NEW Year hangovers will have taken an extra few hours to wear off after a drowning of sorrows shared head space with all that celebrating.

The Clarets had been looking to get the party started with a seventh straight home win against a sorry looking Sheffield Wednesday side without a goal in 630 minutes.

But the mood fell flatter than a morning-after glass of champagne as Paul Sturrock's strugglers brought 2005 to a close with the unlikeliest of victories.

Back to back league defeats is hardly the way Steve Cotterill would want to reflect on everything that has been achieved in the past year.

And the Clarets boss was left bemoaning the fact his players for once lacked the necessary sparkle.

"It was a disappointing way to end the year, but you can't expect to play for 30 minutes and win a game," he insisted.

"We had too many players who didn't turn up for an hour and that's not like us, certainly at home.

"You have to give Wednesday credit because they came here and out-fought and out-scrapped us and we don't normally lose those type of contests.

"We were second best, but if we had joined in for the first hour we wouldn't have found ourselves two goals down and in that situation."

It's impossible to fathom why Burnley looked so out of sorts. For so long they struggled to get into any rhythm, with passes going woefully astray, a lack of penetration and even the normally effervescent Ade Akinbiyi failing to spark any pressure in the final third.

Only after the Owls, who took the lead after just five minutes to end their barren spell in front of goal, scored their second goal just before the hour mark did the Clarets finally rise to the challenge.

Second half substitute Garreth O'Connor, who almost single-handedly sparked off the fightback, forced a frantic finale with an 84th minute penalty.

And who knows what might have materialised if referee Andy Woolmer had rightly applied the letter of the law and sent off goalkeeper Nicky Weaver for hauling down O'Connor as he rounded him with six minutes left?

Certainly it was a goalscoring opportunity and without question the former Manchester City stopper was the last man.

And with Wednesday having used their three substitutes - and having no spare keeper on the bench anyhow - the final few minutes would certainly have been very interesting.

Alas, the siege that materialised anyway only heightened the frustration that had been building long before then.

Facing a Wednesday side that had earned just two points from their last nine games, Cotterill returned to the attacking 4-4-2 formation that got Christmas off to a cracking start against Stoke City.

But Turf Moor was stunned into silence after the Owls, on the verge of equalling a club record eighth game without a goal, struck after just 255 seconds.

John Hills created room to fire the ball low across the six-yard box and on-loan Manchester United winger Chris Eagles raced in on the far post to slam the ball home.

Burnley finally shook off their sluggish start to piece together their first opening in the 12th minute, Wade Elliott hanging up a cross to the far post only for Graham Branch to head over.

But for the next hour or so, that was it as Wednesday knocked the ball about with a swagger undeserving of their lowly league placing.

Indeed, the Clarets came within a whisker of going two goals down in bizarre fashion in the 18th minute.

Eagles' attempted cross from the right spun up off Jon Harley's boot and looped high over Jensen before unbelievably cannoning back into play off the base of the far post.

Michael Duff then saved the day on the half hour with a flying header over his own crossbar after substitute Wayne Thomas, on for John McGreal in an enforced early change, was caught out down the right.

And Jensen had to be equally alert within minutes as Burton O'Brien cruised past Duff and tried to find the top corner with a fierce shot that the Dane tipped over.

Things simply had to improve after the break, which saw Garreth O'Connor replace Branch.

And the Irishman was straight into the thick of the action, seeing his far post header deflected for a corner and then swinging over the resulting flag kick for Micah Hyde to steal in with a header that was nodded off the line by Hills.

The increased tempo was already paying dividends, but the head of steam evaporated in an instant in the 56th minute when Coughlan doubledWednesday's lead from a routine corner.

The former Blackburn Rovers and Plymouth Argyle midfielder was left totally unmarked as he raced in to power a header past Jensen from Chris Brunt's driven corner from the right.

That finally forced Burnley on the offensive and, in their brightest spell of the game by some distance, Hyde saw a well-struck shot blocked, James O'Connor fired narrowly wide from the 18-yard line and Noel-Williams' just failed to get a toe on a loose ball in the box.

Just when it looked as though Wednesday were ready to ride their luck, Burnley won a lifeline from the penalty spot.

Garreth O'Connor controlled Duff's terrific long ball in a flash and waltzed around Weaver only to stumble under the challenge before he could roll the ball into an empty net.

Woolmer took an eternity before pointing to the spot and, despite protests, ignored the clamour to dismiss the keeper before O'Connor dusted himself down to score.

The Alamo ensued as the seconds ticked away, but agonisingly Burnley could not carve out the opening they craved and when Garreth O'Connor's injury time free kick was charged down, the final chance of salvaging a point went with it.