Three in a row lost as Albion struggle with Pirelli touch
ANOTHER bereft Burton Albion performance led to a third straight home defeat, without a goal, as League One bottom side Carlisle United left the Pirelli Stadium with a 1-0 win, the second team to complete a double over the Brewers inside a week.
The honeymoon period for Martin Paterson as manager, for all that it is a cliché, is at an end, as these things often rapidly are.
Supporters believe they are seeing a continuation of Dino Maamria’s approach and that is a belief Paterson will have to move them away from as soon as possible.
What he says about what he wants his players to do is believable; it makes plenty of sense. But on the pitch, especially at the Pirelli, the players seem to be moving further away from putting it into practice. They simply cannot replicate their recent good away form at home.
The manager says that is “on him,” and, lord knows, we are still only eight games into his tenure but the turnaround must come if a full-scale relegation battle is not to follow.
Paterson decided to keep faith with the team that started in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at home to Northampton Town and, in fact, had played well for the first 20 minutes without breaking through. Rekeem Harper and Antwoine Hackford came in on the bench for Ciaran Gilligan and Kyle Hudlin.
In Carlisle’s first attack cam a warning, as Jack Diamond had too much space to run at Burton and hit a strong shot from 20 yards which Max Crocombe parried to his right before the Brewers cleared with difficulty.
Ryan Sweeney got his head to a Tom Hamer next long throw and it was squeezed away from keeper Harry Lewis’s left-hand post. The attack continued and Joe Powell hit a speculative shot high and wide from 25 yards in the 10th minute.
Diamond was then booked for a very poor late challenge on Mason Bennett, who was racing away from him. Bennett suffered from that and soon took another whack in a challenge as well and, after treatment, came off in the 18th minute, to be replaced by Hackford.
Carlisle had a spell of possession around the 20-minute mark without threatening but, at the other end, after another Hamer throw was not cleared, Powell sent over a deep cross from the left and John Brayford headed goalwards, Lewis tipping it over.
But when Hamer conceded a free kick 40 yards out in the 27th minute, Carlisle took the lead from it. Taylor Charters lifted the ball into the box and it was former Brewer Sam Lavelle who got his head to it and nudged it in to Crocombe’s left, the sort of ball in that the Burton defence is usually good at dealing with.
As the Brewers tried to hit back, Mark Helm had a shot blocked in a goalmouth scramble with Albion shouting for handball but as the ball bobbled around, the referee blew for a Carlisle free kick.
The visitors had a spring in their step now, though, and Diamond, on the right, had a shot blocked away for a corner.
Powell had a dip from 35 yards when he was in space in the 38th minute but was again too high.
Hackford and Ademola Ola-Adebomi almost conjured something between them in the 43rd minute with some close passing but the ball wouldn’t quite run for them.
It had been another poor half for Burton and the second half did not start promisingly, with Carlisle stringing passes together and when they broke from a corner, it was Hackford who got back well to clear the danger.
A chance came from a Hamer long throw from the right in the 51st minute, the ball falling for Deji Oshilaja 10 yards out but he hit Lewis with his shot. There were again shouts for handball in the resultant scramble, to no avail.
Burton made a 59th minute double change, Bobby Kamwa and Steve Seddon replacing Helm and Tolaji Bola.
The Brewers managed a spell of pressure but Kamwa’s shot, from the edge of the box, did not trouble Lewis, then Hamer, picking the ball up 20 yards out, cleared the bar comfortably.
Ola-Adebomi almost got away from Lavelle in the box as he tried to gather a Powell cross but when he fell over the defender, it did not really look like a good shout for a
penalty and Lavelle, all too often being invited to head long balls away, was having a relatively comfortable evening.
At the other end, Diamond cut inside from the left and Crocombe did well to tip over a vicious shot heading for the top corner.
Kamwa nicked possession well just inside the Carlisle half and ran forward but his attempted pass was short and ended the attack, then he had another speculative shot which flicked a defender but flew safely into Lewis’s hands.
Burton were pressing but without making enough of an impression and they sent on Joe Hugill for Brayford in the 72nd minute.
With 10 minutes left, Carlisle were still holding on to their lead. Burton’s attacking was not making it hard for them and a Powell free kick from the right was easily headed clear.
Hugill raced forward and almost made a shooting chance for himself in the 84th minute but nothing was falling for the Brewers.
Four minutes of stoppage time seemed a little short given the delays and goalkeeper coach Jake Kean was booked for suggesting as much but the feeling by then was that no amount of stoppage time would have led to a Burton goal.