Burnley 2 Sunderland 2

Only fleetingly have their paths collided since then, but never have the Clarets come closer to putting that little statistic to bed.

For all the world, Kyle Lafferty looked to have sent the Black Cats zooming back to Wearside with their tails between their legs.

The 19-year-old striker was enjoying a day to remember, two lovely goals from his big right foot putting Burnley into a seemingly comfortable position.

With his 6ft 4in frame, Lafferty also came to his defence's aid, twice heading clear off his own goal-line.

It looked plain sailing for Burnley with 10 minutes left on the clock, especially as Clarets goalkeeper Danny Coyne rarely touched the ball in the second-half.

Coyne might as well have popped in and out of the ground to pick up a few Christmas presents, such was his inactivity between the sticks.

But how many times have managers pointed out that a 2-0 scoreline is the most dangerous and fragile of them all?

It sometimes sounds ridiculous, as surely a two-goal advantage is better than one.

But in the final, frantic stages, Sunderland mounted an unlikely comeback as Grant Leadbitter and David Connolly flashed home two deadly strikes from outside the penalty area.

Heartbreaking, gut-wrenching - just a collection of emotions that could sum up the feeling of Burnley supporters at the final whistle.

It is one of those occasions where a draw really does feel like defeat, especially as Burnley looked comfortable in wrapping up three Championship points.

The Black Cats - recently reinvigorated under Roy Keane's stewardship at the Stadium of Light - journeyed to East Lancashire supported by a six-match unbeaten run.

Few would have wagered bets, though, on the Wearsiders extending that sequence when Lafferty sumptuously converted his second seven minutes after the interval.

The Clarets were coasting at this point and well on their way to recording back-to-back home victories, following a 2-1 win over Leeds on November 28.

If anything, they were far likelier to increase their winning scoreline.

With Burnley's defence firmly in control, a fightback did not look on the cards.

Only for a 10-minute spell midway through the first-half, when Sunderland landed a succession of corners, did the visitors look remotely close to hitting the scoresheet.

So it was a real bolt in the blue when Leadbitter and Connolly slammed home to rob Burnley of a deserved triumph.

Steve Cotterill was forced into several changes with Jon Harley and James O'Connor suspended after each collecting five yellow cards.

Teenager Chris McCann was given the nod at left-back, a position the versatile teenager has assumed before this season.

With the young Irishman fulfilling full-back duties and O'Connor banned, a new-look central midfield partnership took shape with Micah Hyde and Alan Mahon in tandem.

It was small cause for celebration for Hyde who made his 100th league appearance for Burnley.

For Mahon, it was a golden chance to re-claim a permanent place in the Clarets line-up after more than three months out of the side.

The creative Dubliner last started a Championship fixture against Barnsley on September 12.

He limped off that night with a thigh injury and has since struggled to win back his place, so he will have been desperate to seize this big opportunity.

Burnley came straight out of the traps to make the best of starts.

Wade Elliott, instrumental on the right flank, sent over a wicked cross that Gary Caldwell frantically turned behind for a corner.

Moments later, Hyde's pinpoint cross was headed horribly wide by Gifton Noel-Williams from eight yards.

All over the pitch, the Clarets were putting Sunderland's players quickly under pressure and that resulted in Lafferty's goal on nine minutes.

After winning the ball in his defensive third, John McGreal squared to Steve Jones, and in a whirlwind 15-second raid, Burnley were celebrating.

Jones picked out fellow winger Elliott, whose superb control inside the centre circle took him past Danny Collins.

Elliott ran 30 yards upfield to slot through Lafferty on goal and the young Northern Ireland international finished the job, beating Darren Ward with a low finish.

The Clarets took the ascendency as the midfield engine room worked hard.

Mahon showed some excellent touches, while Jamaican Hyde fought away with Dwight Yorke, a Trinidad and Tobago international, as they enacted their own private battle of the Caribbean.

Veteran Yorke was in a great position to score as dangerman Daryl Murphy pulled the ball back from the byline, only for Michael Duff to swipe clear.

Burnley laid claim to the opening 20 minutes, but the Black Cats mounted a spell of pressure.

Coyne was sharp to smother Stephen Elliott's fierce drive, while Lafferty was Johnny-on-the- spot to head clear Caldwell's effort on the goal-line.

Burnley stormed back, Jones firing over after jinking inside two defenders, then from a terrific counter-attack involving Wayne Thomas, Elliott and Jones, Caldwell's block stopped Noel-Williams scoring one of the goals of the season.

Before the interval, Lafferty outfought Collins to lash a left-foot effort.

It whistled well wide, but the teenager's confidence was growing.

The pressure continued to mount up early in the second-half as Burnley's crisp passing game really caught the eye.

Elliott was fractions away from his first goal of the season as his sweetly-struck volley whistled just wide of the top corner.

But the home side's efforts finally paid dividends as Lafferty cashed on Yorke's error to bag his second.

The former Blackburn Rovers man failed to check his blind-spot as his back-header to Ward was stolen by Lafferty.

Being provided an early Christmas gift, Lafferty unwrapped it in style, another crisp low shot nestling into the bottom corner.

Three points looked done and dusted. Lafferty headed away Stanislav Varga's goalbound effort from under his own crossbar, but the danger was otherwise minimal.

But that changed as Sunderland grasped the initiative with 10 minutes left.

Out of nothing, midfielder Leadbitter collected McGreal's headed clearance before unleashing a thumping 25-yard drive that arced into the bottom corner of the net, low to Coyne's left.

The away end erupted, but Jones could have dampened the Mackems' spirits on 82 minutes when a defence-splitting pass from substitute John Spicer sent the winger clear.

One-on-one with Ward, Jones shaped to shoot to the keeper's right, but changed his mind.

His indecision gifted Sunderland skipper Caldwell, hurriedly chasing back, time to throw in a last-gasp challenge and clear the danger.

It proved to be a costly as the Black Cats pushed bodies forward in a nerve-jangling climax.

Burnley's rearguard worked hard to safeguard the points, but one minute and 50 seconds into stoppage-time, Connolly struck.

After clipping the ball over his head, the former Wigan striker volleyed perfectly past Coyne from fully 30 yards.