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| August 1998 Match Reports | |
Monday 31st August 1998 Handy Andy banishes Bank Holiday blues Dr. Marten's League Premier Division: Halesowen Town 1 Burton Albion 3 Andy Garner sent out a clear message of his intention to remain an integral part of John Barton's plans, with a two goal salvo to banish the gathering gloom surrounding Eton Park over the past week. Garner, left out of the Brewers starting line up so far this season, was preferred to new boy Craig Smith, and teamed up with Micky Cotter - making his first appearance of the season - as John Barton reverted to last season's strike partnership, in an attempt to bring some desperately needed cutting edge to his team. And the Brewers' number 10 had a chance to make his mark just three minutes into this Bank Holiday fixture. Micky Cotter was pulled back in the area by Elmes, but Garner's blasted penalty was beaten away to safety by Yeltz keeper Danny McDonnell. As the rain lashed down, Halesowen pushed forward in an attempt to capitalize on their good fortune - Smith's header was saved by Goodwin, then on the half hour Paul Harding's cross was converted by Steve Piearce to give the home side the lead. The Brewers though, were showing much more invention than in last week's dismal home matches, and 8 minutes later, they were level - Micky Cotter's hooked cross nudged over the line by Andy Garner. In the second half Albion continued to look dangerous - David Holmes posing a threat in his new position on the right, Garner and Cotter working hard up front, and on 64 minutes they had the lead for the first time. In a lightning break by the Brewers, Brendan Hackett's cross lashed in from the left was touched on by Stride, and the irrepressible Garner was on hand to fire in from 10 yards. The hard working Cotter received warm applause from the travelling Brewers fans when he was substituted, as an entertaining game reached it's conclusion, and soon his replacement Craig Smith was to receive similar acclaim - he capitalised on a slip by Yeltz defender Andy Bradley to fire home clinically from 15 yards. Still there was time for more heroics from the Albion team - keeper Nick Goodwin continuing his fine run of form with a superb save to deny Piearce in the last minute. A much improved display by the Brewers - now the trick is to repeat the performance on a regular basis, and in front of their home fans. And Saturday's match against bogey team Cambridge City at Eton Park (kick-off 3pm) would be as good a time as any for John Barton's team to break the cycle which irrepairably damaged the Brewers title challenge last season.
Saturday 29th August 1998 Battling Martyrs bring Barton more misery Dr. Marten's League Premier Division: Burton Albion 0 Merthyr Tydfil 1 A year ago it took the Brewers five home games before they could score in front of their own supporters, and on the evidence of this match, we could be in for another long wait this season. A battling Merthyr side spent long periods in their own half but rookie keeper Neil Thomas rarely looked threatened by a toothless Albion team, in a performance which will do nothing to lift the pressure which -three games into the season- is already starting to grow on the shoulders of Brewers boss John Barton. Three hundred spectators had decided they had better things to do after Tuesday night's debacle, and the ones who did turn up saw little return on their £5 entrance fee. The visitors came closest to scoring in a first half which was almost as dismal as the Worcester match - Eston Chiverton's shot towards the bottom corner being superbly tipped around the post by Goodwin. The Brewers few chances came from crosses from Brendan Hackett - David Holmes' back header skimming inches wide of the post and Mark Blount's effort sailing just over. Merthyr defender Gareth Abraham went off shortly before half time with a head wound. Merthyr thought they had taken the lead in the 52nd minute, but Gary Sheppard's effort was ruled out for offside.The disallowed goal did at least jolt the Brewers out of their inertia, and brought some flickering signs of life to the match and the crowd. David Holmes came close again with a header from Smith, then in the 56th minute Andy Garner was sent on for the ineffective Craig Smith in an attempt to bring some spice into the attack. The arrival of the ex-Gresley striker almost brought quick reward - his 25 yard drive from a free-kick routine sailed just over the crossbar. John Barton sought to further boost his attack by sacrificing defender Matt Smith to give youngster Aaron Webster his first team debut, in a bold tactical move. But still Albion could not get past the big men of the Merthyr backline. Brendan Hackett swung a corner dangerously close to the Merthyr goal but the ball was kept out by the Merthyr keeper. Then, as the Brewers began to build some momentum for the first time Steve Spooner had a shooting chance, but drove his shot disappointingly at Thomas. Substitute Paul Giles was brought on for Merthyr - suffering from a mix-up with their kit - wearing the number 5 shirt previously worn by Abrham. And if this was an attempt to confuse the home team, it may have worked. With just six minutes left on the clock, and with depressing predictability for the Brewers fans, Gary Sheppard broke through the Brewers defence to leave Goodwin stranded with a 25 yard lob, sparking a mini pitch-invasion by a few of the delirious Merthyr fans. The only reaction from the home faithful was weary resignation, at the way in which another season appears to be crumbling before it's even started. Here we go again!
Tuesday 25th August 1998 Eton Park light show turns into damp squib Dr. Marten's League Premier Division: Burton Albion 0 Worcester City 1 The immaculate Eton Park pitch basked under the glow of the new £80,000 floodlights, switched on for the first time for the opening home fixture of the 1998-99 season, but this match turned out to be as damp and uninspiring as the weather, as once again John Barton's team failed to impress in front of their own supporters. And as the first signs of the creeping disillusionment which blighted last season began to appear, the question that must be asked is, do the fans turn on the team because they play badly, or do the team play badly because of the lack of encouragement from the terraces? Just because we've spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on players and ground improvements doesn't give us a divine right to win every match, and too many Popsiders' idea of "supporting" the team is to turn up, shout some abuse at our own players every time a move doesn't come off and then leave ten minutes before the end (with just time for a shout of "Rubbish, Barton!" before heading for the car park.) Maybe we should play every match away from home, as there was ten times more vocal encouragement from the 150 Brewers fans at Rothwell on Saturday than from the bulk of a 952 crowd at Eton Park tonight. To be fair, there wasn't much to inspire excitement in an uneventful match reminiscent of last season's opening home match against King's Lynn. David Holmes and Craig Smith - so dangerous at Rothwell- never struck up an understanding and Brendan Hackett - so creative on Saturday couldn't carve out the openings required to fire this game into life. Worcester were ahead as early as the 13th minute when Ray Woods squeezed the ball in from a narrow angle - Mark Blount diving in to dig it away but the ball had already crossed the line. Mark Blount had a delicate chip tipped over the crossbar, but virtually the only other threatening move on the visitors goal came at the fag-end of the first half, keeper Shane Higgs deflecting a shot from Hackett, and then blocking the follow-up from Darren Stride. The Brewers had marginally more chances in the second half, winning a series of corners as the game drew towards a conclusion, but never looked like penetrating the Worcester defence. In fact, it was City who came closest to adding to their tally ten minutes from time - substitute Jones bringing a fine save out of Nick Goodwin. Boos greeted the final whistle, the travelling Worcester fans went home happy as George Rooney's team pick up their first points of the season - but in terms of excitement and spectacle, watching paint dry might have been a better option.
Saturday 22nd August 1998 Bonecrushers! Brewers off to a flyer Dr. Marten's League Premier Division: Rothwell Town 1 Burton Albion 4 The Brewers launched themselves into the new season in style at Cecil Street, crushing Rothwell Town with a commanding performance to delight their travelling supporters, who made this seem like a home fixture at the sparse and windswept Cecil Street ground. Classy new signing Brendan Hackett brought a new dimension to the team on the left side of midfield, and debutant Craig Smith made his mark with two goals - his strike partnership with David Holmes clicking smoothly into gear at the first time of asking. Albion couldn't have asked for a better start - Brendan Hackett's free-kick from the left was headed home by Mark Blount with just four minutes of the new season played. And the Brewers could have increased their lead as they dominated the first half hour. Rothwell keeper John Parsons could only parry Craig Smith's speculative 20 yard effort on 15 minutes, but did well to block Tony Marsden's close range shot from the rebound. And five miutes later David Holmes should have made it 2-0 - he beat the offside trap to latch on to Alan Davies' pass out of defence, only to skew his hot wide of goal. Feelings of deja-vu came flooding back as -despite their dominance of the posession- the Brewers threw away their lead thanks to sloppy defending. Richard Preston's pass on 43 minutes exposed gaping holes in the Albion defence, and Ricky Marshall latched onto it to drive the ball home off the body of Goodwin. Brewers fans needn't have worried however - their team responded in the second half with a ruthlessness and professionalism which bodes well for the season ahead. Especially promising was the manner in which the new strike partnership of Holmes and Smith so smoothly created and despatched the goals which killed off the Bones' challenge. Holmes it was who created, and finished the Brewers second goal - launching the attack with a splendid pass to Steve Spooner on the right, and heading in the resultant cross at the far post. Holmes almost added to his tally when his shot rebounded off the post, but Craig Smith was on hand to crash in the rebound from close range - his first league goal for the Brewers. Finally, on 81 minutes, the deadly duo conjured up another goal - Holmes' cross from the right brought down skilfully by Smith, and rifled into the net past a despairing Parsons. An excellent start to the season for the Brewers, but a sterner test of John Barton's revitalised team is to come in the next 10 days. Much fancied Worcester City visit Eton Park on Tuesday evening, last seasons league runners-up Merthry Tydfil are the visitors on Saturday, and on Bank Holiday Monday Albion travel to The Grove to play Halesowen Town.
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