Burnley continued their 100 per cent home record with a deserved 2-1 win over Birmingham City at Turf Moor.
Goals from Fletcher and Bikey see off sorry Birmingham
Burnley continued their 100 per cent home record with a deserved 2-1 win over Birmingham City at Turf Moor.
The Clarets came into the game on the back of a 5-0 drubbing by Spurs, but they looked a completely different side as they put Alex McLeish's Blues to the sword.
Lee Bowyer will be wondering how he did not put Birmingham in front on the stroke of half-time after a shocking miss with the goal at his mercy, and it proved costly as Burnley came out firing after the break.
A quick counter-attack ended in Steven Fletcher firing the ball past Joe Hart, who should have done better, before Andre Bikey linked up with David Nugent and killed the game off with a cool finish.
Sebastian Larsson scored a wonderful free-kick deep into injury-time but it proved to be just a consolation for the Blues.
Visiting manager McLeish packed his midfield and, with Burnley playing
4-2-3-1, it meant the middle of the pitch was heavily congested.
A number of niggly fouls did not help the flow of the game and, as a result, there was little football played in the first half - which passed without incident apart from Bowyer's miss.
That came in the 37th minute when Roger Johnson drilled a cross to the far post where the unmarked midfielder only had to divert it into an empty net but his body position was all wrong and he knocked away from goal and Burnley survived.
Things livened up after the interval as, just three minutes in, half-time substitute Larsson blazed over at the far post after being set up by Garry O'Connor.
Lead
But it was Burnley who took the lead in the 53rd minute with a quick counter-attack after a Blues free-kick broke down.
Right-back Tyrone Mears carried the ball out of defence, sent Fletcher racing through the inside-left channel and the former Hibernian forward drilled a left-footed shot which deflected off Hart's legs and into the roof of the net.
The Scot should have doubled his tally when Robbie Blake picked him out in the penalty area minutes later, only to see his shot roll against the foot of the post.
Bikey, playing a holding role in midfield, ensured the hosts would not rue that miss as he created and scored the second in the 62nd minute.
The Cameroon international won the ball, wriggled past two markers, charged forward to exchange passes with Nugent and shot beyond Hart and into the left corner for his first goal since a summer move from Reading.
McLeish's last throw of the dice was to send on Kevin Phillips for Teemu Tainio with 20 minutes to go, while Fletcher was replaced by Chris Eagles to a standing ovation.
Hart then had to be at his best to deny Mears' 20-yard free-kick, with Bikey heading the resulting corner over.
Larsson curled in a stunning late free-kick but it was too late as Burnley showed, once again, why Turf Moor will be their battleground as they bid to secure another season in the top flight.
| Burnley |
Team Statistics |
Birmingham City |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 9 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 8 |
Corners |
4 |
| 17 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 70.5 |
Passing Success |
61.6 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 66.7 |
Tackles Success |
42.1 |
| 58.5 |
Possession |
41.5 |
| 57.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
42.3 |
|
