Burnley 1 Aston Villa 1- match report
21 Nov 2009 - 17:12:08
A return for Stewart Downing but it was another forgotten man, Emile Heskey, who came off the bench to snatch an equaliser for Aston Villa with his first goal of the season.
Steven Caldwell's early header looked like it would be enough for six home wins out of seven at Turf Moor for Burnley but the hosts, who have now dropped 10 points from winning positions, finally buckled under heavy pressure as Heskey headed in from James Milner's cross with four minutes remaining.
Related ArticlesPremier League actionTelegraph player raterPremier League tablePremier League fixturesSport on televisionThe day had started well for the visitors with England winger Downing, who had not been expected to feature until Christmas after arriving from Middlesbrough with a broken foot, named on the bench for the first time.
But with just eight minutes gone, the hosts took the lead from a simple set piece. Robbie Blake swung the ball in from the left and Steven Caldwell rose higher than Richard Dunne and guided a header past the on-rushing Brad Friedel.
The hosts continued to enjoy the better of the opening period with Andre Bikey, Stephen Fletcher and Chris Eagles each going close to adding a second.
Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen almost gifted Villa a route back into the game, trundling wide in an attempt to clear Stiliyan Petrov's clearance, but Gabriel Agbonlahor to beat him to it, only for Ashley Young to curl over.
Tyrone Mears curled a free-kick around the post as Burnley continued to pose the greater threat after the restart and Friedel had to swat away Blake's drive but Martin O'Neill's side would have moved level if Jensen had not managed to get the faintest of touches to Agbonlahor's stab at goal.
A Young free kick had too much whip on it for Sidwell at the far post before Downing was thrown on with 20 minutes remaining. The left midfielder worried Burnley with one clever free kick and it was his corner that was only cleared as far as Milner, who clipped back to the far post for Heskey to touch in.
