You would have thought we were on the brink of relegation given some of the comments I've seen in the last few days, since the defeat at Ipswich. I've seen our situation referred to as a crisis and even read that this was a must win game.
The win came from a first half corner, headed in at the far post by Keane who is now, it has been pointed out, our leading goalscorer this season with two having opened his account just seven days earlier with our first in the 2-2 draw against Birmingham.
It's a while since Brentford played at Burnley. We have to go back to October 1999 when we played out a 2-2 draw. I spoke to a group of their supporters on Harry Potts Way a couple of hours before kick off. They asked if it was always so hot and sunny in Burnley. I told them: "Yes, this is very typical of our climate," but I think they saw through it.
There's no doubt it was hardly football weather, not even for watching let alone playing but with England collapsing in the test match it was proving not to be too good for cricket either.
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| Home debut for Rouwen Hennings |
The big talking point ahead of the game was Andre Gray. He'd signed for us on Friday afternoon and those Brentford fans were very disappointed he'd left them, although they accepted that it was inevitable, and they said there was no doubt that he would score goals for us.
He signed too late to play although I'm not sure Brentford would have ever made that possible. I didn't see him. He was sat in the stand with a group of his mates. I saw them walking up Harry Potts Way and at first thought JLS had reformed.
We've sort of got used to 'same again' over the last couple of years when it came to the team news coming in. It's the same now, sort of. In the four league games to date we've made no changes in goal, the back four or midfield, but up front it is a quite a different story.
We've seen both Lukas Jutkiewicz and Sam Vokes start up front alongside Jelle Vossen but it was all change again yesterday. Juke was preferred ahead of Sam, who had played at Ipswich, and there was no place for Vossen, the Belgian replaced by German Rouwen Hennings who was making his first start and his first appearance at Turf Moor.
It all nearly started well too. Almost from the start, Jutkiewicz got the better of former Oldham defender James Tarkoswki who was doing a mean impression of Zorro, but he just couldn't find Hennings with the ball back.
The good start soon faded and Brentford started to come into the game and twice they brought the best out of Tom Heaton as they looked to get in front, firstly from a free kick and then in a one-on-one situation.
Alan Judge was the first to bring the best out of our goalkeeper. Despite having enjoyed, if enjoyed is the right word, two spells with Blackburn, he was surprisingly spared the usual abuse from the Burnley fans usually associated with one of their former players.
He took a free kick from just outside the box which saw Heaton, who could have only seen it late, save down to his left. He couldn't hold it but got it well away from goal ensuring they would not be given a second opportunity.
When he was next called into action it came from their best move of the afternoon. Lasse Vibe got on the end of a superb ball played through the middle. He looked a certain scorer but Heaton did well when the Charlton player failed to make the most of the opportunity.
At that stage of the game I was worried, but I needn't have been. They'd had their best period and for all their passing of the ball, they never seriously threatened us again.
We just needed something to spark us, and it came and led to us going in front. It was a good move started when David Jones nicked the ball off them. He played it back to Keane before receiving a return pass.
This time Jones linked with Michael Kightly who then found Ben Mee on the left. Mee played it back in for Jones who in turn found Scott Arfield who played a superb ball inside the left back for Tendayi Darikwa to run on to. The left-back just kept it in and his cross rebounded out for a corner.
Jones, who had started the move, took the corner and Keane climbed at the far post to head home. After he scored his first Burnley goal last week, he said that he would hope to score five or six in a season, so with the strikers not quite firing just yet his contribution so far has been vital.
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| A second goal in successive home games for Michael Keane |
The closest we came to another goal in the first half was through Arfield. It was another good move too. A Kightly cross was headed out but only as far as Arfield inside the D on the edge of the box but the midfielder could do no more than hit his shot over the bar.
But a goal up at half time, the first time since we've been in front at home going in for the break since the West Brom game at the beginning of February.
As for the second half, I can't recall one occasion where Brentford threatened to get back into the game. They looked a weary side who were just content to pass the ball across the pitch. They showed no real urgency and at times you could be forgiven for thinking they were wasting time.
I'd like to say we should have gone on to win it by more, and we might have done, but there weren't too many chances that you look back at and think: "We should have scored then." Maybe the best of them was when Kightly dummied a ball in from the right for Vokes, on as a substitute, who missed target.
Before that, Arfield did come close. A poor clearance by goalkeeper David Button found Arfield who shot first time from around 35 yards. It went just wide with referee David Webb giving a corner. I'm not convinced Button, at full stretch, did get a hand to it.
We nearly had a repeat of last week when Matt Taylor came on and took a free kick. This time he kept his shot low but it went just wide of the post.
But we looked more than comfortable in the heat but it was a relief when the final whistle blew and signalled our first win of the season. It wasn't a crisis, this was certainly never a must win game, but it was nice to enjoy a victory and get the three points.
It will be interesting to see who gets the nod up front next week. Hennings didn't get too much chance to impress yesterday but we'll be able to add Gray to the squad, and against Bristol City who he turned down last week.
Who knows, there might even be a midfielder in too.
This was better, although we will play far better sides than Brentford, but a one in the win column does look good.
The teams were;
Burnley: Tom Heaton, Tendayi Darikwa, Michael Duff, Michael Keane, Ben Mee, George Boyd, Scott Arfield, David Jones, Michael Kightly (Matt Taylor 73), Lukas Jutkiewicz (Marvin Sordell 83), Rouwen Hennings (Sam Vokes 60). Subs not used: Matt Gilks, Tom Anderson, Stephen Ward, Jelle Vossen.
Yellow Card: Michael Duff.
Brentford: David Button, Alan McCormack (Jermaine Udumaga 83), Harlee Dean, James Tarkoswki, Jake Bidwell, Toumani Diagouraga, Alan Judge, Konstantin Kerschbaumer, Akika Gogia (Maxime Colin 58), Lasse Vibe, Philipp Hoffman. Subs not used: Jack Bonham, Jack O'Connell, Yoann Barbet, Josh Clarke, Courtney Senior.
Yellow Cards: Alan McCormack, Toumani Daigouraga.
Referee: David Webb (Tyne & Wear).
Attendance: 14,928 (including 696 from Brentford).