Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ASH BANG WALLOP!
Barnes ends goal drought to give Clarets last-day hope
ASHLEY BARNES could not have picked a better time to end his goal drought and throw Burnley a relegation lifeline.
Barnes’ 43rd-minute penalty was not only his first goal of the season it was his first for 15 months.
But his spot-kick and a superb display from keeper Nick Pope was enough to secure a point which saw the Clarets scramble out of the bottom three.
Barnes was perhaps fortunate to still be on the pitch to convert the penalty which gave the visitors the lead.
He escaped punishment for a sixth-minute incident which flattened Aston Villa captain Tyrone Mings.
The defender needed treatment having been being caught in the face by Barnes’ raised elbow as the pair competed for a high ball and Villa boss Steven Gerrard let the fourth official know exactly what he felt about it.
To rub salt into the wound it was Barnes who stepped up to show remarkable composure for a player who had gone so long without scoring and beat Emiliano Martinez.
Villa – or rather Emi Buendia – only had themselves to blame for giving away a needless spot-kick so close to halftime.
Not satisfied with a blatant push on James Tarkowski, Buendia then raced across the box and clattered into Maxwel Cornet, leaving referee Paul Tierney no alternative.
Barnes stepped up and sent Martinez the wrong way with a shot into the bottom left hand corner.
If Gerrard tore into him at the interval it was totally justified – and if he wanted a reaction from the player he got one.
Just three minutes after the break Buendia made amends with an equaliser, taking John Mcginn’s cross on the drop without a bounce and volleying home from eight yards to give Pope no chance. Pope really had to be at his best early on when he went full stretch to tip away a Mcginn curler which was heading towards the top corner.
Burnley decided to do something about it and then carved out a couple of opportunities which could quite easily have seen them take the lead.
But it was Pope who again came to the rescue on the half hour when he stretched every last bit of his big frame to fly across his goal and make a brilliant one-handed stop to save another Mcginn drive.
He was at it again in the 75th minute when he moved smartly to push over a stinging 1-1 shot from Ollie Watkins. And then five minutes later it was Pope’s agility which saved the day when he threw himself down to the foot of his post to save a goalbound header from Bertrand Traore.
And the Clarets so nearly clinched victory in the last few minutes, with Martinez making a great save to deny Roberts.
Then came the really big chance for Burnley. The ball flew across to Wout Weghorst who pulled back the hammer and shot towards goal only for Mings to engineer a brilliant block to deny him.
Burnley had to play out the last few minutes with 10 men after Matt Lowton was sent off for a reckless challenge on Callum Chambers.