Emile Heskey's seven-month itch is at an end. He scratched it with his first club goal since April and Martin O'Neill was delighted with his timing, coming as it did four minutes before the end of a match that Villa did not turn up for until after half-time. Fabio Capello may have no trouble selecting Heskey for his support play, but his club manager believes a centre‑forward should score.
"He has got the reputation of being a provider for other players to score, but I think if you're a centre-forward you have to get your quota in," O'Neill said. "I've said this before, having worked with him for a long time, I think he is absolutely capable of scoring more goals than he does."
Heskey headed a James Milner cross to the net after a Stewart Downing corner had been half-cleared. Despite handing Downing his debut from the bench, O'Neill does not expect the £12m signing to be fully fit before Christmas.
This week marks Owen Coyle's second anniversary at Turf Moor and he did not have to wait long before his players presented him with his gift, though a sluggish Aston Villa defence should also have been allowed to sign the card.
Caldwell squeezed between Brad Friedel and Richard Dunne to head home Robbie Blake's inswinging free-kick, though there was a suspicion that Clarke Carlisle, who ran across Dunne, was offside when the kick was taken.
"If you'd told me two years ago when I came here that two years later we'd be winning a point at home to Aston Villa I'd have taken your hand off," said Coyle, who believes O'Neill's side could take that coveted fourth Champions League spot. That looked about as likely as the rain ceasing and the sun breaking through during a first half that Burnley completely dominated. Defender-cum-midfielder Andre Bikey went close before Steven Fletcher headed over under pressure after Robbie Blake had left Luke Young on his backside.
It was telling that Villa's only shot on target in the first half was a long-range effort from Sidwell, which Brian Jensen saved, despite Howard Webb having already blown for a foul by John Carew.
Jensen's rushes of blood to the head are well documented and another here almost cost his team. The burly goalkeeper came out of his area to engage the zippy Gabby Agbonlahor in a footrace that he could never win – the forward fed Ashley Young, whose attempted curler over the covering defenders cleared the crossbar by a foot.
Agbonlahor twice went close after the break, first shooting wide before being denied on the second occasion by a neck-high challenge from Stephen Jordan. At the other end Fletcher forced a wonderful full-length save from Friedel as Burnley looked to make the game safe, to no avail.
THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT
Patrick O'Neill, LondonClarets.com We could have won the game but for our goalkeeper. He chose to punch a ball in straight to Milner who crossed for Heskey to score. We played the better football over the 90 minutes and deserved to win but it was a close game. Fletcher was tremendous. He had a shot tipped over and was unlucky not get a goal. At 1-0, it was looking dangerous and we needed a second. We sat back too much in the second half of the game.
The fan's player ratings Jensen 5; Mears 7, Carlisle 7, Caldwell 7, Jordan 7; Alexander 7, Bikey 7; Eagles 8 (McDonald 70 n/a), Elliott 6, Blake 7 (Gudjonsson 81 n/a); Fletcher 9 (Nugent 75 n/a)
Jonathan Pritchard, Observer reader Martin O'Neill's refusal to accept 4-5-1 is right away from home is costing us points. Carew continues to underperform away. Today was a classic example against a very energetic Burnley side and we couldn't match them in midfield. It's disappointing to have to come from behind again. We were out-battled for 70 minutes. It is a poke in the eye for all the Villa fans who've been moaning about Heskey, though – he's a far better player and more honest than most Villa fans think.
The fan's player ratings Friedel 4; L Young 5 (Heskey 80 7), Cuellar 5, Dunne 5, Warnock 6; Milner 4, Sidwell 4 (Downing 70 5), Petrov 6, A Young 5; Agbonlahor 6, Carew 4
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