Tractor Boys beaten at last before Jimmy adds more new faces, taking total up to 16
BURTON Albion would be beyond the halfway point in the League One season in terms of games played by now if Covid-19 had not caused the last two games to be postponed.
As it stands, they are one match short of halfway but, even so, it has been an eventful few months.
In the first part of a review of the first half of the season, we looked at the 12 arrivals in a frantic June and July. Now it was time for the business on the pitch to start.
SHREWSBURY Town away was where Burton Albion’s Football League journey began, on August 9, 2009, with a 3-1 defeat in League Two in Paul Peschisolido’s first game in charge.
Almost exactly 12 years later, the Brewers were back at the same ground in League One with the promise of another new dawn.
This time, it was on the back of the relief and euphoria of a sensational escape from the bottom of the League One table in January, orchestrated by the returning Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for a second spell in charge, bringing with him as assistant an old foe from the non-league days, Dino Maamria, who had been a thorn in Albion’s side in opposition several clubs.
Where Peschisolido had thrown all of his new signings into that first day team – and paid the price for it – Hasselbaink was more careful.
Six players made debuts: Deji Oshilaja, Omari Patrick, Tom O’connor, Jacob Maddox, Ryan Leak and Conor Shaughnessy, although his was a second debut, having previously been with the club on loan.
Supporters were enthused by an efficient performance, the sort they had come to expect from a Hasselbaink team: tight and organised throughout, able to keep a clean sheet and make one goal count.
John Brayford got that one goal, a header from Jonny Smith’s corner after half an hour, and Burton were up and running with three points.
Everyone liked the look of the new central defensive pairing of Leak and Shaughnessy.
Already, though, it was not all sweetness and light. Strikers Louis Moult and Kane Hemmings were starting the season injured, necessitating winger Patrick playing as a striker, while Michael Mancienne was also nursing a knee injury and Maddox went down with an ankle injury after 37 minutes, after looking very lively.
As is customary these days, the Carabao Cup was next up and the Brewers fell at the first hurdle, going out on penalties to Oxford United after a 1-1 draw.
John Mousinho, captain and mainstay of the League Two promotion-winning team under Hasselbaink six years before, scored an own goal to give the Brewers an equaliser in stoppage time but had the last say with the winning penalty.
It was also two games and two more injuries for Albion, as Oshilaja limped off after 51 minutes and that, sadly, was to become a recurring theme.
It did not seem to matter too much when Ipswich Town were beaten 2-1 at the Pirelli Stadium in the first home League game of the season.
Even Hasselbaink had not been able to arrest Burton’s winless record against the Tractor Boy the previous season.
Now, though, he did, the Brewers winning at the ninth attempt against
Ipswich in a dramatic game.
It was a mixed day for Terry Taylor, starting in place of the injured Oshilaja. His quick thinking led to the opening goal, as he took a free kick instantly to send Lucas Akins racing away and when he squared the ball, with Ipswich still back-pedalling, Joe Powell finished smartly.
Taylor was booked early, though, and hooked by Hasselbaink after only 40 minutes to prevent him from getting the second yellow card Ipswich were trying to goad out of him.
Ipswich equalised three minutes later when a mishit free kick into the box was deflected inside Ben Garratt’s near post either by Tom O’connor or Joe Pigott, who both lunged for the ball. O’connor was “credited” with an own goal but Pigott later claimed it.
After 57 minutes, Ipswich had a penalty and former Brewer Scott
Fraser, scorer of two against the Brewers for MK Dons before, stepped up – only for Garratt to make a superb save at full stretch to his right.
When Powell was fouled to give Burton a spot-kick after 86 minutes, Akins made no mistake from the spot and the points were in the bag.
Albion were in dreamland next when Smith’s brilliant first-time finish gave them a 1-0 win in a cracking game at home to Sunderland.
But they were down to earth next time out in a bizarre 3-0 defeat away to newly-promoted Cambridge United.
They lost O’connor to injury early in the game before a big deflection off Shaugnessy gave the U’s an opening goal.
That could have but did not go down as an own goal but the next two did, inadvertently scored by Tom Hamer.
Hasselbaink had told his team to stay humble after the Sunderland win and now we saw why.
Taylor and Bostwick were reported to be isolating for Covid-19 reasons next, a sharp reminder that the virus had not finished with football.
The first month of the season closed with a rather drab 1-1 draw at home to Cheltenham Town, Akins scoring a second-half equaliser and there was also another injury, Mancienne limping off after only nine minutes.
With the treatment room filling up and a week left of the transfer window, Hasselbaink had more wheeling and dealing to do: “I will have to talk nicely to the chairman!” he said. He did not mess about.
On the last day of August, no fewer than three loans were announced. Teenage striker Daniel Jebbison, from Sheffield United, had been long rumoured and the Hasselbaink name did the trick, beating off plenty of competition.
Sam Hughes returned from Leicester City for a second loan spell, albeit with his rercovery from an ACL injury still to be completed, and fans were excited by the arrival of Harry Chapman from Blackburn Rovers, who had been excellent for Shrewsbury Town the previous season.
There was one more permanent deal too. At the last minute, the manager declared that the release of midfielder Charlie Lakin from Birmingham City was too good an opportunity to miss.
Lakin’s arrival took the “ins” from the summer window to a staggering 16.
Getting them all to gel and keeping those who would not be involved happy would have to be the manager’s next trick as he talked of trying to evolve the Brewers’ playing style.