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Wade Elliott found acres of space on the right hand-side and his cross was diverted into his own goal by the unfortunate Chris Perry, a disastrous start for Jan Poortvliet's young side and the few hundred travelling supporters.
The deadlock had been broken after just four minutes but it could very well have been broken earlier had it not been for the frame of the goal. Martin Paterson wriggled through the Southampton defence and smashed the ball against the underside of the Saints' crossbar in the opening minutes.
In the Southampton goal was Kelvin Davis, a goalkeeper capable of anything from the sublime to the ridiculous. He had an unhappy time in the Premiership with Sunderland several years ago, a spell that included being beaten by Portsmouth's Matthew Taylor's from the half-way line, and since he arrived at St Mary's he has mixed a series of match-winning performances with a string of horrendous errors. Turf Moor this afternoon was the scene of another Davis howler.
He should have easily gathered Steven Caldwell's seventh minute header, but when he allowed it to slip through his hands one of the smallest players on the pitch was there to make it 2-0, Joey Gudjonsson's third of the campaign.
Gudjonsson is not the most prolific of scorers from midfield, more renowned for the quality of his goals rather than their frequency, but he did not have to wait long to make it four for the season.
Graham Alexander's quick thinking from a half-way line free-kick set Martin Paterson racing down the right hand channel, he managed to get to the by-line before he was closed down by the Saints defence but Wade Elliott motored outside him and ventured into the area before delivering the perfect cut back for Gudjonsson to make it 3-0 in just the eleventh minute.
Chris Eagles and Chris McCann both tested Davis from range but failed to get a fourth for the Clarets before half time, while David McGoldrick headed the away side's only chance of the first half well wide after he met Andrew Surman's free-kick.
So, 3-0 up at half time against a struggling side, surely this is the perfect chance to boost the goal difference, rest some of our over-worked stars ahead of a busy period of the season and go out and enjoy the last 45 minutes. Think again!
This Southampton side has won at Reading and Derby already this season and came from two down at Deepdale to beat Preston 3-2, their race was not yet run.
As we learnt at Barnsley, at 3-0 down one goal can give you an awful lot of momentum, so when Rudi Skacel smashed the ball home from the edge of the box after the Clarets failed to deal with a corner well enough, we knew to be worried.
If there were a few nervous concerns amongst the home fans after Skacel's goal they grew considerably worse just over ten minutes later. After a neat move down the left hand side the highly-rated Andrew Surman found himself with time and space on the edge of the box and he rifled a low shot past Brian Jensen to drag the seemingly down-and-out Saints back within one.
The Clarets were ruffled, no doubt about it. For a ten minute spell after the second goal went in the seemingly solid defence began to look like four strangers playing together for the first time.
Brian Jensen, a hero so often in recent weeks, wasn't called into serious action during the uncertain spell but an equaliser looked increasingly likely.
Burnley did manage to weather the storm and re-group, and as the final whistle got closer there was more chance of it going 4-2 than 3-3. Clarke Carlisle fired narrowly wide when Caldwell headed Robbie Blake's deep corner back across goal and then substitute Steven Thompson was guilty of the miss of the day, and possibly the season.
Martin Paterson, a bundle of energy and effort all afternoon, latched onto Graham Alexander's long ball down the right and squared the ball for Thompson to tap in from no more than 5 yards out. However, the substitute was unable to oblige with a finish, his effort hitting Davis and flying over the bar.
Paterson then saw another chance he created being wasted by a team mate. The diminutive forward collected the ball on the half way line and turned and ran at the defence. He was abruptly confronted by Perry, who knocked him to the floor, but he still managed to poke the ball through for Chris Eagles to advance on goal, but the flying winger was thwarted by a smart save by Davis.
And that was the end of the action on a thrilling afternoon that had looked to be over after just 11 minutes. As the Southampton fans head back to Hampshire tonight we know just how sick they feel, it's how we felt leaving Oakwell, knowing that you've come so close yet ended with nothing.
Man of the match was Martin Paterson, a real livewire performance that had everything but a goal. After nine games without a goal he hit back with five in five before today and there won't be many betting against him having 20+ goals by the time we get to May.