Burton Albion gave Derby County a Friday night shock
Irvine on target for the Brewers
WHEN the celebrations died down, no one would have blamed Nigel Clough for having a private chuckle after inflicting an embarrassing defeat on the club that sacked him three years ago.
But Burton’s mastermind managed to keep his emotions in check in front of the assembled media while nearneighbours Derby made the short ten-mile trip back to their base – though this loss, you feel, will stick with them for much longer.
“It doesn’t do anything except give us three points towards our total of trying to stay up, nothing else,” insisted Clough, who left Burton for Derby back in 2009.
“It was hard work and grit. We played enough at times but we were under the cosh in the second half because of Derby’s pure quality.
“That’s what we’ve got to do – we’ve got to run harder and be stronger and fitter than any other team because if it comes down to quality, we’re going to be down there in the Championship.
“We’ve kept our first clean sheet of the season as well, which is most pleasing.”
A record Pirelli Stadium crowd of 6,746 saw Burton remain remarkably composed after Jackson Irvine met a Lucas Akins cross with his head in the 12th minute.
There was also a touching moment when the injuryridden Shaun Barker made his first competitive appearance for four-and-a-half years against his former club.
And Clough did let his own mask slip momentarily as this win, their second in three games, suggesting they could not only survive in the Championship but thrive.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Clough added. “We’ll have a good week – the lads have got a few days off.
“It’s just another step in the wonderful story that’s been going on here. I never dreamt we’d be in the same league (as Derby), never mind winning.”
Exclamation points are starting to accompany the question marks at misfiring Derby, who have scored one goal in five Championship games so far.
The quality remains in a team that could be reasonably expected to improve upon their play-off finish last year, but according to boss Nigel Pearson the work ethic is sorely lacking.
“Players who are selected to play are selected because they are good enough to play, and so they have a responsibility like anyone else does to perform,” Pearson said. “If they were not ready to play, I wouldn’t select them.
“We have to function better as a team and to do that you need a level of commitment, both physically and mentally, and we’ve not had enough of that.”
Chances for either side hardly flowed but Burton did all the probing in the first half, with Tom Naylor and Lloyd Dyer buzzing around alongside Akins and Irvine.
Substitute Abdoul Camara roused the Rams into action with a deflected shot but the other two introductions, Darren Bent and Manchester United loanee James Wilson, did little to inspire the visitors.
“At the moment it’s typical of where we are in that we are collectively underperforming,” said Pearson. “We’ve got players who are not in form and consequently we’ve not taken chances when we’ve made them, we’re not scoring enough goals, and we’re not being creative enough. So it’s very frustrating for us.”