Reece is back as Burton bow out in Trophy
IT may have been a dead rubber in the competition but Burton Albion manager Jake Buxton saw plenty to please him in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Fulham Under-21s in their final Papa John’s Trophy group match.
Reece Hutchinson came through his first 90 minutes of football of the season and the performances of several other youngsters also drew praise from the Brewers boss.
There was even a taste of victory. Burton ended the night by winning the penalty shoot-out 4-1.
Hutchinson has been sidelined at the start of the season following a foot injury suffered in the summer but the 20-year-old played the full match on the left flank against Fulham, earning the assist for Ryan Edwards’ equaliser.
“The performance levels were good, for saying we had a lot of young lads out there and a lot of lads who’ve not had much game time this season,” said Buxton.
“There were some big performances from Owen Gallacher, Reece Hutchinson and Ben Hart. They haven’t played many minutes but got an opportunity and all three have taken it.
“For Reece to miss as much football as he did, get 90 minutes and perform to the standard that he did was very good.”
Albion started with four Academy graduates against Fulham – Hutchinson, Hart, Ciaran Gilligan and Teddy Sharman-lowe – while firstyear pro Tom Armitage and secondyear scholar Thierry Latty-fairweather both came on at half-time to make their senior debuts. “Thierry is a footballing centrehalf – he’s the opposite to me. He’s calm on the ball, nothing fazes him,” said Buxton.
“We need to get a little bit of aggression into his game but he’s got a huge future if he keeps his feet on the ground and keeps listening to what the Academy staff are telling him. “He’s stepped up a couple of times to train with the first team. He’s travelled away with the first team too a couple of times and made the teas on the coach, which goes a long way with the group. “Provided he keeps his feet on the ground, we’ll give him opportunities to play first-team football.” It looked as if it might not be Albion’s night when Kane Hemmings headed a free kick into his own net early on but Edwards scored his first goal of the season to equalise before half-time.
With no further score, Albion faced their third penalty shoot-out of the season and scored all of their spot kicks, through Hemmings, Steven Lawless, Hart and Gilligan. Keeper Sharman-lowe made a smart save to keep out Jayden Harris’ effort.