Relief and belief: Why Burnley’s win against Brentford felt more significant than your normal three points

Vincent Kompany is the first to say he and his players don’t get too low in defeat, nor too high in victory.

There’s not been many wins this season, only four, so perhaps the Clarets can be forgiven for their slightly exuberant post-match celebrations. But this felt different.

Was this merely relief at notching that long-overdue home win? It had been 106 days since the last one, the 5-0 thrashing of bottom side Sheffield United.

Or, was this in fact belief slowly but surely returning to the Turf Moor terraces? I’m more inclined to go with this one.

It’s been a miserable old campaign for Burnley, but Kompany said in the build-up to this game that something “special” could still be achieved.

It’s difficult to pay too much attention to those type of comments when the results continue to be so poor – the Clarets had failed to win in 10 prior to Saturday.

But of course Kompany is right. It might be unlikely, but given the peculiar circumstances we find ourselves in – with points deductions hanging over both Everton and Nottingham Forest – an eight-point gap could soon dwindle in the blink of an eye.

Of course this is only one win, we musn’t get carried away. But, Arsenal and Crystal Palace aside, Kompany is right to say a victory has been coming. It’s certainly been on the cards.

Only six days prior, Kompany’s men came within minutes of recording a superb win away to West Ham.

Squandering a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 could well have dented Burnley’s already low levels of confidence, so they deserve huge credit for the manner in which they responded against Brentford.

Electric start

Yes, it’s easy to point at Sergio Reguilon’s red card as a key moment in this game and you’d be right, it is. But Burnley had already set their stalls out from kick-off and the dismissal was a direct result of their good play.

It was a teasing Josh Cullen cross that undid the Bees’ backline and resulted in Vitinho controlling the ball six or seven yards from goal, only to be bundled to the floor by the Tottenham loanee.

Why it needed a VAR check beggars belief, but thankfully Darren Bond eventually came to the right decision – even if it followed a lengthy delay in which the footage on the pitchside monitor froze.

Not only were the Clarets awarded a spot kick, which Jacob Bruun Larsen duly dispatched, but Reguilon was also sent on his way for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Perfect, Burnley couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to the game.

Or could they? For a brief period after the goal, the Clarets struggled to get to grips with the new dynamic of the game. Brentford appeared fairly content to sit deep and frustrate the hosts while still offering a threat on the counter. This game was far from over.

But the hosts did eventually get their heads around the one-man advantage and took control of proceedings, as you would expect. Chances came, chances went. Was it going to be another of those ‘one that got away’ occasions?

David Fofana thankfully settled those nerves midway through the second-half when he provided a delightful dink over the Brentford goalkeeper, atoning for two glaring misses during the first 45.

Late nerves

That really ought to have been that. A third goal would have been nice to put the game to bed for once and for all, but nevertheless Burnley should have had enough to manage the game and see out the remaining half an hour or so with their man advantage.

Let’s be honest though, none of us thought that was going to happen, did we? Burnley never do things the easy way.

So it proved, as Kristoffer Ajer set up a tense finish when he glanced home a header seven minutes from time to halve the deficit.

What followed was predictably nervy and anxious. Burnley’s inexperience, in both age and inability to see out a game, shone through as the 10-men visitors piled forward and bombarded Arijanet Muric’s box.

Yes, you read that right, Arijanet Muric. The Kosovan had finally been picked in favour of James Trafford, who had previously been seemingly undroppable.

Why Kompany felt the need to change goalkeepers now, with only 10 games of the season remaining, is difficult to fathom. There have been plenty of occasions, much earlier in the campaign, where a change would have made sense.

This isn’t a stinging criticism of Trafford either. He’s quite clearly a supremely talented young goalkeeper who will go on to have a long and distinguished career.

But it’s been a difficult season for him, you can’t shy away from it. To be thrown into the Premier League at the age of 21, when your only prior senior experience came on loan in League One, is a big, big ask.

Months ago it made sense to take Trafford out of the limelight, for his confidence more than anything. There was no reason why he couldn’t come back into the starting XI at a later date.

But, better late than never, Kompany opted to make the switch and it paid off, with Muric enjoying a fine game. His distribution was quick and penetrative and he did everything with a swagger and an air of confidence.

He looked a little nervy late on as Brentford threw caution to the wind, but then again he wasn’t the only one.

Burnley got the job done though. They showed the bottle to get across the line. Job done.

It’s going to take a monumental effort from Burnley to accumulate the necessary points to move out of the dropzone, but it’s a far more realistic proposition than it was a few days ago. So why not, eh?