Well, well, well, after trailing 2-0 at Accrington and only managing a 0-0 bore draw with Bury, the Clarets have pulled a very impressive friendly result out of the bag against Premiership Bolton.

Let’s not get carried away we are told with friendly results, but it’s hard not to after Burnley put in a very impressive performance against Big Sam’s star studded side. If the result is irrelevant, then the performance was reason enough to be pleased with as the Clarets more than matched a strong Bolton side.

The most pleasing aspect of today’s game was some of the football that Burnley played, the passing to feet, and hardly a long ball in sight. True, there are still certain things that need ironing out, the link up play of Steve Jones and Andy Gray in particular, but today’s game was hopefully a sign of things to come.

The Clarets started with the Beast in goal, Frank Sinclair again at right back, Jon Harley at left back, and John McGreal this time partnering the now regular Wayne Thomas in the centre of defence.

The midfield consisted of Alan Mahon, James O’Connor, Micah Hyde and Graham Branch, with Andy Gray up front and Steve Jones operating somewhere between the right wing and alongside Andy Gray. Alan Mahon too found himself a free reign to go forward and support Andy Gray.

It was interesting to see Micah Hyde given an extended run out, and is it too late for him, or has Steve had a re-think now it looks like we are struggling to find a club to take him off the wage bill? Whatever the answer, Micah was once again impressive in the heart of the midfield.

The game started pretty evenly, which is an achievement in itself considering some of the players we were up against in the Bolton starting eleven; Fortune, Nolan, Diouf, Vaz Te, but it was the Clarets that took the lead on eleven minutes.

Some good football from Burnley on half way resulted in Alan Mahon lining up a shooting opportunity. Mahon took on the invitation, as he did all game when the chance to shoot arose, and smacked a shot which Jaaskelainen could only parry to Andy Gray, who was on hand to slot home the rebound.

We were playing OK, and certainly matching Bolton, but Jon Harley and Graham Branch between them were certainly giving us some worrying moments on the left hand side. On more than one occasion, mix-ups between the two nearly cost us.

On 22 minutes Bolton got their equaliser, and again it was from some sloppy Burnley defending. Kevin Davies was allowed to get a cross in from the right hand side, and Ricardo Vaz Te had all the time in the world to control the ball on his chest, compose himself, and volley home the equaliser. Where the central defenders were is anybody’s guess, but the marking left a lot to be desired.

Graham Branch made way for Garreth O’Connor on 42 minutes, and that substitution came as little surprise, Branch just didn’t do himself justice on the left hand side today. Half time came, and 1-1 on reflection was probably a fair scoreline. Bolton made a flurry of substitutions at half time, and throughout the second half, and it certainly wasn’t as strong a Bolton side in the second half as in the first. But nothing should be taken away from the Clarets. We were still playing well, and passing the ball around impressively, and on 65 minutes, our play was rewarded with the winning goal.

It was Frank Sinclair who received the ball from a corner, putting a good cross into the box, which Micah Hyde met to put the Clarets ahead. Yes, you read that right, a goal from Micah Hyde.

We had further chances also, with Andy Gray hitting the bar with a header, and Garreth O’Connor missing what looked to be an absolute sitter in the dying minutes. Bolton had their chances in the second half, but it was Burnley that had the better of the chances and should have wrapped the game up completely.

We were saved in injury time though, as Bolton beat the offside trap, alledgedly, but Wayne Thomas was once again there to save the day with a last gasp challenge, and a 2-1 victory it was for us.

Impressive stuff, and Frank Sinclair, Wayne Thomas, Brian Jensen, Alan Mahon, and Micah Hyde can be pleased with their performances today, and once again Kyle Lafferty who was very impressive again as he came on late on.

We are looking OK at the moment, based on today’s performance the football is certainly looking a lot better, and Alan Mahon looks like he is going to be massive for us this season. Still a few little worries, but for now we’ll enjoy the fact that we toppled Premiership Bolton at the Turf.

Up the Clarets.