Burnden Aces

Burnley 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

• October 17, 2015 | By Chris Mann
• Short URL: http://b-ac.es/4199b

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• Burnley, Championship, Match Reports
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• See Also

• Post-Match: Lennon on Bolton's Defeat at Burnley

Neil Lennon's 50th game in charge of Bolton ended in defeat, as they slipped to the bottom of the Championship table with a 2-0 loss at Burnley.

After a goalless first half at Turf Moor, the Clarets took a 56th minute lead when Andre Gray tapped home from close range, after Ben Amos had worked wonders to initially pull off two outstanding saves.

Gray sealed the points 12 minutes later, putting the result beyond doubt, as he latched on to a through ball from Scott Arfield before drilling low past a helpless Amos.

Lennon made five changes to the side that started against Queens Park Rangers before the international break, with David Wheater, Derik Osede, Jose Manuel Casado, Wellington Silva and Jay Spearing all coming in. Prince-Desir Gouano, Mark Davies and Max Clayton dropped down to the bench, while there were no places for the injured duo of Francesco Pisano and Dean Moxey.

Bolton started brightly on their travels, prompting many supporters to make use of this promotional code, with Neil Danns seeing two early strikes saved by the Clarets' England international goalkeeper Tom Heaton.

Silva was next to try his luck for the visitors, but could only volley high into the stands after a free-kick fell kindly at his feet just inside the box, moments before another set-play taken by Liam Feeney caused panic in the Burnley defence before being cleared to safety.

The hosts saw appeals for a penalty turned down when George Boyd went to ground on the quarter-hour, with referee Graham Scott not interested in his protestations, but they came close to breaking the deadlock shortly afterwards as record signing Gray dragged a shot inches wide after racing clear of Dorian Dervite.

Joey Barton was the first player to be shown a yellow card on 25 minutes, after a combination of he and Tendayi Darikwa hauled down an advancing Silva.

Wanderers were forced into a change before the break, as Spearing appeared to be in obvious pain after sliding in for a 50/50 challenge with Boyd. After receiving treatment from physios, he returned to the action but dropped to the ground within a matter of seconds and was replaced by Davies.

Heaton reacted well to punch away a goalbound volley from Feeney as the clock ticked into the final 10 minutes of the half, before the Burnley stopper held on to a rebound from Dervite.

Burnley burst into life in the closing stages of the half, with Arfield flashing a shot across the face of goal, before Sam Vokes was denied by a goalline clearance from Wheater after his shot had got the better of Amos.

Davies was involved in the final action of the half, forcing Heaton into a routine save, as the two sides went in scoreless at the interval.

There were no changes to either side at the start of the second period, which began on a quieter note than the opening 45 minutes. Then, suddenly, the game sprung to life as Burnley netted the opening goal with 56 minutes on the clock.

After pulling off two remarkable saves to deny Gray and Arfield, Amos was let down by his defensive colleagues as they allowed Gray to run unopposed on to the loose ball before tapping into the empty net from close range.

Gary Madine came within inches of making contact for what would have been a certain equaliser on the hour, with a defender nicking the ball off his head at the last moment, moments before Feeney hit the side netting after a cross from Casado picked out the run of the former Millwall midfielder.

Danns went into the referee's book for hauling down Gray midway through the half, but things were about to get much worse for the visitors as Burnley doubled their lead moments later.

Gray, who had earlier opened the scoring, latched on to a pass from Arfield, raced clean through on goal and made no mistake in firing past a helpless Amos.

Michael Duff almost added a third with 20 minutes to go, as he failed to make contact on a Matt Taylor free-kick into the box, while Silva came just as close at the other end with a set-piece that flashed inches wide of Heaton's far post.

Gray was then denied a hat-trick by two outstanding stops from Amos, before Silva was forced off the field as a result of a challenge which saw Clarets defender Darikwa receive a yellow card.

Wheater joined the Wanderers attack for the closing stages and was thwarted a consolation by a goalline clearance, with what turned out to be the final attacking exchange of the game - which ended in a 2-0 victory for Sean Dyche's side.

Defeat sees Lennon's men drop to the bottom of the Championship table, on an afternoon which saw him celebrate 50 games in charge of the Trotters. They return to action on Tuesday, when they play host to Birmingham City at Macron Stadium.

Burnley: Heaton, Darikwa, Duff, Keane, Mee, Boyd (Taylor 63), Jones, Barton, Arfield, Vokes, Gray (Long 87)
Subs Not Used: Lowton, Kightly, Hennings, Gilks, Ward
Booked: Barton, Darikwa
Goals: Gray 56,68

Bolton Wanderers: Amos, Osede, Dervite, Wheater, Casado, Spearing (Davies 36), Danns (Heskey 69), Feeney, Pratley, Silva (Dobbie 83), Madine
Subs Not Used: Gouano, Vela, Clayton, Rachubka
Booked: Danns, Casado, Dervite

Referee: Graham Scott
Attendance: 17,632

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