POSSESSION may be nine tenths of the law but having a lot of the ball is not enough to win you football matches.

Birmingham City may have seen the Clarets dominate in terms of time on the ball but this was no smash and grab to steal three points.

In fact only another fine performance by Burnley keeper Marlon Beresford denied them a more comfortable victory on a night when his opposite Ian Bennett did not have a serious save to make.

Indeed it is the Clarets who have a criminal record now, their crime sheet showing they have failed to win at home since beating bottom side Stockport County in mid December.

Three defeats, two draws and just two goals have left manager Stan Ternent completely baffled as he said: "We have not won at home for more than two months and that is incredible for Burnley."

After a battle against the elements to make sure the game was not postponed, like the previous week's encounter with Bradford City, kick-off had to be put back 15 minutes as the groundstaff left the protective cover on as late as possible.

Ternent called the preparations for the match "shambolic" but he was not making any excuses for a display that could be given the same label.

This was a big test against a big promotional rival but it was a very big let down. On the back of a good win at Crewe and five matches unbeaten hopes were high of putting daylight between themselves and Steve Bruce's side. All they did was gift the Blues a comfortable win that has put them right into contention for a play-off place.

"Having possession is a good thing but you have to put something on the end of it," moaned Ternent who is clearly perplexed by the current home sickness.

His opposite number claimed that Turf Moor is a tough place to come but at the moment it just isn't. The Clarets have actually won more games on their travels than in front of the home fans who appear to be voting with their feet.

What other reason could there be for a crowd of just 13,504 for a crucial game against top of the table rivals. It was the third lowest gate for a league game this season.

It was an especially depressing first half for the home fans who did turn up as the Clarets never got going. In fact it was Beresford who had to make a series of good saves to deny the Blues' a greater lead than that supplied by Tommy Mooney's 25th minute header.

Like Rob Hulse at Crewe on Saturday he was allowed too much space in the six yard box and his downward header was too good for the Clarets keeper.

Mooney had been denied by a fine save in the opening minutes and Curtis Woodhouse had a couple of shots from outside the area that needed to be stopped.

In contrast at the other end Ian Bennett was enjoying a comfortable time with no save of note to make. Taylor did get a shot on target and Little's header looped harmlessly towards goal but the biggest scare came when Bryan Hughes had to scoop the ball away from Alan Moore after Taylor nodded down Briscoe's cross.

All too often the ball was pumped aimlessly in the general direction of Taylor and the visiting defence was able to deal with the threat without serious alarm.

Ternent had started with his top scorer in a lone attacking role for the third successive game but he did not wait long to make a change, Ian Moore being reunited with his strike partner in the 31st minute with Paul Cook making way.

The manager made two more changes in an effort to get the Clarets back into the game with Steve Davis coming on at half time for Graham Branch and Robbie Blake taking over from Alan Moore 21 minutes from time.

The return of Davis was at least something positive for the Burnley boss to cling on to and both he and Blake will want to be involved to a greater extent over the next few weeks.

Ternent felt his side improved after the break but again they failed to make the most of the possession they had. There was a depressing lack of craft and guile that meant the well drilled Blues' defence continued to hold them at bay with almost embarrassing ease.

Glen Little fired a couple of shots wide, the ball was regularly flung forward with Davis himself being pushed up in the closing minutes in search of an undeserved but vital equaliser.

Burnley got a late leveller against Nottingham Forest in their previous home game but there was to be no repeat.

Arguably their best chance fell to Ian Moore in the 76th minute but it summed up their night. Birmingham pushed up to catch them offside but Beresford's long kick released the sub in behind them.

He looked a bit surprised to see the flag stay down but with the Blues' defence trailing in his wake he failed to take advantage. The ball caught under his feet, the defenders got back and the chance was gone.

In contrast Mooney nearly made it 2-0 late on with a shot that forced another great save from Beresford. Stern John did put the ball in the net, deflecting in Nicky Eaden's shot from outside the box, but an offside flag kept Burnley in the game.

But the feeling was that they would not score if they played all night and the supporters were drifting away long before the end of the four minutes of stoppage time.

"They should have left the cover on," moaned one. He was probably right.

BURNLEY...0

BIRMINGHAM CITY...1

Mooney 25

Attendance:...13,504 At Turf Moor