This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/21/burnley-wigan-championship-match-report

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Burnley promoted to Premier League after Kightly seals win over Wigan Burnley promoted to Premier League after Kightly seals win over Wigan
(about 1 hour later)
When Burnley go up to the Premier League, they do so in spectacular style. For only the second time since 1976, the Clarets will play top-flight football again next season. They sealed their return with a pair of glorious goals. In 2009 Wade Elliott clinched promotion with a wonderful Wembley winner against Sheffield United. Five years on, Ashley Barnes and Michael Kightly joined the midfielder in Burnley folklore with very different, but similarly special, strikes. Sean Dyche had just reflected on what he deemed an historic, incredible feat when he was asked if getting Burnley promoted to the Premier League ranked as his greatest achievement in football. He rolled his eyes and insisted, to laughter: "No, I've had a few, mate."
Wigan were beaten by brilliance and it was symbolic that one of the pre-season favourites for promotion were Burnley's latest victims. The Championship's surprise packages had endured seven months of predictions that they would fall by the wayside. They did not. In the top three since the end of September, Burnley approached a third successive game where their upwardly mobile status could have been rubber-stamped. This time it was. There have been none like this. None as unlikely or perhaps, none as unforeseen. "A year ago, there were people here questioning me," Dyche said. Now they are serenading him and celebrating him. Dyche was thrown into the Lancashire air by the Burnley fans who invaded the pitch at the final whistle. The Clarets were thrust into orbit, by beating Wigan and confounding every expectation.
A memorable day was a celebratory occasion. Fittingly Jimmy McIlroy, Burnley's greatest player, was paraded on the pitch at half-time. The 82-year-old, a member of the 1960 First Division-winning team, saw a younger generation carve their names into Burnley history. With one of the division's smallest wage bills and with their spending in the transfer market amounting to just £450,000, Burnley have returned to the Premier League. "I think it is historic," Dyche explained. "The challenges of the Championship are getting harder and harder because the clubs who get relegated are getting richer and richer and some [others] have their rich backers. To do it automatically and amass the points we have [89], with a very low budget in the grand scheme of this division and using 22 players is incredible. I'm not sure those markers will be done again. That's why I am extraordinarily delighted."
Barnes was the first to make his mark. He had been a bit-part player after his January move from Brighton. For much of the season Burnley only needed, and indeed only had, two strikers, and the success of Sam Vokes and Danny Ings had kept the newcomer on the bench. The magnitude of the achievement should be reflected on the balance sheet. Primarily, however, it was about emotion. "It feels marvellous," Dyche added. "It feels the destination at the end of a long journey."
But, since injuries struck, he has become invaluable. Much like Burnley's promotion challenge, his was a goal that appeared to come out of nothing. The first quarter of the game had passed without incident before Kieran Trippier picked out Ings, who hooked a pass into Dean Marney's pass. The overlapping midfielder delivered a first-time cross that Barnes volleyed emphatically into the roof of the net. Burnley bounced with joy. The James Hargreaves Stand reverberated with relief. They have taken a route few predicted. "People did not back us at the start of the season, but it's been great to prove them wrong," said the top scorer Danny Ings. It was symbolic, therefore, that one of the pre-season favourites for promotion were Burnley's latest victims. The Championship's surprise packages had endured seven months of predictions that they would fall by the wayside. They did not. In the top three since the end of September, Burnley were rewarded for their persistence.
They almost had reasons to worry again. Jordi Gómez whipped in a free kick, Marc-Antoine Fortuné rose above Michael Duff and glanced a header on to the Burnley bar. Dyche later held court in a corner of the James Hargreaves Stand, the walls plastered with posters featuring newspaper cuttings of some of the pivotal days in Burnley's past. They will need to clear space; there are more memorable deeds to document. Their manager's only problem was selecting a headline act. "I could name every one of them," Dyche added.
Instead a Burnley set piece brought the second goal. Timing is an invaluable asset. Kightly could hardly be called prolific but, after only mustering two goals all season, he managed as many in the space of 72 hours. Founder members of the Football League, in 1888, Burnley have played in the top flight for only one of the last 38 years, but there was a link with their glory days. Jimmy McIlroy, their greatest player, was paraded on the pitch at half-time. The 82-year-old, a member of the 1960 title-winning team, saw a younger generation carve their names into Burnley history.
Following Friday's decider at Blackpool, he doubled his tally for the extended weekend with a wicked free kick from an acute angle. It took a slight touch off Stephen Crainey's head but it was very much Kightly's goal. Because, when they reach the top flight, they go up in spectacular style. In 2009 Wade Elliott clinched promotion with a wonderful Wembley winner against Sheffield United. Five years on, Ashley Barnes and Michael Kightly joined the midfielder in Burnley folklore with very different, but similarly special, strikes.
Fortuné had a further chance, following Duff's misplaced header, but Tom Heaton denied the Wigan forward, while Ings struck the post at the other end, but these were mere footnotes as the Burnley fans chorused: "We are Premier League." They are now. Barnes was the first to make his mark. Much like Burnley's promotion challenge, his was a goal that appeared to come out of nothing. The first quarter of the game had passed without incident before Kieran Trippier picked out Ings, who hooked a pass into Dean Marney's pass. The overlapping midfielder delivered a first-time cross that Barnes volleyed emphatically into the roof of the net. "What a goal," Dyche added. "If that is Arsenal it would be showed about 400 times." Burnley bounced with joy. The stands reverberated with relief.
There was further jubilation when Kightly doubled their lead. The winger's season had included only two goals before a further pair in the space of 72 hours pushed Burnley towards the finishing line. A wicked free-kick from an acute angle took a slight touch off Stephen Crainey but it was very much Kightly's goal.
Ings later hit the post. At the other end, Marc-Antoine Fortuné glanced a first-half header on to the bar. He was denied by Tom Heaton after the break but Wigan were subdued. Burnley were not to be denied; fans and players alike celebrated in raucous fashion. "It is a rarity," Dyche added. "It is the people's club."