Sam return a highlight as Brewers progress in Senior Cup
A PLAYING return for Sam Hughes – five days short of a year since he sustained a cruciate ligament injury – was the highlight of Burton Albion’s Birmingham Senior Cup tie away to Nuneaton Borough on Tuesday night.
The centre-half – again on loan from Leicester City, as he was last season – completed an hour of the match, as did club captain John Brayford, who is recovering from an injury which has kept him out since October 2.
Technically, Hughes is only on loan from the Foxes until January but his inclusion in the Brewers’ official 22-man outfield squad for the season even before he had completed his rehab suggests that – if he can show he has completely recovered – he will have that extended at least for the rest of the season.
He did not play under manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink last season but his form had been one of the brightest factors in a difficult first half of the season under Jake Buxton.
That ended when he crumpled to the ground after 20 minutes at home to Doncaster Rovers on December 19 last year, another of the lowest points for the Brewers as they went on to lose 3-1 and remained bottom of the table.
They were to play only three more matches, conceding 14 goals, without Hughes before Hasselbaink took over.
In re-signing Hughes for a second loan spell, the Dutchman spoke glowingly of him as future captaincy material.
Striker Louis Moult was also due to make a playing return against Nuneaton but, named in the starting 11, he was a late withdrawal, understood to be merely as a precaution.
It was a younger striker, Callum Niven, who lit up a drab BSC quarter-final with a fine strike after only four minutes.
He hit a thunderous strike into the bottom corner and it proved to be the only goal of the game.
There were numerous chances for both sides in the first half, with Ciaran Gilligan and Charlie Williams going closest for the Brewers with long-range shots off target.
Burton began the second half on the front foot and nearly scored a second through Frazer Blaketracey.
The full-back hit a left-foot shot from distance but it also whistled wide.
Ryan Edmunds went close for Nuneaton after an hour, volleying wide when he connected with a cross from the left from former Brewer Damien Mccrory, who was captaining Nuneaton.
Brayford and Hughes were replaced after 61 minutes by Luke Redfern and Ben Radcliffe.
Scott Mcmanus had an even better chance for the home side after 80 minutes. The ball fell to him at the far post from a deep cross but he fired into the side-netting.
Joe Nyahwema hit the post five minutes later with Nuneaton keeper Tony Breeden beaten.
Borough went straight to the other end and had a final chance which to go up the other end for a final chance which Luke Benbow, could not get on target.
The Brewers ended the game with a much more youthful looking side than that which had started as they reached the semi-final of a competition which, if nothing else, is giving competitive minutes to first team squad members and academy players alike.
BURTON ALBION: Hawkins, Brayford (Redfern, 61), Morris, Hughes (Radcliffe, 61), Patrick, Blake-tracy, Niven, Gilligan, Maddox (Bennett, 82), Williams (Nyahwema, 69), Latty-fairweather.