Andy Carroll deserved red card, says Burnley boss Sean Dyche
Saturday 14 October 2017 19:42, UK
Burnley manager Sean Dyche believes Andy Carroll can have no complaints after the West Ham striker was sent off in the 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.
Chris Wood's 85th-minute header from Johann Gudmundsson's cross earned the Clarets a point as West Ham were denied back-to-back wins without conceding for the first time since December.
The Hammers looked set to return to London with all three points after Michail Antonio's cool finish from Joe Hart's long ball, but they were forced to play the last 63 minutes with 10 men after Carroll's red card for two raised arms in quick succession.
Dyche was in no doubt that the former Liverpool striker deserved to receive his marching orders for the third time in his career.
"It's a definite sending off just because it's the laws of the game," he said. "I'm not bothered about players putting themselves about, I quite like it. I think the game is missing that, actually. But it is a definite sending off.
"They're two yellows, but I think the second one possibly was a straight red. I haven't seen it back, but I just felt it was a real big challenge from a distance, jumping in.
"But I must make it clear, I'm not overly against the physicality in the game. I still think there's a place for it, but if it goes too far then it has to be dealt with, as it was today.
"Some games open up and teams lose their shape and it makes it easier to break them down, but others make it weirdly difficult. They camped in as you'd expect and we couldn't find that moment of quality until the end. The Premier League isn't easy even against 10 men."
Dyche was disappointed with what he described as a "soft goal" for West Ham's opener, but he was encouraged by how his side recovered to preserve their unbeaten run, which sees them still in the top six in mid-October.
Gudmundsson came close to equalising earlier in the second half when his low shot hit the post before nearly going in off Joe Hart's back, but Wood's third league goal of the season means they head to face Manchester City next weekend with their confidence still intact.
Dyche added: "We did enough to at least earn a point. We've had a couple of maybe moments and perhaps we could've had a penalty. It's a nearly-story today.
"I'm very pleased, and we know there are some big challenges in front of us but you'd certainly take the start we've had rather than not take it. There's a lot of good signs. There's no such thing as an easy game in the Premier League, and we know that."
