ALL eyes were on Robbie Blake's return. But in the end it was strike partner Rob Hulse who sneaked into Turf Moor under the radar to plunder the points and leave Burnley feeling well and truly 'Robbed'.

Hulse spent much of the afternooon in a sulky strop at any decision that didn't go his way. So the wild celebrations after he tucked away Eddie Lewis's 75th minute cross to complete United's unlikely comeback must have really stuck in the Clarets' craw.

Because for Steve Cotterill's side, this was the game that somehow got away.

For 70 minutes, they played assured and composed football and led through Garreth O'Connor's penalty - the fourth consecutive game in which the free-scoring midfielder has found the target, an amazing feat for a player who is now almost half way towards matching the 14 he scored at Bournemouth last season.

However, unlike his set-piece special at Wolves, this time O'Connor's goal was not crucial in deciding the outcome as a substitution by the visitors dramatically turned the game on its head.

David Healy's introduction was a surefire sign that United were going to throw the kitchen sink at the Clarets in the final 20 minutes.

But the Northern Ireland striker had been on the field less than 60 seconds when his charge for goal was checked by last man Jon Harley's blatant pull and Eddie Lewis equalised from the resulting free kick.

From that moment you sensed the worst and, of all players, it was Hulse who found room to head home Lewis's inviting left wing cross and seal Burnley's fate.

Earlier, an absorbing Roses clash almost began as most Burnley fans might have secretly feared - a goal from Blake.

The former Turf Moor favourite returned to a bizarre mix of loud boos and grudging applause, but in typical fashion the pantomime villan created the first opening himself with a lightening quick one-two with Hulse to bear down on goal.

However, Brian Jensen was quickly off his line to make a brilliant save and deflect the ball inches wide of the far post, just beyond Hulse's reach.

That was by far the best chance of the opening 45 minutes, despite the Clarets playing arguably some of their best football of the season.

James O'Connor and John McGreal both volleyed half chances over the bar and Garreth O'Connor, operating on the right hand side of a five-man midfield, tried his luck with a long-range drive that was never going to stretch Neil Sullivan.

The other moment of note saw Graham Branch clattered by Shaun Derry midway through the half in an ugly tackle that saw the long-haired Leeds midfielder booked and made him a marked man later in the day.

Branch, meanwhile, limped on for several minutes before finally being replaced by Chris McCann.

The second half started at a much more sedate pace, but Burnley gradually went through the gears to carve out their best opening of the game seven minutes in.

John Spicer picked out Garreth O'Connor's run into the box with a peach of a pass, but the midfielder just over-ran the ball under pressure from Paul Butler.

However, after a growing spell of Leeds pressure, the game finally exploded to life on the hour mark.

A magnificent Garreth O'Connor ball out of defence sent Akinbiyi off on the chase and despite being outnumbered two-to-one, the all-action striker still managed to win possession before setting about terrorising the hapless Sean Gregan.

Once Akinbiyi gets into his stride a herd of wilderbeast might halt him, but certainly not one sluggish ex-Preston midfielder and as Akinbiyi sped into the box, a desperate lunge resulted in a clear-cut penalty, which O'Connor dispatched confidenly into the bottom right hand corner.

Minutes later it could have been 2-0 when the goalscorer brilliantly dummied the ball, received it back from Micah Hyde and drilled the ball across the six-yard box, where Sullivan dived to intervene.

However, with the Clarets now rampant, Healy's arrival changed the course of the game and, after Harley was perhaps lucky only to see yellow for his tug on the striker, the real punishment was served up by Lewis's arcing free kick that left Jensen flailing.

Five minutes later things went from bad to worse as Lewis swept past Michael Duff on the left wing and crossed for Hulse to nod United in front.

Spicer was just off target as Burnley looked to recover from the sucker-punch. And in a ding-dong final act Jensen saved brilliantly from Derry before Garreth O'Connor drilled an instinctive eight-yard volley straight into Sullivan's midriff when a yard either side would surely have been a point-saver.

There was still time for O'Connor to dance his way through the Leeds defence only to see the pace taken off his shot by a deflection.

Even in what is fast turning out to be a memorable campaign for O'Connor, that late equaliser was just too much to ask for.