We should have had a penalty and at least a point: JFH
HASSELBAINK HAPPY WITH BREWERS IN SECOND-HALF
JIMMY Floyd Hasselbaink felt Burton Albion gave as good as they got, at least in the second half, in their 1-0 defeat to Lincoln City on Tuesday night.
The League One promotion-chasers had Burton on the ropes in the first half and scored the only goal of the game through TJ Eyoma in the 27th minute.
It was a third straight win for Michael Appleton’s side as they emerge from a blip in form.
But the Brewers spent much of the second half on the attack and Hasselbaink thought they should have had a penalty when Joe Powell went to ground late in the game.
“In the first half they had the better of us. They passed the ball better, kept it better and we were a little bit too deep,” said Hasselbaink.
“In the second half we changed it tactically, with two in advance and gave them no way out and I think we deserved a goal and at least a draw.
“If you look at the second half there was only one team in it. “I’m very proud of my players and the way they played in the second half. They were very brave and right on top of them.”
The manager acknowledged, however, that his team did not, in the end, work Lincoln goalkeeper Alex Palmer hard enough, managing only two shots on target.
“We were brilliant up until the box but even when I put Mike Fondop on and we needed to go more direct and put balls in the box, we didn’t do that,” said Hasselbaink. “We didn’t work the keeper and that’s where we need to improve but that’s the hardest part. “We can be better here and there with the ball but that is a process and we still have work to do.
“I think Lincoln defended really well and played really well. They are a very good team.
“But I think we were unlucky in the second half. We played ever so well, we put pressure on and we kept pressure on.
“But then you need a little bit of luck, a little bit of know-how and for someone to take the ball and do something a little bit different. We couldn’t find that.”
Of the penalty incident, the second game in a row in which Burton have been denied a penalty late in a game, Hasselbaink was adamant. “It’s 100% a penalty,” he said. “I have seen it back. I didn’t see it at the time. Dino (Maamria) saw it and he screamed.
“But I have seen it now and it’s a blatant penalty. Their boy pushed Joe Powell and fell on top of him. I don’t understand it.
“I think if the referee looks back at it now he will know that he made a mistake.”
Since he arrived in January, Hasselbaink has insisted he does not look at the League One table, reasoning that it will look after itself if Burton are picking up points.
But with them now so close to mathematical safety, he admitted he had broken his golden rule.
“Yes, I’ve had a look – because we are getting there,” he said,
“It’s in our hands and we have to focus on us, not think of the table or the results, just think of the performance, keep on going and put it to bed as soon as possible.
“If we perform as we did in the second half (against Lincoln) we will win games.”
I think if the referee looks back at it now he will know that he made a mistake. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink