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Burnley started brightly enough, with some clever interplay between Chris Eagles and Wade Elliott on the Burnley right. Sadly, that promising start was soon forgotten, as hesitant play allowed the ball to be given away cheaply. Southampton players seemed to be queuing up to shoot, before Bradley Wright-Phillips scored at close range on 11 minutes.
The game continued with Burnley appearing distracted, and Southampton seemingly trying harder for every ball. The one Burnley player who was - thankfully - playing as if he was taking the game seriously was Brian Jensen; He was being kept busy, with two smart saves in quick succession on 27 minutes.
Burnley continued to be second best in most passages of play until, in a rare breakaway just on the half-hour, Martin Paterson was taken down as he raced in on goal. Graham Alexander, reliable as ever, successfully scored from the inevitable penalty.
The equaliser did nothing to calm Burnley and Jensen remained the busiest player on the pitch. Even he was beaten for the second Saints goal. A good run down the right hand side led to what seemed a certain goal for Jason Euell, who blasted the ball goalwards from six yards. Jensen brilliantly blocked the shot, but first to the ball was David McGoldrick, who scored easily.
This gave Southampton the lead just before half-time. It was a lead they deserved, in a match becoming increasingly fractious - the first half ended with four bookings in all. Burnley's main attacking ploy - despite having two wingers and no traditional target-man -had been to lump the ball in the general direction of the Southampton goal. Martin Paterson, as ever, tried hard but to little purpose.
Burnley were first out for the second half, with Jay Rodriguez replacing the largely anonymous Chris Eagles (Owen Coyle would have had a number of other options for the first Burnley player to be replaced.) Whether it was the change in personnel, or Owen's wise words in the interval, Burnley were much improved. The ill-feeling continued however, with a petulant pushing match involving most of the outfield players just after the restart.
As the half went on, Burnley got better. Jay, Wade and Robbie worked well together, passing the ball sharply and crisply. Southampton hung on to the lead determinedly, and on 60 minutes they had a golden opportunity to make the game safe. Jason Euell, who had a good game throughout, was fouled in the area by Rhys Williams. David McGoldrick took the resultant penalty, which was saved confidently and convincingly by Jensen, who was having a wonderful match.
His team mates seemed to draw inspiration from the "Beast", and we saw some sustained pressure on the Southampton goal, with a number of near misses. Finally, and gloriously, Clarke Carlisle (a man who knows a thing or two about a recovery) equalised with a thumping shot from five yards. That should have opened the floodgates, and Jay Rodriguez had a wonderful chance only minutes later when a Southampton slip left him with a clear run on goal. Ignoring Paterson on his left, Jay had two attempts in quick succession, with a goal seeming inevitable. Sadly, bad luck and brave goalkeeping kept the ball out.
Wade and Robbie both had further opportunities to win the game for Burnley, but it was not to be. The second half - so much better than the first - ended with both teams pressing hard for a victory, but neither able to achieve it. A draw was a good result for Burnley, given their performance over the 90 minutes, and the result for Swansea made it even better.
It was not a performance that inspired confidence in the outcome of the play-offs, if we do get there. At times, it seemed as if Jensen was playing Southampton on his own, and he was far and away my man of the match. In the second half, Robbie came into his own, Graham Alexander and Caldwell grew in confidence and authority, and Jay impressed. But struggling against an already relegated team is not the best portent of success against our likely challengers in the play-offs. Let's hope that this performance was down to nerves, with the finishing line now so close, and that we can achieve the same result against Bristol City as we did, so convincingly, on 21 December.
The final whistle was met, sadly, with a very retro pitch invasion, as the Southampton fans tried to take their anger out on the away support. Police and stewards formed a more effective defensive line than we had managed in the first half to keep the very unsaintlike hordes away form the lively - and not at all sympathetic - Burnley support.
Farewell Southampton and St Mary's - and thank you, "Beast".