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| August 2000 | 2000-2001 Archive Latest News |
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| 29-8-00 | Brewers clinch it at the death | Tamworth (a) | |||
| 26-8-00 | The season starts here... | Fisher (h) | |||
| 23-8-00 | Aaron penalty earns point | King's Lynn (h) | |||
| 22-8-00 | Brewers blag a point | Newport (a) |
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| Brewers
clinch it at the death!
A last gasp penalty winner from Aaron Webster provided the dramatic climax to a Bank Holiday blockbuster at the Lamb last night, and condemned hapless Tamworth to their fourth successive defeat of the new season. After coming from behind to lead 2-1, the Brewers looked to have squandered two precious away points when 'H-bomber' Warren Haughton drove home a 90th minute equalizer for the home side, but with the match deep into injury time, as Albion rallied one last attack on the Tamworth penalty area, Lambs defender Adie Hayes was pressured into handling Darren Stride's goal-bound header, and the referee pointed to the spot. |
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| The Brewers
had started this local derby clash brightly, with manager Nigel Clough,
back at something close to his best after struggling to find his form
so far season, forcing former Burton 'keeper Darren Acton to make a
fingertip save inside ten minutes. However it was Tamworth who struck the
first blow, somewhat against the run of play.
Albion appeals for a penalty were waved away after Darren Stride appeared to have been pulled down in the box, and from the resulting counter-attack, Tamworth forced a corner, which was swung in from the right, and headed home by Paul Hatton. |
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Albion
had what they thought was an equalizer through Dale Anderson disallowed for
offside shortly before half time, but the second period was only four minutes
old when the Brewers' pressure finally paid off, as Darren Stride
(left) arrived in the box to head home Clough's ball in from the
right.
With fifteen minutes left on the clock, it was 2-1. Clough robbed Lambs defender Jon Howard and put Dale Anderson (below left) clear through on the edge of the box. The home defence stood waiting for an offside flag which never arrived, and Anderson kept his head to chip the ball over Acton, who was booked after protesting vehemently to the referee. Acton had been receiving plenty of stick from the Albion fans, and he was not slow to display his jubilation to them when Warren Haughton broke through the Brewers defence to drive home what looked like being the crucial goal, a minute into injury time. But Acton's, and Tamworth's celebrations were premature, as the real drama was still to come. A free-kick was conceded by the corner flag, the ball in caused all kinds of chaos inside the Tamworth box, and the referee spotted a handball on the line from the Lambs defender. How he stayed on the pitch is a mystery, but that issue was almost forgotten as penalty king Aaron Webster stepped up to coolly slot home past Acton, sparking delirium amongst the travelling army of fans. |
| Doubts may
remain about the team's ability to defend a lead, as they so nearly didn't
last night. And the form of some players remains a cause for concern. But
that's probably nit-picking, as the Brewers seem to be improving with every
game at the moment. As for last night's match, and in particular it's dramatic,
roller-coaster finish, it doesn't get much better than that, folks!
Next up are Merthyr Tydfil, who recorded their first victory of the season with a 4-1 hammering of John Barton's Worcester City yesterday. They visit Eton Park on Saturday (3pm), while the following Tuesday (5th September) Albion travel to Halesowen Town (7.30pm) another side like Tamworth struggling to get their season underway, with only one point to their name at time of writing. |
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| However,
it took until the second half for the Brewers to add to their lead, as a
series of chances were squandered.
Pat Lyons should have made it 2-0 but fired tamely at Munden after being set up by Anderson, and Anderson himself - back in the starting line-up for the injured Phil Starbuck - squandered two clearcut chances in quick succession, driving himself wide both times in one-on-one's with the 'keeper. |
| Nigel
Clough showed that he can still provide a potent threat from setpieces, setting
up Darren Stride shortly after the break, but the skipper blasted his shot
over the bar. Minutes later however, another Clough free-kick paid dividends,
as Mark Blount arrived to power in a downward header.
Anderson finally got his name on the scoresheet on 64 minutes, this time keeping his head after dispossessing defender Matt Ball, to slot the ball home under Munden. |
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| The Brewers were dealt an injury blow in the closing stages with the loss of Darren Wassall to a knee injury, and had to battle out the closing stages with ten men having used up all three substitutes. This was the time when an otherwise toothless Fisher side came closest to scoring. Ben Taylor had the goal gaping before him but headed wide, while four minutes from the end Alan Davies was lucky to escape getting his name on the scoresheet for the wrong side, after slicing a corner against his own crossbar. |
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| After
three months of waiting for football to return to Eton Park, the first half
was a massive anti-climax, with barely a single incident worth mentioning.
So we won't mention it.
After the break, Albion began to show signs of throwing off the shackles of what had been a dour midfield battle, with the powerful runs of Darren Stride, back to his usual self after Saturday's 'blip', proving their most effective means of attack. Dale Anderson also showed a few proimsing flashes after coming on for Phil Starbuck who, ominously, limped off with what looked like a knee injury. However, it was the Linnets who took the lead with a sweeping counter attacking move just short of the hour mark. Player manager Gary Mills launched a perfectly flighted ball out to Tommy Wright on the left wing, and his cross was met by a swivel-shot into the roof of the net from Jon Palmer. |
| The
Brewers pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but all too often found
themselves denied by one of the top 'keepers in the league, former Morrocan
International Chuck Martini, who produced a string of saves to deny Stride
amongst others.
The seconds were ticking by, and when Dale Anderson fired probably the best chance of the game into the side netting, you began to suspect this wasn't going to be our night. |
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| In fact, it
took an ever so slightly dubious refereeing decision to pull Albion
back into the game, four minutes from the end. Anderson's shot hit a Lynn
defender on the arm, the referee pointed to the spot, and Aaron Webster
placed the ball cooly into the corner of the net.
Still there were chances at either end, but as on Saturday, most fans were happy to take the point when the whistle finally blew after several minutes of stoppage time. It's been a strange start to the season, but while their luck continues to hold, there's certainly no reason to panic, as the Brewers are beginning to at least show flashes of the kind of form which got them off to such a flyer last season. A point against the likes of Newport and King's Lynn is one thing however, but the fans will expect to see all three in the bag from Saturday's game against newly promoted Fisher Athletic. That would set us up nicely for the big Bank Holiday Monday trip to Tamworth, a side who really have started the season poorly. |
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| The
usually peerless figure of manager Nigel Clough, in particular, had a stinker,
as did his skipper Darren Stride, and it was only due to a slice of
luck, and a well drilled defence marshalled by Darren Wassall, making his
Albion league debut, that the Brewers were not out of the game completely
by the time Newport defender Darren Robison's 80th minute own-goal
handed them a point.
After a bright start by the Brewers, in which Starbuck almost made a dream comeback, rattling the Newport crossbar after eight minutes, the home side began to exert increased pressure as the first half wore on, and thought they'd taken the lead just before half time, when substitute Lee Brown's header came back off the post and somehow rolled across the goalline without crossing the line. Seconds after the restart and it was 1-0, with Brown again instrumental. His cross from the left took a riccochet off James, then bounced off former Gloucester man Matthew Rose, and into the net. Newport surged forward in search of a second goal which would have killed the game off, but Brown sliced their best chance hopelessly wide, while Goodwin produced a good save to deny Donovan. Albion didn't look remotely like scoring, even with the arrival of Dale Anderson as substitute, and continuing the theme of the afternoon, it took another bizarre incident to provide the equalizer. Phil Starbuck turned inside the box to drill in a low cross, and Robison's attempt to clear ended with him hooking the ball into the roof of his own net. Whilst admitting he, and his side had played poorly, Clough expressed his satisfaction at getting a result at the home of one of the most fancied sides in the division, and contrasted this match to last season's opening day fixture at Twerton Park: "A year ago we played Bath off the pitch and lost," Clough told the Burton Mail, "This time we're off the mark straight away with a point on the board against difficult opponents." Something to remember perhaps, before we start writing obituaries on a season which is only 90 minutes old. The Brewers have a chance to prove that Saturday was a one-off, when football finally returns to Eton Park tonight (Tuesday, 7.30pm), King's Lynn provide the opposition. |
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