Given what's been happening recently, there were collective groans when the fourth official held up the board showing five extra minutes, but Pato, introduced just six minutes earlier as a substitute, got that goal to ensure the points were ours and give us a bit more breathing space down near the bottom of the Championship.
It had completed a comeback after a shock Albert Adomah goal had given the visitors a first half lead and provided Sean Dyche with his first win as Burnley manager without us keeping a clean sheet. It was our first win whilst conceding since the 4-3 victory against the same team at Ashton Gate earlier in the season and the first time we've come from behind to win since the somewhat fortunate 2-1 success at Derby.
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| A first goal for Chris McCann since the winner at Bristol City |
Nobody cared about all that. There were smiles back on faces as the fans left the ground at the final whistle from a game that many were billing as a 'must win' as we found ourselves getting sucked closer and closer to the drop zone.
Even the sun came out for it all and the temperatures were higher than they've been for some time. It even encouraged me to test out my knees with ninety minutes on my feet at Gawthorpe in the morning watching the youth team. It proved to be a good decision as our young team just about ended Walsall's title chase with a 1-0 win.
Earlier I'd completed my match preview and, for once, I'd got the team correct. Sean Dyche did opt for Joseph Mills rather than Danny Lafferty at left back in Ben Mee's absence and did bring fit again Dean Marney straight back into the team at Marvin Bartley's expense.
Mills had done well after coming on for Mee in the draw against Forest on Easter Monday and deserved his chance and there is no doubt that Marney has been missed terribly since being forced off early in the home game against Huddersfield in February.
The opposition, Bristol City, arrived bottom of the league and their fans reeling from manager Sean O'Driscoll's message to them during the week claiming results didn't particularly matter. O'Driscoll said he'd be happy if they got six good performances from the remaining six games even if they were all lost.
That worried me. It all pointed to things going wrong, it usually does with Burnley and I can't remember it ever being any different. By around quarter past three I thought it might be, yet again, just one of those days.
We'd taken the game to them and virtually camped in their half. That was the positive, but when you don't get a goal when you are so much on top then so often things can turn against you.
Sam Vokes had a chance within seconds of the start. Charlie Austin had chances too. We were at times wasteful but also saw goalkeeper Tom Heaton make three very good saves, one of them an outstanding save to deny Austin.
It was hard to believe we hadn't gone in front but we just couldn't get past Heaton and other chances went begging as we dominated a team, and a poor team it has to be said, more than at any time this season.
Surely a goal would come, but it didn't and the frustration on and off the pitch started to grow. That went even worse when, completely out of the blue, Bristol City went in front with their first away goal of 2013.
It came, ironically, from a Burnley corner. Both Austin and captain Jason Shackell, who was again in fine form, both went for the ball. City cleared it and Steven Davies played a ball through. I'm afraid Mills should have dealt with it but got it all wrong letting in the pacy Adomah.
He took the ball forward and rounded Lee Grant and then just had the recovering Mills to beat to score. Mills all but turned his back on the winger who scored with ease.
What a shock. We tried to get back at them and came close a couple of times. But when the half time whistle blew we were still behind.
There were a few of the customary boos from the crowd as the players went off but they were soon replaced by a roar that went up with most supporters realising that this time we did not deserve to be behind, that we had dominated for most of the half, and that we could consider ourselves very unfortunate to be behind.
Even so, behind we were and we were in need of a second half performance to lift things and get some much needed points.
Thankfully, for the most part, we got just that. Marney and Chris McCann started to dominate and this time the goals came.
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| Martin Paterson's volleyed goal ensured no stoppage time nerves |
Before the goals, and the first major incident of the second half is one that has to be reported. It was nothing more than a minor injury for Bristol City's Paul Anderson. He was eventually taken over the touchline for treatment. His team went on the attack and the assistant referee, a rather portly gentleman, in trying to keep up with play tripped over him, fell to the ground with his flag flying out of his hand. Both the embarrassed official and Anderson were quickly able to resume.
Seven minutes into the half came the first goal when we won a corner. Junior Stanislas took the kick on the left. It took a bounce in the six yard box for Shackell to head home nonchalantly at the far post. It was the captain's second goal for the Clarets, the other having come at Ewood three weeks earlier.
This time we weren't for letting them get into the game. We pushed forward. Heaton was again proving his worth in goal but then, just past the hour, we got ourselves in front.
This goal owed so much to Ross Wallace. He was not far from the half way line when he picked up the ball. He drove forward before playing an inch perfect ball between two defenders for Kieran Trippier who was galloping down the right wing.
Trippier's cross found McCann. He chested it down before drilling a left foot shot through Heaton's legs to give us the lead. Chris hadn't scored since that late, late winner at Ashton Gate. Could this prove to be another winner against Bristol City? There was, however, plenty more to come.
Everything seemed fine for a while but then we started to drop deeper and deeper. We looked more than comfortable but it does only take one mistake and all the good work can be undone. That mistake came with seven minutes remaining.
Prior to this week we'd conceded just three penalties all season. The late spot kick against Forest and Monday took that to four and now it's five and again it was Mills who got it all wrong.
I wasn't sure at the time whether he had touched Adomah, and I'm still not sure. It certainly doesn't look as though it was in the box but, regardless of all that, the ball was on the spot.
Up stepped Steven Davies who was denied by Grant who, to his right, made a brilliant save. For a split second I thought they were going to get the rebound but we cleared as the whole ground lifted. There's no such thing as a poor penalty save but this one was very special.
It lifted us. We started to push forward more and almost immediately Dyche made a good change with Paterson coming on for Vokes. He's just a few minutes to close down their defenders but he did much more than that.
As the fourth official arrived with the board we were in possession with Stanislas. He played the ball to Trippier who hoisted it into the box. Paterson got there and tried to head across goal, only for it to hit Matthew Bates.
It rebounded for Pato who instantly volleyed home before going off to celebrate with the home fans in the Jimmy Mac.
Finally we'd won at home. It's an incredible twelve weeks ago. It ended a run of six home games without a win and for the first time since the 3-3 draw against Sheffield Wednesday we'd scored three times on the Turf.
I never saw it as a must win. Yes, no doubt, we needed points but given our form over the last two years I suspected they'd most likely come away. And we don't beat Sean O'Driscoll very often. This was the first time since the cup tie in 2005 when a certain Wade Elliott murdered our left back Mo Camara.
But we've beaten him now. We've got a seven point gap from the bottom and things are looking better.
If someone had said to me at the beginning of the season that we'd be 11th with five games to go I'd have at least known we couldn't go down, but so tight is the league this year that anything is possible.
I've just taken a look back at the table of a year ago. After 41 games we were 16th but already mathematically safe with a 17 point advantage over third from bottom.
We're not mathematically safe although I suspect we probably won't need any more points. But let's go and get some and try and finish the season with some form. It's been a trying and difficult three months, particularly at home, and as much as we can't brush it away it would be good try and get some further distance from those at the bottom, and the bottom three is looking very good right now.
And finally, a question and answer. When did Burnley last score there goals and Charlie Austin didn't get on the scoresheet?
The answer is Boxing Day 2011. We beat Doncaster 3-0 with goals from Jay Rodriguez, Martin Paterson and a Sam Hird own goal. Charlie came on as a substitute that day with five minutes to go.
The teams were;
Burnley: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, Kevin Long, Jason Shackell, Joseph Mills, Ross Wallace (Danny Ings 90+2), Dean Marney, Chris McCann, Junior Stanislas, Sam Vokes (Martin Paterson), Charlie Austin. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Danny Lafferty, Marvin Bartley, Alex Kačaniklić.
Yellow Cards: Dean Marney, Ross Wallace, Martin Paterson.
Bristol City: Tom Heaton, Brendan Moloney, Matthew Bates, Liam Fontaine, Greg Cunningham, Albert Adomah, Liam Kelly (Neil Kilkenny 78), Marvin Elliott, Stephen Pearson (Brian Howard 84), Paul Anderson, Steven Davies. Subs not used: Dean Gerken, Louis Carey, James Wilson, Mark Wilson, Richard Foster.
Yellow Card: Albert Adomah.
Referee: James Adcock (Long Eaton).
Attendance: 11,539.
Last month Arthur my next door neighbour, friend and fellow Claret passed away two days after taking his seat on the Turf for the home draw against Barnsley.
I travelled with him to away games for over a decade, the first of them being that brilliant 6-2 win at Wrexham in 1991.
He was as passionate as me but took defeats more calmly than I've ever done. He was such a keen supporter and had already renewed his season ticket for next season.
This is the first time since his passing that Burnley have won and I'd like to dedicate it to him.