So near yet so
Burnley ............ 1 Barnsley .............. 0 CLARETS LEAVE IT LATE TO GET OUT OF THE W
VAR could not rescue Daniel Stendel’s Barnsley a second time as the League One club suffered heartbreak in added time.
The controversial system had handed them an unexpected lifeline in the first half when Burnley striker Matej Vydra was halted in his run-up after initially being awarded a penalty.
But there was to be no respite for the Yorkshire side just seconds into four extra minutes at the end of a frenetic encounter.
Vydra was tripped by Liam Lindsay as he wriggled his way into the box and this time there was no need for a referral to VAR operator and experienced whistler Lee Mason, who was 234 miles away in Uxbridge.
Chris Wood, who had come off the bench to try to break Barnsley’s stubborn resistance, took the spot-kick duties and buried it beyond Adam Davies.
It was Burnley’s first domestic penalty award since April 2017 – 64 games ago – so no wonder there had earlier been dismay and bemusement at Vydra’s ‘ghost spot-kick’.
The club also had to backtrack on a half-time tweet: “Burnley 0, Barnsley 0, VAR 1”.
Initially, the Premier League outfit had been delighted when referee Simon Hooper pointed to the spot after Dimi Cavare had tugged Vydra to the floor – seemingly after a word from the video official.
The Czech was entrusted with the 20th-minute kick.
But a change of mind from
Hooper saw the official abort the penalty after he and assistant Richard
West were informed that Vydra had strayed offside from Steven
Defour’s through ball just before the illegal challenge.
Up went the flag while
Hooper mouthed offside to a disbelieving Vydra while Barnsley’s fans chanted their love of the system which is now part of the FA Cup. Burnley manager Sean Dyche insisted he was a fan of VAR. He said: “I’m a big fan of the concept but I know it will take time to iron out.
“I’d say it was a good 80 to 90 seconds before they came to a final decision. Me and my staff decided in four seconds that it was offside. “The referee should have taken hold of the ball and moved outside the area until a decision is made then we wouldn’t have had all that confusion.
“Vydra had started his run-up. There is no blame on anyone – it’s just a process which needs speeding up.
“That delay was what annoyed me, not the outcome because once you know that is right you quickly move on.”
Before the penalty that never was, Barnsley had looked good for an Oakwell replay and went close with an Alex Mowatt free-kick. Home keeper Nick Pope, playing his first game since dislocating a shoulder in the Europa League at Aberdeen in July, smothered a Cauley Woodrow effort as the Tykes never once looked overawed by the two leagues difference between the clubs.
Boss Stendel said: “I’m very frustrated and not in the best of moods at the moment.
“We are disappointed to let in this goal in the last minute. We had the chances to score but one mistake decided the game.”
On VAR, he added: “I know it from my time managing in Germany. “It is a good thing but sometimes it takes too long which is very frustrating for the players and supporters.”