LAST UPDATE | 20 Jan 2023
THIS WAS THE kind of cold that settles in the bones and takes an age to leave.
By the end of a rip-roaring night it was Josh Cullen and Burnley basking in the warm glow of a late victory as they continue their relentless march back to the Premier League.
At the heart of it is the calm and methodical Ireland midfielder, the kind of cerebral presence in the heart of midfield that allows Vincent Kompany’s plans to come to fruition.
Even after West Brom took a seventh-minute lead, saw penalty appeals waved away and had a goal disallowed, they never flinched. Even as the game ticked towards the 75th minute and they continued to trail, Cullen kept them ticking over.
Pass and move, pass and move.
Once Nathan Tella broke free down the right and fired home the equaliser with a quarter of an hour to go it felt like there was only going to be one winner, and that came three minutes before the end of normal time after Cullen was clipped from behind right on the edge of the area as he attempted to shoot.
Scott Twine stepped up instead to curl home and when the final whistle blew Cullen turned and looked for the substitute who made the impact, he found him quickly and ran towards him pointing.
He had just roared “f***ing…” when his mouth was obscured as other teammates joined for a group hug.
Burnley fans were even Ole-ing by the end as they killed the game by passing their way to the final whistle.
Changed times, yet for too long Burnley – and Cullen – were far too passive until a brief flurry of excitement nearing the end of the first half.
Until that late comeback, Jayson Molumby was the inspiration for a West Brom performance that had plenty of control, yet also delivered moments when it threatened to descend into a kind of chaos.
This was best summed up in the 44th minute when the Waterford native, having seen Tella dangle a leg backwards to try and draw contact with covering defender Darnell Furlong, sprinted from 15 yards away to remonstrate with the Burnley attacker.
By the time he got to within touching distance it seemed as if the wheels were turning in his head and he realised this wasn’t such a good idea.
But there was no stopping him, and as Tella returned to his feet, right in Molumby’s eye line, the midfielder barged into him in almost comical fashion.
A sort of belly-flop-cum-clothes line that a WWE wrestler would be proud of.
The home fans roared for a penalty, and on another night referee Jarred Gillett might well have pointed to the spot.
It was a let off and, as such, Molumby’s stirring first-half performance wasn’t sullied. That combativeness and penchant for combustion may be seen as a drawback for some, but here it was exactly what was required to temper the ambitions of the side who came into this clash sitting pretty at the top of the Championship.
Their 13-point lead over Watford in third means it would take a catastrophic collapse for Vincent Kompany not to lead them back into the Premier League at the first time of asking following relegation last year.
Whether they do so as champions, given second-placed Sheffield United also beat Hull City 1-0 tonight is a different matter.
That didn’t matter for West Brom and Molumby here, led by captain Dara O’Shea, as they sought a 10th win in 11 games under Carlos Corberan.
This stopped them in their tracks but there is more than enough to suggest they will take up permanent home in the play-offs, and it was impossible not be buoyed by Molumby’s effervesce, even in defeat.
He was everywhere and anywhere but, crucially, always exactly where he needed to be given his starting position was on the right of a two-man midfield alongside Okay Yokuslu.
As well as being a scurrier in the middle of the park, sniffing out those breaking balls and keeping West Brom on the front foot, Molumby showed he was more than just an empty vessel.
As well as his natural urge to compete and drive his team forward, his awareness of defensive responsibilities proved crucial, especially as Burnley drove forward in the second half looking for an equaliser.
It might have come in the 28th minute had he not anticipated Ashley Barnes’ clever looped flick 18 yards out.
Molumby had covered the space as Burnley probed and stretched every sinew in his neck to clear the ball away from danger.
You don’t get into a side as well drilled and disciplined as this without carrying out your job to a tee. Whether it was dropping back to the right back spot to nip a Burnely counter in the bud and recycle possession, or reading a loose pass and caressing the ball into the path of Grady Diangana with a kind of sliding tackle that looked as graceful as a deft lob.
Molumby’s partnership with Yokuslu has thrived these last couple of months, and the hope for Ireland will be that he can work in tandem with Cullen, this battle of wills between two men who look to be in the kind of form that will make them central figures in every sense for Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
France in March would be a daunting prospect at the best of times, let alone an opening fixtures to try and set the tone.
What seems apparent on this evidence, is that Molumby and Cullen both offer something different that, weaved together, Ireland will need to draw on to try and get off to a positive start.
But for another couple of months club matters is all that will drive them. Thankfully both are heading in the right direction.
