Ashley Barnes believes Peter Crouch will be a useful addition in Burnley's battle to retain their Premier League status.
The 6ft 7in target man joined Burnley from Stoke on transfer deadline day and despite his veteran status – he turned 38 earlier this week – he made an impact on his Clarets bow after coming on with a quarter-of-an-hour to go.
With Burnley trailing against Southampton following Nathan Redmond's fantastic finish from distance, Crouch induced an error from Saints defender Jack Stephens, who handled in the area under pressure from the ex-England striker.
Barnes made no mistake with the resulting penalty – Burnley's first in the Premier League since April 2017 – deep into time added-on to snatch a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor and he was grateful for his fellow forward's intervention.
"The big man was brilliant. You could see when he came on how many chances we got and he's won the penalty for us," Barnes said on Burnley's official website.
"He attracts a lot of the defenders away which gives you more space to get a few more chances."
Cardiff's victory over Bournemouth in Saturday's late kick-off means Burnley are only two points above the relegation zone but their situation would have been worse if not for Barnes.
The 29-year-old was denied by a point-blank save from Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and rattled the crossbar in the second half, while he was involved in major flash point just after the half-hour mark.
Barnes went down under a challenge from McCarthy, who did not appear to get a touch on the ball, but referee Anthony Taylor turned down the appeal and then, to the chagrin of the crowd, booked the irate Burnley striker.
"In my opinion it was a penalty," Barnes added. "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.
"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.
"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.
"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."
Southampton remain level on points with Burnley but are above them on goal difference in 16th.
Teenage midfielder Callum Slattery made his Premier League debut on a bright but bitterly cold afternoon in the north west but admitted to being aggrieved by the penalty decision that went against the Saints.
The 19-year-old said: "I feel like we've been hard done by with a decision, but that happens.
"I thought we dug deep until the last minute – we haven't really been pinned back. We're very disappointed that we didn't come away with all three points."
