ANDY CARROLL called the Battle of Burnley ’disgusting’ and ’a disgrace’ — but refused to accept he was one of the biggest culprits.
The Toon striker was lucky not to get sent off for felling Burnley skipper Ben Mee with a forearm smash, just as he did here two years ago, when he DID see red.
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Co-striker Joelinton also escaped with a yellow after diving in on James Tarkowski — twice — while there were a couple more flailing arms from Federico Fernandez and Ashley Barnes.
Burnley admitted they were no angels, with veteran defender Phil Bardsley, 34, claiming they were expecting a “proper tear-up” — and were never going to back down.
But Carroll seemed to be in denial as he reflected bitterly on a match settled by Chris Wood’s 15th Prem strike of 2019.
That was his tenth headed goal this year, two more than any other Premier League striker has managed.
‘POOR DECSIONS ALL THE WAY’
Carroll, captain for the day on only his second Prem start of the season, insisted he was only giving as good as he got when he clattered into Mee.
The giant Geordie fumed: “He was jumping up giving elbows, I was jumping up giving elbows.
“It was exactly the same at both ends but every game it is always me, always me.
“Fabian Schar has come in there with bumps all over his head, bruises everywhere and somehow nothing is done. It’s a disgrace really.
“Let’s face it, it was a disgusting game. The weather was terrible, the referee gave decisions against us.
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“We gave everything we could give but it was a poor game.
“It’s hard to keep your cool in those situations, really hard.
“There were decisions they got that we didn’t get and it’s frustrating.
“The one that led to their goal was the worst. There were poor decisions all the way through from the ref and that led to their goal, it wasn’t a corner.
“The ref has given a corner after he had given a goal-kick and it was a foul on Federico.
“We tried to get the equaliser and push on. But there were lots of decision we didn’t get and it kills the game for us.
“We’re very frustrated. We did everything we could. It was clearly a draw all day.”
When he was told Burnley boss Sean Dyche insisted his challenge on Mee should have been a straight red, Carroll replied: “No, definitely not.”
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Toon chief Steve Bruce was also scathing about referee Tim Robinson — taking charge of his first Premier League game — saying he looked hopelessly out of his depth.
Bruce said something similar about Robinson when he did not send off Leicester’s Hamza Choudhury for a bad challenge on Matt Ritchie during an EFL Cup match back in August.
The Newcastle midfielder has not played since and undergone two ankle operations.
There were no complaints from Burnley as Wood’s 58th- minute goal — from a wickedly delivered corner by Ashley Westwood — ended a run of three defeats and hoisted them to 21 points, just one behind their opponents.
The vastly-experienced Bardsley had the air of a man who has seen it all before.
He described it as a game that was definitely not one for the faint-hearted.
Former Manchester United full-back Bardsley commented: “It’s great though, isn’t it? That’s what we’re in it for. It’s still a contact sport, as we all know.
“People love a good old-school challenge and there were certainly a few of them here.
“If someone wants a proper tear-up we’re game-on all day for that sort of stuff.
“You didn’t see many people rolling around, not with these two teams. We all got up, dusted ourselves down and got on with it.
“Big Andy did me in the first few minutes — I’ve still got whiplash from that one!
“But it’s what we do. We get bumps and bruises but get back up and win football matches.
“I didn’t need that first whack to know what it was going to be like. I’ve played against big Andy for years and I knew from waking up Monday morning it was going to be like that. A tough, physical game.
“Enjoyable, clean sheet, great win — what a weekend.”
