury, a tricky, speedy left winger taken from Belgium in the summer, darted for the byline and whipped one in on a plate for Barnes.
Barnes allowed the pacy cross to hit him, guiding past Kaminski from inside the six-yard box and shoving the goalkeeper into the netting for good measure because it is Ashley Barnes and he just cannot help himself.
This place was alive all day but never more so than in that moment. Smoke billowed from the main stand, the Jimmy McIlroy end delirious as their team went berserk in front of them.
Rovers were mentally shot. Substitute Nathan Tella picked up a lax Kaminski pass to weave through challenges and force the goalkeeper into a smart save and this derby was over seconds later, with 16 minutes to play.
Tella was involved, beautifully flicking with his heel for Barnes to savagely volley goalwards, which Kaminski could only beat away to Zaroury. No problem from there, 12 yards out, he slotted into the corner as Blackburn stood and watched.
Jon Dahl Tomasson could only sigh at the gift. His defenders dallied inside their own third and cheaply gave away possession.
‘ It’s a difficult afternoon,’ Rovers boss Tomasson said. ‘That bravery and courage we have had recently wasn’t there. We weren’t brave on the ball. I’m disappointed for our fans.’
More was to come. Barnes was not quite finished. Tella found Josh Brownhill — who ran this game after half-time — and the midfielder noticed Barnes during his drive in the box.
Barnes, with no league goals to his name until this, sent two men the wrong way and calmly prodded in the third.
Then came the mocking — cheering every pass — plus fireworks let off from the adjacent cricket ground, some flying debris luckily missing players from both teams.
‘What I loved the most... in England, everyone has to always beat the traffic but today, seeing it full until the last minute is what I love,’ Kompany added.
‘We enjoyed it after with the supporters, that was something that added to the occasion. It’s our own little trophy.’