Downes feeling down as Burnley light their fire

Brentford 0 Burnley 3

Having offered a pre-match opinion that he would be happy to get away from Griffin Park with a replay, the Burnley manager, Stan Ternent, could not contain his delight at being in tomorrow's draw for the FA Cup's fifth round. And, what's more, with a three-goal victory which without the slightest doubt flattered his side enormously.

Two of those goals came in the final four minutes after Brentford's manager, Wally Downes, had swapped a defender, Mark Somner, for a striker, Mark Peters.

"I'm choked for the players," said Downes. "They have given me everything and through naïvety we have been punished. It was a crap decision by me. I take the responsibility for the score."

Ternent pointed out that clinical finishing was the difference which saw the exit of the competition's last Second Division club. Burnley also defended stoically in a second half dominated by Brentford attacks and managed, somehow, to keep out everything, although a post was struck and two shots were booted off the line.

Their goalkeeper Marlon Beresford had an outstanding game. "If he doesn't get any worse than that I will be happy," smiled Ternent. Beresford was certainly under-employed in the opening half, needing to make only one save, though it was an excellent one, tipping over a Leo Roget header from Stephen Hunt's free-kick.

By half-time Brentford had lost two of their personnel, Kevin O'Connor with concussion and Roget with a hamstring problem. However, that was nowhere near such bad news as Burnley's first goal in the 52nd minute. A home corner was cleared upfield to Graham Branch, whose cross was intercepted by Andy Frampton. Unfortunately, Frampton got ball and boots in a mix, Robbie Blake stole it and waltzed into the area to score emphatically.

Frampton almost made amends with a fine cross on to Jay Smith's head, but Beresford again turned the ball over. With Hunt rampaging down both wings and providing a supply of unsettling crosses, and with Ibrahima Sonko's prodigious throws regularly causing danger, Burnley were hard pressed.

There was a rapid double escape as Arthur Gnohere's clearance off the line from Scott Marshall was followed by a similar intervention by the captain, Paul Cook, to keep out Rowan Vine's shot. Mark Williams and Somner both aimed too high from good openings and the lively Hunt beat the advancing Beresford to tip the ball towards a vacant net, only to see it bounce tantalisingly past the far post.

Though at full stretch, Burnley retained defensive shape, even when Vine hit a post and Hunt's effort from the rebound was bravely blocked by Beresford. Enter Peters, exit Somner, and Burnley wrapped it up against an extended defence. First Cook curled a delightful shot with the outside of his boot just inside an upright and the substitute Glen Little reduced the Bees fans to groans with another simple strike.