Brewers pass the first test as they reignite cup love affair
CARABAO CUP, FIRST ROUND: PORT VALE 1, BURTON ALBION 2
BURTON Albion moved into the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 win away to Port Vale.
Liam Boyce and Scott Fraser were on target either side of a Mark Cullen penalty for Vale, putting last season’s semi-finalists safely through.
Albion overcame a tough assignment at Vale, who had drawn both of their League Two games this season.
It represented another step in the right direction for the Brewers, who have recovered well from their 1-0 opening-day defeat to Ipswich Town to win their last two matches.
Nigel Clough made three changes to the side that won 2-1 at Gillingham on Saturday.
Nathan Broadhead, who scored both those goals, missed out with a sore ankle, while Colin Daniel and Jake Buxton were on the bench.
Broadhead was replaced by Oliver Sarkic, a summer signing from Leeds United making his full debut after an eight-minute cameo in the defeat to Ipswich.
He started on the left-hand side, with Lucas Akins on the opposite wing as Boyce spearheaded the attack of a 4-3-3 formation.
Stephen Quinn returned from suspension following his red card against Ipswich, while Reece Hutchinson replaced Daniel at left-back.
Ryan Edwards and Fraser started off either side of Quinn, the base of Albion’s midfield.
Goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara was protected by captain John Brayford, John Joe-O’Toole, Kieran Wallace and Hutchinson.
Vale had the first real sight on goal after eight minutes, when Gibbons scampered forward from right-back and set up Kieran O’Hara for a rasping shot from distance. O’Hara palmed it away well.
But it was Burton who took the lead a minute later through Boyce.
The Northern Ireland international got across his marker and finished smartly past Scott Brown on the turn.
Albion had been looking for Boyce early on and Sarkic found him with a similar move but the former Ross County man scuffed his finish.
Vale saw a second sight of goal 10 minutes later, with Hutchinson bundling over Cristian Montano 25 yards out.
Tom Conlon’s low left-footed drive was easily saved by O’Hara.
If O’Hara’s denial was routine, Vale stopper Brown’s six minutes later was crucial.
Albion looked to break, as they did all evening, and Sarkic was faced by a crowd of players in front of him.
As he shaped to spray a pass out to BURTON Albion have been drawn at home to Morecambe in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
The tie will be played on the week commencing August 26, with the Shrimpers visiting the Pirelli Stadium after beating Mansfield Town 6-5 on penalties.
the opposite flank, he slipped a neat pass into Fraser, whose effort was blocked as Brown closed down the angle for the Brewers midfielder.
That kick-started a 10-minute spell of Vale pressure, with Conlon having two headed opportunities on goal and Cullen hitting the post after David Amoo was flagged offside for his role in the build-up.
It was a mark of how well John Askey’s side were playing that that passage of play earned a round of applause but the Vale fans would not have a great deal to shout about for the rest of the half, though, as Burton started to perform to the levels displayed earlier on in the match.
Sarkic was proving a handful and tangled with James Gibbons, winning a free kick on the right. Edwards found Akins from the set-piece and his effort was blocked but it was the start of a more concerted effort from Clough’s side.
Burton began to up the tempo and that started to tell with Boyce clattered into by Gibbons, who earned referee Paul Marsden’s first yellow card.
Before the half was out, Brayford went close with a header that bounced down on to the pitch and over Brown’s goal.
That came as a result of his and Boyce’s sharp interplay as Burton ended the first half well on top, having ridden out a wave of pressure from Vale.
Albion began the half as they ended it, with Hutchinson weaving his way into the penalty area and getting himself in a tangle.
Marsden emphatically waved
away any protests for a spot kick.
But it was Vale who made their mark in the second half, with Montano’s cross cannoning off a Brewers arm and Cullen made no mistake, sending O’Hara the wrong way from the penalty spot.
To the naked eye it looked a harsh award.
Just under 10 minutes later, Albion responded in the perfect manner as Vale started to turn the screw and look to lead for the first time.
A well-worked move down the right ended with Akins rifling a shot that was well saved by Brown but he could not react quick enough to deny Fraser from following up and scoring from the rebound.
One minute later, O’Hara tipped over a Montano effort destined for the top corner.
Vale huffed and puffed, bringing local hero Tom Pope on as their search for an equaliser began to get desperate.
It was a backs-to-the wall finish for the Brewers but they advance into the second round having overcome a stern test of their credentials.