ASHLEY Barnes was delighted he and Burnley got the rewards for their endeavour as his stoppage time penalty secured a 1-1 draw against Southampton.

The Clarets striker converted from the spot after Jack Stephens had handled Ashley Westwood's cross under pressure from Burnley debutant Peter Crouch.

Barnes kept his nerve to score Burnley's first Premier League penalty since April 2017, having earlier been denied one when he appeared to be felled by Saints stopper Alex McCarthy.

Referee Anthony Taylor instead booked the Clarets forward for diving, much to the dismay of Barnes and the home supporters.

“In my opinion it was a penalty," said the 29-year-old. "I took a touch. I didn’t even realise the goalie was out that far and as I took a touch, he brought me down.

“I was disappointed it wasn’t given. The referee, in his eyes, and the linesman said I dived.

“So be it and you have to keep going. It was very frustrating, but you have to keep your heads and keep going as a team and luckily enough we got the reward at the end.

“Everyone knows, and the fans know, we don’t stop until the end and we give it our all and fight until the end and that’s what we’ve done.”

Barnes was the man most likely for the Clarets and was denied by McCarthy in the second half while he also hit the bar with a fierce effort.

In the end it was from the spot that he found the net, thanks in part to the impact made by substitute Peter Crouch who pressured Stephens into handling the ball."

“The big man was brilliant," said Barnes of the Clarets new boy who came off the bench for the final 15 minutes.

"You could see when he came on how many chances we got and he’s won the penalty for us.

“He attracts a lot of the defenders away which gives you more space to get a few more chances and hopefully we can all get some game time.

“I had enough chances to put one away, but I had to keep going, which is what we do as strikers, and luckily enough I got my rewards at the end with the goal.

“I thought we thoroughly deserved the three points. Unfortunately, we didn’t get them, but we got a point at the end of the day, so we’ll go away happy.

“We’ve still got a long way to go until the end of the season and we need to keep picking up as many points as possible.”