Owen Coyle gave Chris Eagles his debut in a free-flowing 4-2-3-1 formation as the Clarets returned to Turf Moor after eight warm-up games on the road, and his side produced an opening 45 minutes to get everyone off their seats.

The glut of substitutes after the break saw Burnley lose their fluidity, but the game was essentially won by then, as the Clarets made it six victories on the spin.

Burnley dominated the first half, and could have been two up within 10 minutes.

With Eagles, Wade Elliott and Robbie Blake all interchangable just off Martin Paterson, the Clarets passed with real purpose and created a raft of chances.

Eagles and Blake combined to send Paterson clear, but the former Scunthorpe man pulled his shot wide of the far post.

Moments later, Graham Alexander found Blake, who again fed Paterson, this time beating keeper Michael Fraser, but seeing his effort drift wide from an acute angle.

It was resembling an attack v defence training session, as Blake went close with a free kick, before Chris McCann headed straight at Fraser from a Blake cross on the half-hour.

Thistle's only real attack of note in the first half saw Ian Black pick up a loose ball and aim for the corner, forcing Penny into a routine save.

Within seconds, Burnley were in front as Alexander, Remco van der Schaaf and Blake linked to find Elliott, who twisted and turned to beat Ross Tokely, crafting the space to fire home inside the far post.

And in injury time, after Paterson won the ball and crossed, Blake benefitted from a slip from Grant Munro and unselfishly teed up Eagles to net a debut goal after his seven-figure move from Manchester United.

Burnley were not as fluent after the break, as Caley, who only made two changes all game, tried to force the issue, and they got their reward just after the hour.
Striker Andrew Barrowman capitalised on hesitant defending from Steven Caldwell, outmuscled the skipper, and volleyed unerringly past Penny from the edge of the area.
Earlier, he had latched on to a clipped pass from Don Cowie and again finished with composure, but was flagged off-side, and he was denied an equaliser when a left-foot snap shot cannoned off the outside of the post with 20 minutes remaining.

The Clarets struggled to hit the heights their first-half performance reached, but whatever the Championship campaign has in store, it looks like being an entertaining one for Burnley followers.

Burnley: Penny (Jensen 69); Alexander, Duff, Caldwell (Carlisle 69), Kalvenes (Jordan 54); van der Schaaf (McDonald 69), McCann (Gudjonsson 46); Elliott (Jones 73), Eagles (Mahon 78), Blake (Solovjovs 73); Paterson (Akinbiyi 69). Subs not used: Berisha, Kay.

Attendance: 4,406