PETER Swan's bullet header was the perfect response from a Burnley side that has spent a week looking down the barrell of a gun.

The big defender powered the Clarets to three welcome points as Adrian Heath tasted a home victory for the first time as manager.

That the Clarets almost shot themselves in the foot by allowing Peterborough back into the game can now be forgotten.

The only thing that matters is the final score.

Heath had made it clear beforehand just how vital this game was.

His side were sliding fast and an unwelcome return to the Football League basement beckoned.

The manager had called it his side's Wembley.

And, while there was no lap of honour and no silverware to collect, the final whistle did bring a collective sigh of relief from the crowd as Burnley's lean spell came to an end.

There was even a spring in the step from the players as they left the field.

They know that they still have some work to do but the pressure has been eased.

One more win from their final six games could well be enough to make sure they stop up but the side needs to show the same sort of commitment.

There was even some noise from the crowd at times - though I wouldn't go as far as saying that the Turf Roar is back. Given Burnley's recent run you could forgive people for being anxious.

That said the team really need a boost right now and the fans can play their part.

But the fear of a second successive relegation has taken a firm grip among the supporters.

And the terraces have fallen silent in recent weeks as the side they support has gone into such rapid decline.

With trips to promotion hunters Swindon and Notts County to come this week the fans and players were clearly desperate to get something out of this game.

Defeat would have left them all wondering just where the next point was coming from.

Amid such gloom nobody can have been expecting an Anfield-style classic but it was nice to see a bit of passion about the Clarets display.

Heath may be regarded as a class footballer, and there is a hope that in time he can mould a footballing side in his image.

But right now the method isn't too important.

The end result is vital.

This was one of those games that Burnley had to win and they clearly wanted to win it more than Peterborough.

The giant visitors - who looked as though they'd have frightened the Gladiators off - had arrived at Turf Moor determined not to concede.

They had five huge men at the back and were reluctant to push bodies forward.

Peterborough's game plan looked to be working during a first half which was a sterile affair.

Burnley had a couple of half chances with Warren Joyce and David Eyres going close but Burnley's fragile back line had a tougher time.

Mark Winstanley was robbed by Ken Charlery after eight minutes but keeper Wayne Russell spared his blushes.

Winstanley made amends eight minutes before the break when he headed Sean Farrell's full-blooded drive off his own goal line. The second half was a much livelier affair and the fans' frustration soon turned to delight.

Burnley took control from the whistle and the pressure paid off after just seven minutes.

Warren Joyce started and finished a fine three-man move that had the Peterborough tall guys chasing fresh air.

Joyce set Kurt Nogan free down the left flank and he fed David Eyres.

Eyres got to the bye-line and hit a low hard cross that Joyce smashed home at the far post.

After 66 minutes Burnley had a rare two-goal cushion.

Swan, who had been solid at the back, came forward to meet a Steve Thompson corner with a header that had too much power for keeper Jon Sheffield.

That should have been enough to settle the nerves.

But Peterborough took full advantage of a lack of discipline in the Burnley ranks.

David Eyres was the guilty party. He was a little too passionate.

Eyres had been cynically fouled by Sean Farrell just prior to Swan's goal.

Farrell was booked but Eyres clearly wanted his own revenge.

So just after Swan had done his work to make it 2-0 Eyres launched into a tackle on Farrell that had yellow card written all over it. From the resulting free-kick Charlery headed the ball across the face of the goal and Greg Heald turned it home.

That was the cue for a nervous finale.

Peterborough - for so long anxious to waste as much time as Mr Burns would allow them to get away with - suddenly allied speed to their Gladiator physiques.

Finger nails we scattered throughout the Bob Lord Stand, watches were monitered constantly and Heath, no longer content just to watch from the sidelines, even entered the fray.

But the visitors never came close again and Burnley looked more likely to snatch another.

They didn't. But it didn't matter.

The Clarets have stopped the rot. They will, however, have to show the same sort of guts to make certain they will be playing Second Division football next season.

In time, Heath may well be able to look on this formative period of football management as a test of his character.

Thanks to this result the odds are he will pass it.

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