Aston Villa dumped Burnley out of the Carling Cup with a 1-0 victory in a lacklustre third-round encounter.

The match was a repeat of last year’s fixture - which Burnley won - but there was to be no upset this time.

Kevin Phillips scored Villa’s only goal when he exchanged passes with James Milner to slot the ball past Brian Jensen in the 22nd minute.

Ade Akinbiyi almost equalised after the break but Thomas Sorenson saved his overhead kick to send Villa through.

David O’Leary’s side struggled to break down a defensive Burnley side in the opening exchanges at a Villa Park packed with Clarets’ fans.

Gareth Barry found the recalled Juan Pablo Angel in a promising position only for the Colombian to be crowded out by two defenders.

Phillips eventually broke the deadlock after 22 minutes as he picked up Milner’s pass and struck the ball neatly home.

Steve Cotterill’s Burnley side, operating with Ade Akinbiyi as a lone striker, lacked adventure going forward.

Akinbiyi did go close for the Clarets but the Championship side went into half-time trailing.

Angel had a chance to extend Villa’s lead immediately after the break but his effort skimmed the roof of the net.

Akinbiyi battled away for Burnley but when he found some space he ballooned his shot high and wide.

At the other end, Barry came close to wrapping up the game for Villa when he collected a deep Delaney cross and squeezed his low left-footed shot just wide.

It did not matter as Villa did enough to ease the pressure on O’Leary and ensure they were in the fourth-round draw.

*Aston Villa assistant manager Roy Aitken on Kevin Phillips:*

“He is a goalscorer. That is why we brought him here. It’s great to have someone like him in the team.

“He won us the game at St Andrews and he’s done the same in the Carling Cup and that can make all the difference.

“It illustrates why strikers are so important. Nine times out of 10 he will score in that situation.”