DUFFY DOUBLE DOES DAMAGE

BURTON Albion passed the 70-point mark with victory over Fleetwood but manager Nigel Clough was left to lament the lack of a more convincing scoreline.

The League One leaders returned to winning ways in comfortable fashion, as they controlled the game from start to finish, with man-of-the-match Mark Duffy scoring twice, either side of Wes Burns’ equaliser for the Cod Army.

Albion’s task was a little easier after Bobby Grant was dismissed in the 67th minute, just 60 seconds after coming off the bench, for kicking out at Lucas Akins.

“We set off on the front foot and we didn’t allow Fleetwood to settle into the game,” said Clough.

“This is how we want to play at home. It was important that we got through the ten-minute period after they equalised and we continued to create chances. On another day, we could have won by a three or four-goal margin.

“Our performance warranted a larger victory. Earlier in the season, we would have scored more goals, but when you are down to the final ten games, everyone is a little bit nervier. The important thing is that we secured all three points.

“It is another game ticked off; we are delighted that we have passed the 70 point mark.We are in a reasonable position but we still have lots of work to do before the end of the season.”

Burton, who had a score to settle with the Cod Army after losing 4-0 at Highbury earlier in the season, flew out of the blocks and their pressure paid in the 26th minute.

Full-back Damien McCrory delivered a cross from the left channel to Duffy, who cleverly dropped a shoulder to open up space and whistle a right-footed effort beyond Chris Maxwell.

At half-time, Town manager Steven Pressley introduced Burns off the bench, and the Welshman made an immediate impact, tucking home two minutes after the restart.

But Burton were resilient and determined to rectify Tuesday’s loss at Bradford City, and Duffy scored a wonderful individual effort, leaving Maxwell helpless with a curling effort from 25 yards just before the hour mark.

Fleetwood’s afternoon got even more frustrating as Grant was shown a straight red card and Pressley gave an honest assess- ment of his team’s performance.

“We weren’t good enough,” he said. “That was the first time I can come away from a game and honestly say that we didn’t deserve anything.

“They started more aggressively and were better in all aspects of the game, and the one thing I said before coming here is that they’ll ask questions of us.

“They do that and they do that to great effect. We didn’t answer those questions in positive fashion so overall it was the right result. We deserved to lose the game.

“We were outfought on 50/50 moments and I was really disappointed. We’ve set standards and I want a response on Tuesday night against Walsall.”