Just no luck as depleted Albion battle towards inevitable loss
HEMMINGS OUT, HUGHES OFF TO ADD TO BREWERS’ WOES
BURTON Albion, down to 10 men after 18 minutes, could not hold out for a point despite a determined rearguard action away to Hull City.
At the Hull end, the 2-0 win is being deemed a “professional job” and it was that. The general concensus was also that, given the circumstances, it was about as good as the Brewers could expect.
But that is not much consolation when a team is winless in 13 games and joint bottom of League One, having played more games than everyone around them.
In such a position, one cannot talk about bad luck incessantly – but you do have to wonder what more can be thrown at manager Jake Buxton.
Deprived of 12 players owing to a Covid-19 outbreak in the squad, yet told to go ahead by the EFL, he saw striker Kane Hemmings pull up with a thigh problem in the warm-up at the KCOM Stadium.
He then saw his team make a promising start to the game, as they often do, before Sam Hughes collected two bookings and a red card within 10 minutes.
For 50 minutes after that – and thanks to some exemplary goalkeeping by Ben Garratt – Burton looked like they might hold out for an unlikely point.
However, once Mallik Wilks scored the goal he had been threatening all afternoon, there was no way back.
There were a couple of surprises on the teamsheet. Stephen Quinn had completed a period of isolation and took his place, as had Indiana Vassilev, named on the bench but then promoted to start after Hemmings’ injury.
Michael Bostwick was also named on the bench, a week sooner than his projected return from a calf injury.
Referee John Busby has one of the higher card counts so far this season and showed, after seven minutes, that he likes to remind players who is in charge early on. Hughes and Wilks had a coming together on the edge of the penalty area on the left and the Burton man was booked. Undoubtedly it was a foul; the yellow card was in the “some give them, some don’t” category. Jacob Greaves headed the free kick wide and Wilks, with the first of a string of presentable chances, hit a shot wide from the edge of the box a minute later.
Burton’s best chance of the half came in the 12th minute when Steven Lawless hooked the ball across from the left and Ryan Edwards got ahead of the defence but could only poke the ball wide.
Hull goalkeeper Matt Ingram was then fortunate when he charged from his area to make a clearance and hit one of his defenders with it.
The ball fell safe and it was to be the last of Ingram’s alarms.
After 18 minutes, it was a more clear-cut yellow card for Hughes when Wilks escaped from him and got hauled back – not a good decision by the young defender, given that he was already in the book.
That also spelled the end of the day for the unfortunate Vassilev, sacrificed to allow John-joe O’toole to
replace Hughes in defence.
After the sending-off, Greaves again got his head to the resultant free kick, Garratt making a very good save low to his left.
He also saved another Wilks shot low to his left but the Brewers continued to give as good as they got and a crowd, had there been one, would have been getting impatient with Hull’s unhurried approach.
The Tigers really should have been in front after 39 minutes when James Scott found himself in plenty of space 12 yards out but blazed his shot wildly over the bar.
Right on half-time, George Honeyman’s powerful header was heading for the top corner before Garratt touched it over and the Brewers would have taken another 45 minutes of the same.
Scott and Tom Mayer were both withdrawn at half-time and their
Burton made a promising start, as they often do, before Sam Hughes collected a two bookings and a red card
replacements, Tom Eaves and Hakeeb Adelukan, made a better job of supplementing Wilks’ threat.
However unlucky Burton have been, their tendency to waste what opportunities they have was evident two minutes into the second half.
Garratt punched a free kick away and Ciaran Gilligan, admirably busy all day, broke down the right, skipping past two challenges as support began to arrive.
When the young midfielder then attempted an unnecessarily ambitious cross-field ball, he sent it skimming out for a throw-in, a real headin-the-hands moment and a real chance missed.
Quinn limped off after 54 minutes, Bostwick going into the centre of defence and Owen Gallacher, who had a decent League debut, moving forward from left-back, where O’toole took over.
Burton’s forays forward became rarer but they had a sight after 57 minutes with a free kick 22 yards out to the right of the area.
Neal Eardley was not too far away with a curling effort but not close enough to worry Ingram.
Adelukan fell dramatically over John Brayford’s leg in the box to collect a booking for diving after an hour but, two minutes later, the Brewers’ resistance was done.
A free kick from the right was not properly cleared and Wilks lifted a clever shot from 12 yards over the crowd in front of him into the roof of the net.
Adelukan poked a good chance wide three minutes later and had another saved by Garratt after 72 minutes but, by now, Burton were barely getting out of their own half.
Eaves, sent clear one-on-one by Honeyman after 82 minutes, was brilliantly denied by Garratt but, finally, Adelukan got it right, trying his luck from 20 yards and beating Garratt to his left.
That was job done for Hull, although they had not been – nor needed to be – especially good.
For Burton, a long winter is in prospect and Saturday’s game against fellow strugglers Northampton Town at the Pirelli Stadium already has the look of a must-win.