It’s better and a good point but Brewers closer to drop
TEAMS
BURTON ALBION: Crocombe, Hughes, Brayford, Moon, Hamer, Gilligan, Powell, Helm (Oshilaja, 88), Seddon, Bennett (Ola-Adebomi, 79), Hugill (Hackford, 88). Other subs: Kamwa, Bola, Nsiala, Blackman. WIGAN ATHLETIC: Tickle, Clare (Sessegnon, 53), C Hughes, Goode, Pearce (Chambers, 68), S Smith, M Smith, J Smith (Sze, 67), Aasgaard, Humphrys (Godo, 53), Kelman (Magennis, 67). Other subs: Morrison, Amos.
REFEREE
Darren Drysdale (Lincolnshire).
ATTENDANCE
11,426.
SCORERS
S Hughes (og, 43) ............................. 0-1 Brayford (54) ....................................... 1-1
A MUCH improved Burton Albion performance was rewarded with a deserved point away to Wigan Athletic, as they fought back from Sam Hughes’ unfortunate own goal for a 1-1 draw.
But results elsewhere made grim reading for Burton, with wins for Cheltenham Town, Port Vale, Reading and Carlisle United around them in the table – they are above the drop zone now by a single point.
Burton made four changes, with defenders Sam Hughes and Jasper Moon returning to the starting lineup after injury, Max Crocombe returning from international duty in goal and Ciaran Gilligan coming in for Deji Oshilaja in midfield.
Burton had the first half-chance in the third minute when Gilligan slid in to win the ball in an advanced position, getting it to Joe Hugill, who then played a one-two with him and crossed for Mason Bennett, whose shot on the turn was pulled wide.
At the other end, former Brewer Jonny Smith won the first corner but it came to nothing.
Wigan keeper Sam Tickle got half a fist to a cross from the left from Steve Seddon but the ball fell safe, then Burton won their first corner in the eighth minute and Tickle punched Joe Powell’s kick away, again not too convincingly.
The game settled into a pattern which involved Wigan looking to build patiently and Burton snapping at them. The home side had a free kick 40 yards out in the 17th minute but Crocombe easily caught Tom Pearce’s chipped kick.
Mason Bennett was pushed in the back to give Burton a free kick a similar distance out in the 20th minute. Tom Hamer got his head to Powell’s kick but the referee had seen a push.
Seddon then got away down the left and hooked a cross from the left bye-line and Bennett, finding it arriving a bit high, lifted a shot from eight yards over the bar. It had already been better than last week from the Brewers, although that was a low bar.
Burton then broke forward well, Mark Helm skipping past a challenge and slipping a ball through for Hugill but Charlie Goode got back well to block the striker’s attempted shot.
A lovely ball from Gilligan sent Hugill away on the right and he looked to have made a mess of a cross but a corner was given, which Burton did not profit from in the 28th minute.
Wigan’s first real threatening moment, a minute later, saw Stephen Humphrys chest down a diagonal ball forward in the box but he was under pressure from Moon and Crocombe could gather the ball.
Goode had to put a Bennett cross from the right out for a 35th-minute corner but Powell’s delivery went over everyone and out.
A familiar sight, Jonny Smith cutting in from the left, resulted in John Brayford heading the ball out for a corner, after which Jonny Smith shot poorly off target as Wigan had their best spell so far coming towards 40 minutes.
Hamer’s first chance to deliver a long throw came in the 40th minute and when it was half cleared, Bennett hit a volley which Tickle fumbled, recovering as Hugill threatened but, at the other end, a Brayford block was needed to keep out Thelo Assagaard’s shot.
From this corner, Scott Smith left fly from 25 yards and Crocombe made a good save to his right, Matt Smith hitting the rebound wide.
Burton were annoyed that there was no offside flag against him.
But they fell behind in the 43rd minute through a calamitous goal. Moon failed to clear a ball down the right and had it nicked from him by Scott Smith, whose cross was turned into his own net by Hughes as he tried to cut it out.
It had been a decent half by the Brewers but, once again, they were up against it for the second half.
Less than a minute into the second half, Hamer took a long throw, a couple of headers were won and the ball fell for Hugill, whose strong volley from 12 yards crashed off Tickle’s left-hand post. Albion really were having no luck.
Wigan made two changes in the 53rd minute, Steve Sessegnon and Martial Godo replacing Clare and Humphrys but the Brewers finally caught a break when they equalised a minute later.
Powell dropped a corner right into the six-yard box and, in a scramble, it was Brayford who forced the ball in from a couple of yards.
Kelman got away from Moon in the 58th minute on a through ball but, from a tight angle, he shot straight at Crocombe.
Helm then shot straight at Tickle after Gilligan did well to nick the ball to set Burton on the attack.
Jonny Smith went down clutching his hamstring in the 66th minute, sadly for him another familiar sight, and Wigan made three more changes, Chris Sze, Josh Magennis and Luke Chambers replacing Jonny Smith, Kelman and Pearce.
The game restarted with a free
kick from halfway by Powell and Steve Seddon got in behind the defence as it dropped, Tickle making a good save to concede a corner, which was followed by another but Burton could not capitalise.
They were, however, having a good spell and Wigan looked rattled, although Hughes had to head a Scott Smith cross away for a corner ahead of Aasgard.
When the ball came over, it somehow looped into the net but a linesman’s flag for a foul spared the Brewers.
Scott Smith was booked for a foul on Powell in the 78th minute and Ademola Ola-Adebomi replaced Bennett before Seddon shot poorly over from 25 yards.
Magennis delivered a long throw in the 80th minute which led to a shot from Godo which Brayford blocked, then Scott Smith burst through the middle on a good run but was blocked superbly by Brayford.
Suddenly Wigan were having a spell and a curling 20-yard shot from Chambers was brilliantly saved to his left by Crocombe in the 85th minute.
The Brewers made two more changes in the 88th minute, Antwoine Hackford and Oshilaja replacing Helm and Hugill.
Five added minutes were signalled and Powell was booked for pulling back Aasgaard as the Wigan man shot in a dangerous spot 25 yards out in the second of them. Aasgaard went for goal and Crocombe tipped the shot over
Ola-Adebomi cleared the ball from near the goalline when the corner came over.
Two more good blocks from Brayford kept Wigan at bay as they looked more likely to score in the last seconds but the game finished level.