Watch Joe Cole's goal to put Villa up 1-0 over Burnley

Joe Cole got on the end of an Andi Weimann pass that came off of a long ball hoofed up the pitch on a free kick. Not a bad showing, and it puts Aston Villa up 1-0 over Burnley at the end of the 1st half.

The free kick came after a harsh tackle from Dean Marney on Ciaran Clark. The match has been getting a bit out of hand, but debutante referee Graham Scott pulled out the yellow. Villa decided to quickly take the free kick while Burnley were a bit discombobulated still.

Cole has looked to be Villa's best player of the half by a pretty wide margin, making great runs, nice passes, and finally getting what he deserves with the goal. He becomes only Aston Villa's third goalscorer this season.

Meanwhile, though Burnley have had some nice runs, Villa look to be the better side. If they had Christian Benteke in, it's easy to see them being up by 2 or 3 already. The second half will kick off in a few minutes, and you can join us in our open thread!