Clarets were beaten by the rule-book (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Clarets were beaten by the rule-book

11:56am Friday 23rd January 2009

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Football does not get more dramatic – and ultimately so cruelly heart-breaking – than what happened at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.

Burnley did themselves proud in giving Spurs the fright of their lives. More than that, they did the football folk of the whole country proud.

It was a performance for the vast majority who aren’t caught up in the Premier League bubble. A display for the ordinary man on the street, giving the hoi poloi a bloody nose.

How good was Robbie Blake? It was as if the clock had been turned back nine years to City’s glorious march on promotion.

Harry Redknapp’s perma-scowl on the touchline spoke volumes. Tottenham loathed everything about the night.

The fact they still managed to scramble through was not down to the £30m worth of strikers that got the last-gasp goals right at the death of extra-time. Burnley were betrayed by their own shattered limbs; their super-human efforts draining every last drop of energy and leaving them unable to defend the most basic of attacks when the prize was so near.

What Tottenham’s hollow “victory” did expose was the flaw in the Carling Cup set-up.

Unlike the way that two-leg ties work in European competitions, the away-goals rule does not kick in until after extra-time.

It means that the visiting side in the second game has 30 minutes longer to score the potential tie-breaker.

The fair way would be to step into line with the Champions’ League and UEFA Cup. The rule that away goals count double should be enforced at full time, making it fair on both teams.

If that had been the case, Burnley – as the only side to net away from home in the proper 180 minutes – would now be looking forward to the Wembley appearance their gallant game fully deserved.

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