SLOW AND STEADY IS FINE BY CLOUGH
But boss knows he needs net gain
NIGEL CLOUGH admitted he was happy with a point after watching his Burton Albion side tussle with fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic despite witnessing a bore-draw at The DW Stadium.
The stalemate means both promoted sides are now unbeaten in their last three matches, but Clough felt it could have been an even better afternoon for his team.
“In the first half we missed our opportunity to win the game but we still managed to weather the storm in the second half, which was pleasing,” he said.
“We have to realise as a team that if your spell in the game comes in the opening five or ten minutes then we need to do more to get a goal. The number of situations in and around their penalty area we had which didn’t result in a clearcut chance or a finish means we have to work on that.
“We always knew they were going to have a spell in the game because of the quality they have, so overall it was a good point.”
Burton were five places above their hosts before kick-off and it was they who were quick out of the traps.
Matt Palmer was impressive, orchestrating a lot of what Albion did right in the first half, and his ball found Lucas Akins in the area but his effort was cleared off the line in the opening minutes.
Wigan struggled to get going, and Adam Bogdan nearly gifted their visitors a glorious lead, rushing out from his box and making a mess of his headed clearance. Chris O’Grady had the whole goal to aim at from 40 yards, but Dan Burn was there to clear.
O’Grady then saw two headers sail wide as Albion looked to make their dominance count, but the best chance of the half fell to Wigan’s Adam Le Fondre, who raced clear but chipped his effort over the bar.
Wigan dominated the second half, but failed to create too many chances, Nick Powell wasting the best of them ny managing to head wide from six yards after Stephen Warnock’s cross had found him. It was easier to score and it was even easier to feel the frustration from the home faithful.
With time running out, Michael Jacobs found space and his feigned shot took away two Burton defenders, but his final effort was straight at Jon McLaughlin.
The Brewers could have nicked it themselves with minutes remaining, but Tom Naylor wasted a free header from close-range before Powell fired wide in added time, meaning both sides had to settle for a point, one that Latics manager Gary Caldwell, on reflection, felt was right.
“They had the better chances and the better control in the first half, and then we had them in the second, so a draw is probably a fair result,” he said.
“We look a lot more solid at the back now but attack-wise, the creativity, the spark, the energy, that final pass was missing today, which is disappointing.
“We never got the ball out to our wide-men enough. If you don’t pass the ball well, whatever formation you try won’t work.
“I said to the lads in there that if you draw your home matches then you have to win your away games, then days like today become a really good point.”