Burnley picked up a well earned point on the south coast, when Ade Akinbiyi's second half header sealed a 1-1 draw on the club's first ever trip to the St.Mary's Stadium in Southampton.

It was a deserved draw for the Clarets following a solid and fluent second half performance which resulted in Akinbiyi's 13th goal of the campaign.

With Burnley robbed of three players through injury, suspension and Nathan Dyer being unable to play, the Clarets had to start the game with the returning Graham Branch in central defence and Keith Lowe at right back.

After taking a while to really get going, a change of system in the second half paid dividends and no-one could argue that Burnley didn't deserve their point.

Southampton came closest in the early stages and Brett Ormerod really should have scored when the Clarets failed to clear Rory Delap's long throw-in after three minutes, allowing the Saints striker to control and then shoot wide in the box.

Burnley had half a chance in the 14th minute when Jon Harley's cross from the left was touched on by James O'Connor only for Antti Niemi to get his hands to it first just before John Spicer.

The Clarets were denied a good opportunity in the 25th minute, when Wade Elliott's cross from the right looked destined for the head of Akinbiyi but Darren Powell stretched just enough to flick it away from him.

Jensen had to make a good save in the 32nd minute, when a sweeping move by Southampton saw Ormerod set Theo Walcott up in the box and his well struck shot was blocked well by the Dane.

Seconds later though, the ball broke to Delap and when Micah Hyde tripped him in the box, the referee pointed to the spot. Danny Higginbotham stepped up and smashed a low shot down the middle of the goal to put the hosts ahead.

Burnley had a good opportunity to draw level five minutes before the break, when Akinbiyi was tripped by Powell when chasing a through ball from John Spicer. It was set up for Harley but he dragged his shot wide of the post.

There were no changes for either side at half time, but the Clarets began the second half with Spicer playing in a more advanced role to offer support to Akinbiyi and Burnley emerged with more purpose and put on an improved performance in the second half.

Just 15 minutes after the re-start, Spicer was replaced by Gifton Noel Williams who almost scored with his first touch when Garreth O'Connor lifted the ball into the box for him. Darren Kenton managed to get a foot in and clear the danger though, just as Noel Williams was about to strike.

The change had given Burnley added impetus and after 66 minutes they drew level with a fantastic goal. The move started with Harley at left back who picked out Graham Branch, now playing on the left wing rather than centre back where he started the match. Branch beat Delap with ease before delivering a perfect cross for Akinbiyi who headed with aplomb at the far post.

Southampton had made their three changes in a bid to win the match with attackers Ricardo Fuller, Kenwyne Jones and Neil McCann all introduced but Burnley continued to defend well with Frank Sinclair and Keith Lowe imperious in central defence.

As expected, Southampton piled pressure on the Clarets in the last 10 minutes of the match, forcing a number of corners and constantly flinging balls into the danger zone.

Fuller could have won it for the Saints in the 87th minute, when he got to Delap's high cross ahead of Jensen but he could only guide his header over the bar and collided painfully with the Clarets keeper in the process.

After three minutes of added time though, the referee brought the game to an end, much to the delight of the travelling support.

Southampton: Niemi, Higginbotham, Kenton, Powell, Delap, Kosowski, Oakley, Prutton, Belmadi (McCann, 73) Ormerod (Fuller, 65) Walcott (Jones, 65) Subs not used: Smith, Cranie.

Burnley: Jensen, Sinclair, Lowe, Harley, James O'Connor, Hyde, Elliott, Garreth O'Connor, Spicer (Noel Williams, 60) Branch, Akinbiyi. Subs not used: Karbassiyoon, McCann, Courtney, Grant.

Bookings: Garreth O'Connor (45 minutes), Theo Walcott (58 minutes), Jon Harley (70 minutes)

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