NEW-LOOK Burnley. Same old story.

Three games into pre-season, Steve Cotterill's men were given their sternest examination so far against Malaga, a team that finished 10th in the highly competitive La Liga last season.

But encouragingly, with three wildly different opponents all looking to pick the Clarets lock, a third clean sheet was banked to go with the shut-outs registered at Cheltenham and Accrington.

It might not have been the prettiest game in the world on the lush new Turf Moor surface, which the Spaniards must have loved considering the amount of time they spent rolling around on it!

And the lack of goalmouth activity in the Malaga penalty area will doubtless have been a frustration to the Burnley backroom staff, who had hoped for more of an up-tempo game.

But the relentless mean streak, ensuring neither Danny Coyne or Brian Jensen have needed to make a save of note in 270 minutes of football, ensures that Cotterill's Clarets jet off to Austria in confident mood ahead of the real test, which is now under two weeks away.

Crewe Alexandra manager Dario Gradi took a watching brief in the Bob Lord Stand in the hope of picking up a few clues ahead of the Gresty Road curtain-raiser.

But even wily old Dario, the longest serving manager in English football, would have struggled to learn anything new in a game of few genuine chances and precious little excitement.

Things might have been different if Garreth O'Connor's fourth minute screamer from 30-yards had skimmed the inside and not the outside of the post.

And Wade Elliot soon tried to continue where he left off at Accrington, weaving his way past three Spaniards to 'Ole's' from the stands before seeing his shot blocked.

But Malaga, who last played in England in December 2002 when they knocked Leeds United out of the UEFA Cup, slowly settled and began to move the ball around with some of the quality expected from a top Spanish side.

In the impressive Duda, they also had a dead-ball specialist whose 20th minute free kick arced dangerously close to Coyne's top corner.

The lively Duda then sidestepped Michael Duff to roll the ball along the 18-yard line to Marcelo Romero, whose woefully mis-hit shot was more la lager than La Liga.

The rest of the first half was a timid affair, but seconds before the break Burnley created their best opening by far when trialist Artim Sakiri fed the ball wide to Elliott.

The overlapping winger instantly whipped the ball across for Ade Akinbiyi, but the big man could not quite get over the ball and his header sailed over the angle.

Jensen replaced Coyne at the break and the Dane survived an early scare when last man Wayne Thomas's last-ditch tackle denied Pablo Counago a clear run on goal.

Spanish midfielder Calderon then flashed an angled shot across Jensen and just wide to cause more flutters.

But when Clarets boss Steve Cotterill signalled the end for Sakiri, who was replaced by the terrier-like James O'Connor, it had the desired effect of putting much more spring in the hosts step. Suddenly, Burnley gained a foothold in the game again, to the extent that even Frank Sinclair bounded up from left back to test Goitia with a curling effort.

And the Malaga stopper had the last word, denying Gifton Noel-Williams his first Burnley goal with 15 minutes remaining with a smart, one-handed save.

BURNLEY: Coyne, Sinclair, Thomas, McGreal, Duff, G O'Connor, Sakiri, Hyde, Elliott, Akinbiyi, Noel-Williams.

Malaga: Goitia, Nacho, Litas, Navas, Garcia, Duda, Romero, Hidalgo, Sanchez, Rodriguez, Ballesta.

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