Tough night but positives in defence as the Brewers stand strong
BOSTWICK BACK WITH A ‘THEY SHALL NOT PASS’ DISPLAY
BURTON Albion’s goalless draw with Bolton Wanderers was a tough watch – or listen, if you could not get there on a Monday night or if you don’t have Sky – for Brewers supporters.
Let us hope there are not many games like it this season, in which Burton have to hang on to salvage a point for almost the whole 90 minutes.
It reminded me of some of the games in the Championship seasons, when Albion were often forced into such a rearguard action.
Occasionally, they had magical outcomes, none more so than Jackson Irvine’s breakaway goal in stoppage time away to Huddersfield Town to secure the bonus of a 1-0 win, when escaping with a 0-0 draw was looking like a very satisfactory conclusion.
The Bolton game was a bit like that, without the breakaway finale, but if the Brewers are serious about competing towards the top end of League One this season, they will not want too many games like it.
More positively, I don’t think there will be many. For one thing, Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt was in raptures over his team’s performance, saying it was among the very best since he took over.
Everything they did, they got right, other than finishing their chances. That simply is not going to happen every time they take the field.
By contrast, the Brewers got one of their big characteristics under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink right. They defended as if their lives depended on it and earned a point because of that. Very often, Bolton were reduced to shooting hopefully from range and the blocks stacked up.
The biggest problem was that, unlike in so many games in which their opponents have had more of the ball, Albion were largely ineffective when they had their chance to get forward. That is something else that is not going to happen every time they take the field.
This was one of those days when they could not get winger Jonny Smith into the game enough, for one thing. It was notable that when new loan signing Harry Chapman came off the bench, he got the ball to Smith for a run at the Bolton defence twice within five minutes.
Kane Hemmings returned from injury but was largely isolated up front on a night when not too much went right for Lucas Akins, for all of his willingness.
Charlie Lakin made his debut as one of the holding midfielders, alongside Cameron Borthwick-jackson, and buzzed around. He looks like he will be a big asset on a better day.
The positives were in defence, where Ryan Leak missed out for the first time this season with a knock and Michael Bostwick returned from injury for his first appearance of the season and turned in the sort of colossal “they shall not pass” performance we became accustomed to in the second half of last season.
Conor Shaughnessy was no less efficient, either, and Tom Hamer tracked and tackled relentlessly.
John Brayford perhaps struggled a little with the outrageously talented Oladapo Afolayan up against him.
Not too much has been seen of Afolayan before now but, at 23, he looks to be blossoming into a terrific footballer.
His career path is not dissimilar to Smith’s, a long-ish period at a big club, West Ham United in his case, several loans and now a three-year deal with Bolton.
Brayford eventually scythed through him on the touchline to collect a second yellow card and, after four bookings in the whole of last season, he now has four this season already. His absence next time out may well see Hamer at right-back and a chance for Frazer Blake-tracy or Borthwick-jackson at left-back.
Whatever, these remain early days both in the season and for Hasselbaink’s rebuilt squad.
The Brewers have been outstanding against Ipswich Town and Sunderland, efficient against Shrewsbury Town and less so against Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town and now Bolton.
It still adds up to third place in the early table with, hopefully, the promise of better to come.