Chapman’s cool finish made for a happy start to new year, but Brewers would say goodbye to a hero – and inconsistency continued
ALBION BEGAN 2022 ON WINNING NOTE, WERE BUSY IN THE TRANSFER WINDOW BUT UNPREDICTABLE ON PITCH
The fourth part of our review of the 2021-22 season saw Burton Albion starting again in January after a threeweek break up to and over Christmas owing to Covid-19. They were nonetheless only one game short of having reached the halfway mark in games played, sitting 13th in League One, nine points short of the play-off places and nine ahead of the drop zone.
colston.crawford@reachplc.com
JANUARY
NEW Year’s Day saw Harry Chapman complete his half-season loan spell with a brilliant goal, his first for the club, at home to Crewe Alexandra. Sent away down the left by Cameron Borthwick-jackson’s astute pass, he skipped inside past several challenges and rolled a neat shot into the corner of the net.
After John Brayford made it two, Kane Hemmings scored a brilliant third with a spectacular volley and Daniel Jebbison completed a 4-1 win in stoppage time.
Jebbison was on target again with an equaliser as Burton drew 1-1 away to Cheltenham Town, then they came back from a goal down to beat Gillingham 3-1 away with goals from Tom Hamer, Brayford and Jonny Smith.
Things were starting to move in the transfer window. Omari Patrick, whose move from Carlisle United had not worked out, was released to return to his previous club and Hemmings, seeking a better deal, was allowed to move to Tranmere Rovers.
Coming the other way were two young players with promise, left-back or wingback William Kokolo from Middlesbrough and striker Gassan Ahadme, from Norwich City, after a loan to Portsmouth had been ended early.
The Brewers needed a late equaliser from Jebbison to deny AFC Wimbledon a 1-0 win at the Pirelli Stadium in a poor game. The Dons were seven games without a win and, as it turned out, were not to win again as they plummeted to relegation.
The rearranged home game against MK Dons was competitive but the in-form visitors nicked it with a fine finish from Scott Twine in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Burton ended the month on the pitch with one of their best performances of the season, thoroughly outplaying Lincoln City although they still conceded the first goal, which had become too much of a habit.
Goals from Joe Powell and Sam Hughes, now happily restored to fitness, sealed a deserved 2-1 win.
Off the field, Hasselbaink was as busy as ever.
Lucas Akins, after eight years, left for Mansfield Town, as did Kieran Wallace after his recovery from an ACL injury.
Aaron Amadi-holloway, to Barrow, and Bryn Morris, who had failed to make the hoped-for impact in midfield, to Hartlepool
United, left on loan.
And on the last day of the window, bigspending National League side Wrexham came in with an offer Burton accepted for Tom O’connor. Goalkeeper Kieran O’hara, who had not had a look-in, left for Fleetwood Town.
Through the in-door on loan came Chapman, returning for a second spell, goalkeeper Matej Kovar from Manchester United and striker Christian Saydee from Bournemouth.
Hughes, as expected, signed permanently from Leicester City.
But the most significant change came when Sheffield United left it to the last day of the window to recall Jebbison. It was to be a big blow for the Brewers in attack, especially with Hemmings and Akins also having left.
FEBRUARY
Sheffield Wednesday did not look much like the promotion contenders they were going to become when they came to the Pirelli for
the first game of February, although midfielder Barry Bannan was plainly the classiest player on the pitch.
Unfortunately, from a Burton perspective, they did not have to play too well, as the home side turned in a display as flat as any in the season to lose 2-0.
They were not a great deal better in losing 2-1 away to Portsmouth, although Ahadme poked in his first goal for the club to halve the deficit early in the second half.
Ahadme got another next time out, scoring from the penalty spot in only the second minute, although his dinked spot-kick, very nearly saved, infuriated Hasselbaink.
Kokolo also scored his first goal for the club but the Brewers lost the lead twice in a 2-2 draw.
It had become the case that no-one could guess which Burton Albion would turn up and the one that played the first 20 minutes against Bolton Wanderers was irresistible.
Bolton arrived at the Pirelli for a rearranged game having strengthened in the window, still fancying their chances of reaching the play-offs and, you might argue, with more of a sense that they only had to turn up to win than any other team the Brewers met in the season.
Powell finished off a lovely move to give Burton an 11th-minute lead before Brayford scored twice in four minutes and Albion were in dreamland at 3-0 in the 18th minute. Dion Charles did not get one back for the visitors until the 94th minute.
It was a frustrating glimpse of what the Brewers were capable of but an awful 3-0 defeat away to Ipswich Town four days later was an equally frustrating reminder that they were so often incapable of following one good performance with another.
A fine finish by Borthwick-jackson at the Stadium of Light was almost enough for a 1-0 win away to Sunderland next but Ross Stewart nicked a 93rd-minute equaliser.
Yet again, a good display was followed by a bad one as Shrewsbury Town won 2-0 at the Pirelli to close the month, by which time Hasselbaink had dipped into the free agent market for former Everton striker Oumar Niasse and former Wolves and Nottingham Forest midfielder Adlene Guediourra.
Both were surely arriving too late to make a real difference to a faltering season.