(REUTERS) - Burnley's Ashley Barnes fired a last-gasp winner as his off-colour side climbed to the heady heights of fourth in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over struggling Stoke City on Tuesday (Dec 12).

A scrappy game in which Stoke created the better chances was petering out into a stalemate when Barnes blasted an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Jack Butland in the 89th minute.

The victory took Sean Dyche's battling side to 31 points from 17 games above Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool, all of whom play on Wednesday.

It was tough on Stoke who responded well to a 5-1 thrashing at Spurs on Saturday. Only a post prevented Peter Crouch giving the visitors an early lead while Kurt Zouma wasted another good chance and Mame Diouf fired an effort into the side-netting.

Burnley's fans were showing their frustration until their side scored with only their second shot on target and by the end it was Stoke's supporters who were again grumbling as their team stayed just three points above the relegation zone.