[themaclad]

Burnley
Deepdale 15/2/2025 1230Hrs

On the tele again

https://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/

MANAGER



LAST TIME OUT





FORM GUIDE

PNE 15 BURNLEY 14

Only conceded 9 goals this season, ten cleansheets in a row going so well they are outside the top two.

OCCASIONAL HOT SHOTS



Flemming always scores against us

MACCERS CHATTERS

Stuart McCall feels North End can be a match for anyone in the division and wants to see that from the team on a “regular and consistent basis”.

PNE have fared well against some of the teams at the top end of the division so far this season, with impressive performances coming against the likes of Leeds United and Saturday’s opponents, Burnley.

The Lilywhites left Turf Moor feeling aggrieved that they hadn’t taken all three points, and the Clarets now come to Deepdale having suffered just one defeat in 19.


Stuart said: “You've got a Burnley side coming on the back of ten [consecutive] clean sheets, sitting third in the league. We always respect the opposition and we'll look at what they can do, we've analysed it, but we've got to concentrate on what we can do and what we're good at.

“When we do that, I think we're a match for anyone. As we said to the lads this morning, it's about trying to do that on a regular and consistent basis.”

PNE’s assistant manager provided an update on Duane Holmes, who had to be stretchered off against Norwich City, and unfortunately he’ll miss two months with a fractured fibula.


There are a couple of players set to return, though, in time for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off at Deepdale.

Stuart said: “I think probably two or three weeks ago we were looking at the board and we had one injury and now we've got five or six. It’s part and parcel of football.

“It is what it is and it gives other people opportunities to come in. It's nice to get players back. We've got Robbie [Brady] and Emil [Riis] both back with the squad on Saturday which is a big boost.

“Obviously we’ve lost Duane and Ali McCann's still got another game suspension. The other ones that are out, Ben [Whiteman], Jordan [Storey] and Jack [Whatmough], they’re a bit more longer term. Obviously, Duane goes into that category now as well.”

Coming to Deepdale this weekend are a Burnley side who have just set a new Championship record for keeping ten consecutive clean sheets.

They’ve only conceded nine goals in total this term and sit just a few points off an automatic promotion spot.

Stuart added: “I've probably been to three games at Burnley this season and it's been a similar pattern. They've controlled large parts of it.

“They've defended really well when they've had to, but they don't defend with just a ‘keeper and a back four. It’s the midfield two in front of that, the wide players, even the strikers are back 30 yards from goal when they haven't got the ball so they’re a solid, solid unit and difficult to break down.”

The Fitness Test

Assistant manager Stuart McCall confirmed in the pre-match press conference that Duane Holmes will miss the next two months after fracturing his fibula in the victory over Norwich City.

There's better news as far as former Burnley man Robbie Brady and Emil Riis are concerned, though, with the North End duo both set to be available this weekend.

Ben Whiteman, Jack Whatmough and Jordan Storey all remain sidelined.

The Clarets


Burnley arrive at Deepdale after setting a quite remarkable new Championship record for keeping ten consecutive clean sheets.

The Clarets, in their first season back in the second tier and Scott Parker’s maiden campaign in charge, have conceded just nine goals so far in the league and sit three points off an automatic promotion spot.

They’re now 19 matches without defeat in the Championship and they’ll be hoping for cup success to go alongside with the league, with another meeting with North End in the FA Cup fifth round coming up in just a couple of weeks.

The Officials

Andrew Kitchen is back at Deepdale for the second time this season, with the first game being North End's 3-0 victory Watford.

So far this season, Kitchen has refereed 20 matches – the majority of them coming in the Championship – and in that time he's shown 70 yellow cards and two reds.

MACS VIEW

This is not goint to be a high scoringthriller, they don't do entertaining, defensively solid, they have scored 39 goals of which 14 came in three games. We were denied a win there by a dire offside decision, the joy of this lot rocking up again in a couple of weeks for a very interesting cup game.
Lets hope we have recovered from the marathon to East Anglia on Tuesday

[themaclad]

Preston North End 0 Burnley 0
Attendance: 19,864 (5,670 Burnley fans).

Referee: Mr A Kitchen.

Well that turned out to be interresting and it has certainly lit the fuse for the Cup game in two weeks time, more of that later. Another soulless grey and cold day in Central Lancashire as North End and the odd folk from East Lancashire fought out a goalless draw, Burnley's 11 clean sheet on the bounce and another day were they failed to find the net, if Leeds beat Sunderland tomorrow the Clarets will be five points away from the top two.
Another decent performance by North End although we lacked a cutting edge, probably could say the same about them, Lyle Taylor inability to hit a cow's arse with a banjo the first fired over an open goal at the end of the first period and hitting the outside of the post from a possible offside position in the second. Anthony fired over should have done better and a free kick hit Flemming who also looked offside.
As I said our chances were limited Osmajic denied by a great Egan-Reilly tackle in the first half and Potts tried to curl one in early in the second half.
Parker thought they should have had a penalty for what turned out to be a super tackle from Gibson, also thought we might have had one right at the end when KKH got into the area. So a point each and a happy ending, well not quite, the game had one of those incidents of apparent naughty words being said.
All this is apparently is what has been said.
Os miss controls ball and it goes out of play,
Hannibal calls Os a retard and turns and runs away smiling, Os replies
F you and F your mother, whereupon Hannibal gets a tad upset.
And then it all goes off, the Burnley camp were also upset with the grief Hannibalgot when he was subbed from the home fans behind the dugout. Add into the mix a tweet of total misinformation by a Burnley journalist who claimed wrongly as it so happened a home fan had been arrested for a racist comment. That didn't happen, so we meet again in two weeks get the pop corn out


HECK

Paul Heckingbottom was pleased with his side’s level of performance in the goalless draw against Burnley.

Preston North End hosted their Lancashire rivals at Deepdale who arrived with the aim of pushing into the Championship’s top two.

The Lilywhites, though, limited their opponents to very little to keep a 15th clean sheet of the season, while at the other end there were opportunities for PNE to break the deadlock.

Hecky said: “I’m really pleased with what I saw. The level of performance was really good, really strong against one of the top teams in the league, so it’s a good point.

“I'm pleased with the point, but I'm even more pleased with the performance to be honest.

“Burnley have the best defensive record and that shows. They are the best team without the ball in the league. I think we are one of the best teams as well without the ball, but we do it in a totally different way to them.

“It sort of panned out that way on the pitch, but I'm honestly really pleased with the performance. I enjoyed watching it. The only negative for me was not being part of the atmosphere and being on the sideline where you feel totally immersed in it. Instead, I was a spectator today and you feel less influential from up there.”

Kaine Kesler-Hayden came closest for PNE on the day, as he had a shot blocked from close range just before the half-hour mark.

Lyle Foster had the best opportunity for the Clarets in the second half, striking the post, and Freddie Woodman was only twice called into action.

Hecky said: “I knew tactically we'd have to get everything right. I knew the intensity of our performance, the real physical edge to that game, the intensity of performance had to be there. The moment that we got any of that wrong, Burnley would have become favourites and potentially won because that's their level. That's how they perform every week.

“That's why they’re 20 games unbeaten, so it's a reminder to us and our players that we've gone toe to toe with them over two games and not been second best.

“We've done that against the majority of the top teams, but we have to make sure that's our level every single game.”


YES M'LADY

Clarets boss reflects on goalless clash with the Lilywhites

Head Coach Scott Parker was delighted with his team's display against Preston North End on Saturday afternoon, despite the Clarets not coming away with all three points.

Burnley created plenty of big opportunities throughout and looked dangerous from the off, but just couldn't quite find a way to breach the Lilywhites' defence.

Speaking after the match at Deepdale, Parker took plenty of positives from the performance against Paul Heckingbottom's side and said the only disappointment was to not come away with the deserved victory.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic with the team. I thought our performance generally was top today, I’m really pleased with the game in terms of how we approached it.

“We spoke about it, this is a tough place to come. Fine margins have been decided in this stadium for many teams here. One goal here or there.

“They make it very difficult and you've got to stand up to a certain fight. We stood up to that, the facts are, the disappointment is we've not got a result and there's no denying that.

"We're disappointed that we've not managed to win the game because we fully deserved to. We didn't put our chances away today and I think that's fair to say.”


A couple of chances fell Lyle Foster's way in the game and despite not finding the back of the net, Parker had high praise for his forward: "It's one of them, really. Yes, one of them has probably got to go in and Lyle will probably understand that as well.

"He's in great areas and he's been absolutely superb. Lyle would be more disappointed than any of us, really."

Burnley had a penalty shout with the game approaching the final stages, after substitute Marcus Edwards was brought down inside the area, but Andrew Kitchen dismissed the appeals.

On the decision, Parker explained: "Yes, absolutely for me and I don't think I'm being biased in my understanding of it.

"The ref has said to me that the defender got the ball. He didn't get the ball. A tackle is if the defender's running with the ball and I want to tackle him, I have to get contact with the ball first.

"If I touch the ball first, then I get that's a good tackle. In this case, Marcus has just touched it and he's hit the other player and then wiped him out. Penalty, that's how I just see it.