Small steps but Brewers must find a way to hold on to leads
CREWE THE LATEST TO LAND LATE EQUALISER TO THWART QUEST FOR A CLEAN SHEET
BURTON Albion continue to take small, important steps towards escaping the wrong end of the League One table.
Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Crewe Alexandra, as manager Jake Buxton was quick to point out, made them unbeaten in three matches for the first time this season.
Unfortunately, they would be taking somewhat bigger steps if they could hang on to a lead in the last five minutes of matches.
They came so close to managing it in an interesting, rather than exciting, battle with Crewe Alexandra on Saturday, taking the lead in the 76th minute through Sam Hughes but being pegged back by Owen Dale’s quite brilliant equaliser in the 85th minute.
Not for the first time, everyone involved with the Brewers would have been thinking “is this the one, the clean sheet we have waited so long for?”
It almost was – but Crewe followed Shrewsbury Town and Sunderland in claiming a draw in the last month.
Yes, football is full of ifs and buts but the six points that have gone begging in those three games would have seen Burton 15th in League One today, rather than 22nd.
Look at it another way, though. If Burton had come from behind for a point in each of those games, the reward would have been the same but the results would have felt better.
They really are heading in the right direction in the last fortnight or so and the evidence that a catalogue of injury and illness concerns are now behind them was there when Buxton was able to name an unchanged match-day 18 for the third game running. There will be very few instances of that at any level.
Against them, a familiar face, former Brewer Luke Murphy, lined up in midfield for Crewe, the club where he began his career, while former Derby County strikers Chris Porter and Offrande Zanzala were on the bench, but the Alex were missing captain Perry Ng, banned for six matches for a spitting incident.
Crewe manager ger David Artell was s right when, after the game, he bemoaned the first half as too much like a training exercise, with a great deal of passing but no penetration.
The two teams tested each other out and Crewe were neat and confident in possession, far less likely to be harried into errors than
Charlton Athletic a fortnight before, but it was the Brewers who pressed harder.
Once again, it was Charles Vernam who looked most dangerous and he had the game’s first shot, after 20 minute utes, gathered comfortab ably enough by k keeper Will Jaaskela ainen.
He also got a touch to a cross from Joe Powell after Lucas Ak Akins took a quick free kick to put Crewe on the back f foot but Jaaskelainen was able t to drop on the ball. A couple of balls across the box from Vernam also alarmed Crewe and, apart from a tame off-target header by Omar Beckles from a corner, they did not threaten until Joe Lowery advanced to shoot from 20 yards in the 40th minute, Kieran O’Hara parrying and Michael Bostwick hooking the rebound away.
The second half was a different story, as Crewe came out with more urgency and Murphy, not as influential as he can be, headed a neat Dale cross straight at O’Hara in the 47th minute. Four minutes later, a short corner was worked to Murphy in a shooting position but his shot was half blocked and smothered by O’Hara. It was the start of a busy spell for the Albion keeper.
Burton continued to have their own chances, Powell shooting wide and Akins having a shot blocked as he stretched, having chested down a
In among all the small steps, a clean sheet is the next big one Burton need
Colin Daniel cross.
O’Hara saved further shots from Ryan Wintle and Dale but as Crewe seemed the likelier side to break the deadlock, it was Burton who did so after 76 minutes.
After all the passing in the game, it was a straightforward goal, a booming deep corner from Powell beyond the far post, perfectly met by Hughes with a downward header for his second goal in successive home games.
Hughes, who had been excellent in defence again, was soon back in action at the other end, when Daniel’s attempted clearing header looked to be going in for an own goal until the young centre-half cleared it acrobatically off the line in the 83rd minute.
Then it looked like it might be Burton’s day but an even better piece of athleticism brought Crewe level after 88 minutes.
Beckles won the first header from a corner but sent it away from goal, where Dale, who had been Crewe’s liveliest threat, threw himself into an overhead kick and connected meatily to give O’Hara no chance.
That was that. Another day without a clean sheet and that is now 28 games without one.
In among all the small steps, a clean sheet is the next big one Burton need.