Zian Flemming admits it feels almost “surreal” to come away empty-handed after Burnley’s cruel late defeat to Brentford.
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Scott Parker on Burnley's dramatic defeat to Brentford and late VAR controversy](https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/scott-parker-on-burnleys-dramatic-defeat-to-brentford-and-late-var-controversy-5615367 "Scott Parker on Burnley's dramatic defeat to Brentford and late VAR controversy")
The Clarets recovered from a horror first-half to level the game at 3-3 after going three goals down.
Scott Parker’s side appeared to even edge their noses in front at one stage during the second half when Flemming steered home what he thought was his second of the game.
But even then, there was still more drama to come, as Burnley had a second ‘goal’ ruled out during the dying seconds, Ashley Barnes the man harshly penalised for an apparent handball before drilling home.
Despite a herculean effort from Parker’s charges, Flemming concedes to experiencing mixed feelings after a painful last-gasp defeat.
“It’s very hard to analyse,” he told Burnley’s YouTube channel. “It’s one of the maddest games I’ve played in. Maybe for the fans it’s one of the maddest they’ve seen as well over the years.
Zian Flemming thanks the fans at full time following the defeat to Brentford. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttardplaceholder image
Zian Flemming thanks the fans at full time following the defeat to Brentford. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
“It’s a bit surreal to be here empty-handed after everything that has happened. I feel like I need some time to process that.
“Even the comeback is a bit surreal. If you are where we are, which is second from bottom, and you go 3-0 down, I think 99 times out of 100 you should be dead and buried.
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“Somehow we are not, which is something that makes me very proud. At the same time, I can’t also shy away from the fact we should never be 3-0 down in the first place because then you have to do all this hard work to get back in the game.
“But if we want to try and focus on the positives, it’s a very unique and special performance after going 3-0 down. What we’ve done as a team and as individuals is very special, even though we leave empty-handed.
“I think we maybe deserved the win, which is mad because we were 3-0 down, but I think we actually did.”
Parker revealed after the game that some harsh words were exchanged during the interval - and those words clearly had an impact as Burnley came out fighting at the start of the second half.
“At first there was some tactical detail to try and improve things, but the main message was obviously that this is unacceptable,” Flemming added.
“That was the weird thing, we were not rubbish for the whole of the first half, but we were rubbish in a few particular moments and that’s just going to cost you in this league. That’s just not good enough.
“We can’t concede that easily from a corner, there’s a long throw as well and another one is a second ball and they’re in. I don’t want to make it look like defending corners, long throws and second balls is easy, because it isn’t, especially against this team, but still we should deal with those situations better as a whole, not pointing fingers at anyone.
“That was the main message, that we needed something extra, because we can’t get bullied.”
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