Joe Hart loved making his Burnley debut as the Clarets held on to a goalless draw in the first leg of their Europa League qualifier against Istanbul Basaksehir.
Hart joined Burnley from Premier League champions Manchester City on a two-year deal on Tuesday and was thrust straight into first-team action when Sean Dyche s side travelled to Turkey on Thursday following injuries to Tom Heaton, Nick Pope and Anders Lindegaard.
The 31-year-old took his chance to impress, helping Burnley to a clean sheet which sets them in good stead ahead of the return leg at Turf Moor.
And the former England number one – who spent last season on loan at West Ham – was buoyed by the Clarets resilient display.
2 Burnley managed just two shots in total against Istanbul Basaksehir, their fewest since March 2012 against Ipswich Town in a Championship fixture (also two). Paltry.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
I loved it, said Hart. I wasn t too sure what the script was going to be with me tonight.
I ve only been with the squad a couple of days, but Anders suffered a little injury last night which paved the way and I really, really enjoyed it.
I thought the lads were absolutely fantastic and showed good European nous. An away result was so important, and I think we realised that with 10 or 12 minutes to go and we shut the door.
I absolutely love playing in Europe. The Premier League is fantastic, but once you get a taste for it, it’s the place to be. I think maybe the coaching staff might have had a few worries that I had only played two 45 minutes.
But I assured them I felt ready and I felt good to play and I feel like I did okay. The way the lads defended they made it really hard for them to get any shots off and when they did it was my job to be there.
