( 2 )                              ( 0 )
                                                  Southern
                                                  Stewart ( Pen )
                                                  Anderton

Villa staged a great fight back coming from two goals down at the interval to take the game 3-2 and keep themselves in contention for the league title.

The slope of the pitch had a major influence on the outcome of this match,the advantage being to play up the slope, which Burnley did in the first half. It was the visitors who created the early chances, in the first minute Chris Bowman linked with Pavel Zverina to set up a chance for Phil Woodman,but the effort was blocked for a corner. Then Damien Stewart played through Pavel Zverina but his shot was blocked. The home side were also playing some controlled football and forced Darren Hill into a save following a free kick on the right, they then came close with a header following a corner.

On twelve minutes Villa took a short corner on the right, Damien Stewart was fouled on the edge of the area, Rhenden Pillay took the kick which fell to Damien Stewart, he set up Phil Woodman who saw his shot tipped onto the bar.
Burnley were still dangerous on the break , they came close after twenty minutes with a low shot across the face of the goal. Two minutes later they went ahead when a clearance rebounded kindly for them to score with a low shot into the corner. Villa continued to have the majority of chances , but too many efforts flew wide of the target. On the half hour Burnley increased their lead scoring with a header from a corner kick. The remainder of the half saw Villa pressing but still not finding the target.

From the start of the second half Villa looked a different side, their play was more controlled as they now had the advantage of the slope, they were
back in the match within two minutes as Dylan Southern scored with a diving header following a cross from Damien Stewart. Villa continued to press, Greg Anderton forced a corner on the right, this resulted in a second corner from which Dylan Southern saw his shot tipped onto the bar. It was now constant Villa pressure with Phil Woodman and Dylan Southern outstanding in centre
midfield as they controlled the game.

Just before the hour mark Villa were level thanks to a clever turn in the box by Pavel Zverina resulting in a clear penalty for a trip. Damien Stewart stepped up to coolly level the scores. On Sixty five minutes Villa were in front, Dylan Southern chased a ball down , forcing a defender to concede a corner , Damien Stewarts kick was headed home by Greg Anderton to give him a debut goal.

It was now a case of what we have we hold, the home side pressed for an equaliser , but the Villa defence held firm, now content to rely on breakaways to catch out the home side. So very much a game of two halves as Villa picked up another valuable three points.

Team  -  Hill, Bradshaw, O'Loughlin, Walker, Bowman, Pillay, ( Anderton ) Ryder, Southern, Stewart, ( Monks ) Woodman, Zverina.
Not used  - C.Chambers