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Edwards, the former Tottenham youngster who joined the Clarets on loan from Portuguese side Sporting on Deadline Day, pounced 13 minutes from the end of an attritional encounter on the south coast.
With the Premier League’s worst team meeting Europe’s meanest defence, goals were always going to be hard to come by but Edwards at least spared the 15,000-odd supporters at St Mary’s the prospect of extra-time.
The Clarets, revelling in the ‘Boring Boring Burnley’ tag bestowed on them by opposition fans this term, kept yet another clean sheet – their sixth in a row in all competitions, their 10th in 11 matches and their 23rd of the season.
The criticism from their own supporters is that they do not score many goals either but they did threaten to take the lead inside the opening two minutes.
Manuel Benson rounded Saints ‘keeper Alex McCarthy but his shot was cleared off the line by the hosts’ new Brazilian defender Welington.
Burnley’s defence, which has conceded only nine league goals this season – fewer than any team in Britain or the top two leagues in Spain, France, Germany and Italy – was almost breached after a mistake by back-up goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky, whose attempted clearance went straight to Ryan Manning.
But Hladky, in the starting XI as one of eight changes made by Clarets boss Scott Parker, recovered well to block Manning’s shot, with Joe Worrall completing the clearance.
Burnley should have gone ahead when Jonjo Shelvey’s long ball was flicked on by Ashley Barnes into the path of Jeremy Sarmiento.
The winger cut inside Saints defender James Bree only to fire his shot …
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