*Aston Villa’s 10 men edged past Burnley as the brave Championship side pushed them hard over 120 minutes of play.*

Substitute Emile Heskey slotted Villa into the lead against the run of play in the 85th minute, but Burnley soon equalised via Clarke Carlisle’s head.

Another Villa replacement Stewart Downing lashed in a long-range second in extra time before Marc Albrighton was sent off for a tug on Wade Elliott.

Burnley ran out of steam and could not force a penalty shoot-out.

Progress into the last eight for Villa - who have not won a trophy since lifting the League Cup in 1996 - means the competition now known as the Carling Cup is made up of seven teams from the top-flight Premier League, and only Ipswich Town from the second tier.

It is also a small fillip for their veteran French manager Gerard Houllier, who won the League Cup twice with Liverpool and is now quietly determined to put the Midlands club back on their feet after the shock exit of Martin O’Neill just days before the season started.

The visitors did start brightly, setting the tempo for a match which was always keenly contested.

But despite the efforts of on-loan Jack Cork to protect the ball for Burnley, Villa soon settled with Ashley Young leading the line well in the absence of recognised striker John Carew, who had to pull out of the match just before kick off with illness.

The first real chance came when Young dropped deep to slot Stephen Ireland through, but the Irishman shot weakly from outside the area when he could have carried the ball nearer to Burnley’s goal.

In the best chance of the first half, Ireland then smuggled a pass through Burnley’s static back-line for Young to latch on to.

He squared easily for Nigel Reo-Coker but - in acres of space and with just Lee Grant to beat from 10 yards - he shot tamely into the arms of the Burnley goalkeeper, who then made another smart stop after Barry Bannan had jinked free and fired off a close-range shot.

Though Jay Rodriguez caught the eye for hard-working Burnley, they were creating very little and Villa should have gone in at half-time at least one goal to the good.

But Burnley boss Brian Laws’ team were a different proposition after the break.

After onrushing Villa midfielder Steve Sidwell stretched to skim a header wide from Eric Lichaj’s brilliant right-wing cross, the visitors peppered Brad Friedel’s goal with a host of dangerous efforts.

Martin Paterson jinked inside Habib Beye in the box before curling a left-footer just wide of the post, with Friedel stretching every sinew.

Striker Paterson’s stinging shot then forced Friedel into strong stop before Rodriguez’s header had the American goalkeeper scrambling to save once more.

Clearly ruffled, Houllier then brought on former and current England internationals Heskey and Downing.

They quickly combined for Downing to break clear but with just Grant to beat, he horribly miscued a left-footed effort.

But Heskey finally broke the deadlock five minutes from time when Villa showed muscle and craft as Lichaj bundled the ball down the right wing for Albrighton to then knock on for Young.

He instantly squared for Heskey who, despite a strong challenge from behind, converted a low side-footer with relative ease.

But Burnley got the reward they deserved when, cleverly shifting the ball around the final third, Ross Wallace stood up an accurate cross for Carlisle to beat the challenge of three defenders and squeeze a header inside the foot of the post to force another 30 minutes.

Villa threatened first, but Sidwell was not quite tall enough to make a full connection after Albrighton chipped a short cross in from the bye-line.

But Downing then made up for his poor second-half effort with what proved to be the winner in the 96th minute as the former Middlesbrough player slalomed across the front of Burnley’s defence as he looked for an opening.

Using the lurking Albrighton as a decoy, he turned back towards goal and crashed it into the top corner - via Grant’s outstretched palm - from all of 20 yards with his trusty left foot.

But Burnley redoubled their efforts and when Steven Thompson knocked a tidy pass through to fellow substitute Wade Elliot, Albrighton pushed him over just outside the area as he shaped to shoot and was red-carded by referee Michael Jones.

Wallace’s fierce free-kick was well saved by Friedel before Tyrone Mears’s reply hit Lichaj on the arm, although the referee rejected claims for a penalty.

Villa tried to run the clock down without incident, but Mears’s last-gasp shot and Chris Iwelumo’s follow-up header forced good blocks from Friedel and Carlos Cuellar, not to mention a nerve-racking finish.

*Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier:* ”In terms of sticking together and preventing the equaliser, we did well. [Villa goal keeper] Brad Friedel played an important part.

“The way that we reacted after their equaliser showed how much we wanted to qualify. The aim is to get into the semi-finals, and then who knows? I’d like to avoid Arsenal. They are flying at the moment.

“If you win the Carling Cup in February, it gives you a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. I noticed that with Liverpool. It acts as a kind of relief in terms of pressure. And it gives you the opportunity to play in Europe.”