Goal threat is there but clean sheets needed too
BURTON Albion are not among the most prolific sides in League One but they are consistent when it comes to finding the net at least once.
After 16 games of the League season, the Brewers’ goal difference is at a round zero.
They have scored 22 and conceded 22.
A record of six wins, three draws and seven defeats outlines the welldocumented inconsistency of their campaign to date, leaving them 14th in the division at this stage, albeit with a game in hand over most of their rivals.
But while 11 sides have scored more than Albion’s 22 goals so far, Nigel Clough’s men have shown they can be relied upon to spoil an opposition team’s hope of a clean sheet and put themselves in contention.
Burton have failed to score in only two of their 16 League fixtures - the 1-0 loss at Bradford City in August and September’s goalless draw with Scunthorpe United.
If you extend that to the Carabao Cup and Saturday’s FA Cup firstround fixture, it means the Brewers have scored in 19 of 21 League and Cup fixtures, a statistic that is undermined slightly by their record of one goal in three Checkatrade Trophy outings.
Albion’s approach since relegation from the Championship has been about getting on to the front foot and taking the game to their opponents.
While results have fluctuated, they have largely dominated games in terms of play and chances, even if the killer touch at the key moment has regularly been lacking.
In Saturday’s FA Cup defeat at Scunthorpe, a sloppy first-half display meant Burton had given themselves too much to do, although Liam Boyce eventually found a way past the inspired Jak Alnwick to set up a tense finale.
More often than not, if this Albion team knocks at a defence’s door for long enough, they will find a way through.
But for all the pressure at one end, the Brewers have not been able to shut enough games out.
Their clean sheet tally in League One currently stands at four, with only one registered in their last seven League matches.
In the promotion campaign of 2015-16, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s Burton had eight to their name after 16 matches.
They had scored though.
That season’s effort was built on organisation and an admirable unwillingness to let teams through. This is a more expansive Albion team and that makes them more vulnerable at the back.
The Brewers’ attacking play has been praised by several managers this season and they should be benefiting more from that Joshua Murray
six fewer, Clough bemoaned defensive mistakes in the loss to Scunthorpe and there have been too many soft goals conceded this season. That does not just come down to the defence and goalkeeper, with possession often surrendered in dangerous areas by players further upfield.
Burton are aiming to string together a run of League results that can catapult them up the division and improving the number in the clean sheets column would play a pivotal role.
The Brewers’ attacking play has been praised by several managers this season and they should be benefiting more from that.
More accuracy in the final third is important, of course - but it is much easier to outscore a team if you are not chasing from behind and can make sure of the “0” next to their name.