Albion fans miss the big match stuck in traffic queues on the M6...
AND THE LUCKY ONES But many did make it:
BREWERS fans somehow remained in good spirits as they endured an agonising night on the pitch AND on the roads, on the biggest night in the club’s history.
Thousands of Burton Albion fans were stuck for hours on their way to the Manchester’s Etihad Stadium, with many missing the whole of the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.
Police had shut part of the M6 when 27 suspected illegal migrants fled a lorry that was stopped amid “reports lives may have been at risk”.
Those who did make it – including 26 coaches full of Burtonians – saw their side demolished 9-0 by the defending Premier League champions and cup-holders Manchester City.
Fans were hit by delays caused by TWO incidents. First there was a crash on the A38 at 3pm, which affected traffic as Burton fans set out from town about 3.30pm, causing tailbacks.
Then, just as supporters thought they were on their way to see Albion play in the biggest match in their history, they were caught up in the incident on the M6.
Some were stuck for up to four hours – with many not making it to the ground in time for the 7.45pm kick off.
Leanne Shipton had to watch the game on a phone that was perched on her dashboard. She posted: “This is where I watched the game. Proud to see Burton Albion reach that stage of the competition.”
Leonie Ashenden had a similar idea to watch the game on her phone while delayed - but ran out of data after just 10 minutes. Leonie, who was travelling to the game with her husband and two friends, said: “I left Burton at 4.10pm, got to Keele Services at 8.55pm. Had a lovely chat with some people in the middle of the M6 though.
“We managed to watch about 10 minutes but then the data went on our phone. “We were listening to Radio Derby but that went off, too.”
Edward Taylor, a Brewers fan who went to the game from Glasgow, got there on time without any problem – although his sister Emily was stuck on the M6 and had HIS ticket.
Edward thanked stewards for letting him in after Emily - who only managed to see 15 minutes of action and one goal sent him a picture of the ticket and the club admitted him.
Anthony Potts saw the funny side, posting on Facebook: “Stuck for two hours, missed the first two goals but at least we’ve seen seven more!”
Gary Dunne, decided to divert through Tutbury when he heard about the issues on the A38. He said: “Left Burton at 4pm, saw the problems on the satnav and heard reports on the radio. Took the Tutbury route to miss A38, took the A500 to miss the M6. Arrived at the Etihad at 6.15pm.” He also had no problems on his journey home. Leonard Foulk similarly benefited when the supporters’ coach he was on was diverted and arrived at the stadium by 7.20pm.
He said it was “a doddle to get to the ground”.
Ian Finney said: “I’m really not sure what’s more painful: The poor @burtonalbionfc fans stuck on the M6 and didn’t make the game OR the poor @burtonalbionfc fans that actually got to the game!!! #CarabaoCup #SemiFinal #BurtonAlbion #ManCity”
Burton Albion later tweeted: “We are aware that some of our fanbase could not make tonight’s game. We greatly appreciate the efforts that all our fans make to support us.” l Did you get delayed heading to the game or did not make it at all? Get in touch and tell us your story.
Burton Albion greatly appreciates the efforts that all of our fans made to support us. Club’s Twitter account