Burnley 2 - 0 Hull City

Clarets pile pressure on Brown

Updated: October 31, 2009, 7:17 AM UK

Burnley returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Hull courtesy of a Graham Alexander double on his 100th appearance for the club.

• Coyle: Massive win

A composed penalty in the first half and then a spectacular drive from distance in the second helped the Clarets bounce back from last week's home defeat to Wigan.

Geovanni, who thought he had equalised for Hull with a free-kick which the referee ruled out, was then sent off to cap a miserable week for the visitors.

The game, the first ever Premier League meeting between the two sides, began at a frantic pace.

The hosts did get some early joy down both flanks with Chris Eagles and Robbie Blake providing testing crosses. But despite plenty of attacking intent, neither side's goalkeeper was really troubled.

Hull's only real chance was a shot from Seyi Olofinjana which he did not quite catch on the edge of the box.

The opener arrived in the 19th minute when the referee gave a soft penalty and Graham Alexander marked his 100th appearance for Burnley with a goal.

The spot kick came when Stephen Hunt clumsily brought down Tyrone Mears after a fine pass from Elliott.

The Hull players surrounded the referee but Alexander kept his cool and blasted the ball into the bottom-left corner of Duke's goal to give the hosts the lead.

Hull, clearly lacking in confidence having taken just one point on the road this term, pushed on in pursuit of an equaliser and some commanding goalkeeping from Jensen helped Burnley weather the pressure.

The Clarets carved out another golden opportunity with half an hour gone. A fine pass from Andre Bikey sent Eagles scampering down the right. Blake took up a clever position at the near post but his attempted chip sailed over Duke's crossbar.

Elliott had a thunderous drive beaten away by Duke at the near post and Eagles was then denied by a smart stop as half time approached.

It was an untidy start to the second period but Hull created the first chance and should have pulled level.

Striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink slotted the ball through for Olofinjana but instead of shooting the Tigers midfielder opted to play the ball square for Kamel Ghilas.

The 25-year-old forward, who was already under pressure before he got the ball, fired straight at Jensen.

A fine run and shot from substitute Bernard Mendy, which saw him beat several Burnley defenders on his way, was initially fumbled but eventually gathered by Jensen.

And Hull then had a goal ruled out in the 67th minute for pushing in the wall when Geovanni curled home a free-kick which Jensen could only push into the roof of his net.

And just a minute later the Tigers midfielder was given his marching orders for a clumsy challenge on Fletcher which saw him pick up his second yellow.

The Clarets pegged their struggling opponents back with Eagles orchestrating much of their attacking work down the right.

And a second, which was always on the cards following Geovanni's dismissal, came in the 77th minute when Alexander fired home in spectacular fashion from 25 yards.

Substitute Kevin McDonald found the evergreen midfielder in space, he advanced completely unchallenged and unleashed a powerful drive which nestled in the bottom-corner of Duke's goal.

Burnley introduced Fernando Guerrero during the closing stages and his pace proved a constant threat. But the scoreline remained the same despite the hosts having plenty of chances to extend their lead.

Coyle: Massive win

Burnley boss Owen Coyle was delighted with his side's efforts in what he felt was "a massive game'' for the club which ended with a 2-0 defeat of Hull.

Coyle said: "I thought we were thoroughly deserving of our win throughout the game. We started well but Phil (Brown) will feel aggrieved because some of the big decisions went against him. But we had numerous chances and I believe we should have had the game sewn up by half-time.

"With better decision making we could have come in with more than a one goal lead at half-time but that group of players, everything I asked of them they produced again. This was a massive game for us. It put seven points between Hull and us and we're not kidding anybody, we'll be in that group of teams. Some of the play, passing and moving was everything I'm after.''

Coyle called for a sense of perspective during the build-up to today's game and he reminded fans not to get carried away after his side made it five home wins from six in the top flight. "I was a little disappointed with some of the stuff during the week,'' he added.

"We lost our first home game in nine months and all of a sudden everybody who knows how to pick a team was clamouring for changes. I showed loyalty to the group that played last week and they've come up trumps again. They continued to put in the effort and show quality on the ball and I'm absolutely delighted for this group of players.''

But manager Phil Brown, who pulled no punches in his assessment of referee Mike Jones, insists his side can play their way out of their current predicament. He said: "I think what went for us was the commitment of the players, that's the first thing I will say. In terms of a manager asking for a committed performance from a group of players who were under pressure because of the situation that we are in. I don't think anybody can question that.

"Yes decisions have gone against us, probably four in total which tends to lend itself to something else. But we're not here to talk about that. With that kind of commitment and that level of performance from my players we'll be fine this season but we have to put a run of games together. We've got a big game against Stoke next Sunday and the one thing you need in your locker is commitment.''