BURNLEY 3, BLACKBURN ROVERS 0
Burnley moved three points clear at the top of the Championship following victory in the East Lancashire derby.
It could not have been sweeter as the Clarets beat their arch-rivals Blackburn Rovers who would have become leaders had they win at Turf Moor.
Two goals from old war horse Ashley Barnes and another strike from recent signing Anass Zaroury were reward for a commanding display.
Burnley, who shipped five goals in their last league game at then leaders Sheffield United, restricted Rovers to only one goal attempt in the whole game.
By contrast, Burnley had 17 with eight on target as they looked every inch a side heading back to the Premier League at the first attempt after last season’s relegation.
Manager Vicent Kompany was delighted how his side handled the occasion.
“It was the game everyone was speaking about from day one. I am glad it’s over and move on. It’s our on-nil trophy,” he said.
“After the thumping at Sheffield United, it was good to see how we reacted. We have gone back to being consistent which is our biggest tool at this stage.”
Embed from Getty ImagesKompany added he was pleased with Barnes whose chances have been limited.
“Sometimes you have to be patient but keep standards high. If he had let them drop, he would not be able to do what he did. He chose his day well,” he continued.
Rovers’ manager Jon Dahl Tomasson described it as a difficult afternoon.
“You could see we have shown bravery and courage in the last few weeks, but we didn’t have it today, and we are still inconsistent at this level,” he said.
“The break will be good for the squad so we can rest and work with the players. We are a new and young squad, and it is still early in our journey.
“We should be satisfied so far, but we can always do better.”
There was a huge police presence for the first East Lancashire derby since 2017 as they described it as a ‘major operation’ with hundreds of officers on duty.
Roads surrounding Turf Moor were blocked off with rival supporters given designated routes to the ground to reduce the risk of trouble as it more reminiscent of football back in the dark days of the 1970s and 80s.
This was the 101st meeting of the clubs who were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888 with both on 41 wins before their latest clash.
Burnley went into the game in second spot having lost only two of their 22 games in all competitions.
Rovers were third, two points behind their neighbours, despite having lost eight league games. However, they had won more games than the Clarets, but drawn on compared to the home side’s eight.
Josh Brownhill returned from suspension for Burnley with Barnes also back in the starting line-up with Samuel Bastien and Nathan Tella dropping to the bench. Jay Rodriguez missed out on selection.
Rovers made plenty of changes following their Carabao Cup win over West Ham in midweek.
Sam Szmodics missed out for the visitors with a tight hamstring with Scott Wharton and Harry Pickering dropping to the bench. Clinton Mola and Jake Garrett started.
Despite the passions, the period of silence on Remembrance Sunday was impeccably observed before battle commenced.
It was an opening half in which Burnley enjoyed almost 70 per cent possession as Rovers struggled to get a toe hold into the game.
Indeed, they did not have one goal attempt, though they had a shout for a penalty rejected after Ben Brereton Diaz went down more in hope than expectation following a challenge by Jordan Beyer.
The Clarets had seven goal attempts and would have finished ahead but for two fabulous saves in quick succession to keep out headers from Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Barnes.
Rovers were more adventurous from the restart and within 90 seconds they had their first goal attempt when Brereton Diaz forced keeper Arijanet Muric to beat out his angled shot.
But it was Burnley who made the breakthrough in the 55th minute when Barnes headed home a left-wing cross from Zaroury.
It was only his second goal of the season in 16 appearances and first in the Championship after opening his account in the last match, the FA Cup win against Crawley.
Burnley sealed victory when they doubled their lead with 16 minutes left after Rovers were caught playing the ball out of defence.
The ball was hoisted into the penalty area where Barnes’ brilliant volley was well kept out by Muric but Zaroury, following up, rifled in the rebound.
It was his sixth goal of the season following his August move from Belgium club Charleroi.
And it got worse as Rovers soon conceded a third goal.
Josh Brownhill opened up the visiting defence as he cut in from the right and cut the ball back for Barnes who coolly slotted the ball low past Kaminiski from 10 yards for his third goal in two games having not found the net all season.