After suffering the frustrations of watching England last week it was back to the problems of Burnley FC on Saturday. And there was no relief from the recent disasters as another dismal performance cost the Clarets a 2-1 defeat against Bristol Rovers at Eastville. It took Burnley 53 minutes to muster their first shot at goal, against a Bristol team that had very little to offer except hustle and bustle.

There was, however, one consolation in defeat. And that was the debut of 17-year-old apprentice Trevor Steven, who lived up to all the high hopes the coaching staff have of him. After recovering from a couple of early mistakes the former England Schoolboy international showed pace, skill and a surprisingly mature football brain. Yet the fact that an untried apprentice can come into the team and immediately be the best player is surely an indictment of the rest of the team.
After forcing two corners in the first 10 minutes, Burnley faded horribly in attack to allow Bristol Rovers to dominate the rest of the first half. They missed a chance to go ahead when Barrett robbed Laws but sent a 12 yard volley over the bar, hit the post through Mabbutt in the 19th minute and finally took the lead after 23 minutes. There was a clear suspicion of offside as Williams threaded a pass through the Burnley back four for Archie Stephens, making his first league appearance at the age of 27, to launch a dream debut.

The arrival of Stuart Robertson as substitute in place of the out-of-touch Phil Cavener in the 66th minute helped to perk up the team and it was he who forced the corner in the 69th minute which brought Burnley's equaliser. The kick was taken by Eric Potts and as it swung under the bar goalkeeper Kite, under challenge from Hamilton, carried the ball over his own line. As Burnley stepped up the pace with the prospect of three points there for the taking Hamilton broke away to slam a low drive into the net only to have the goal ruled out for a foul. Then David Holt "scored" what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate goal only for the effort to be disallowed for offside. Burnley's celebrations were cut short by the referee's surprise decision - and they were to suffer even more when Bristol scored the winner three minutes later. (Part of a match report by Peter Higgs)

Bristol Rovers (4-3-3): Kite; Gillies, Parkin, Hughes, Slatter; Williams, McCaffery (Sub Curle 84 minutes), Cooper; Barrett, Stephens, Mabbutt.
Burnley (4-3-3): Stevenson; Laws, Overson, Dobson, Holt; Scott, Steven, Potts; Cavener (Sub Robertson 66 minutes), Hamilton, Taylor.
Referee: Mr D. Reeves. Attendance: 5,083