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| Brewers no match for rampant Shrimps |
| Albion's
first season in the Nationwide Conference came to an end with a tidal
wave of goals at the seaside, sadly all of them ending up in Matt Duke's
net, as the Brewers crashed 5-0 against Morecambe at Christie Park
on Saturday. The home side were keen to secure second position in the Conference and the 'easier' semi-final tie when they participate in the inauguaral Conference play-offs, and on this form they should be considered favourites to join either Doncaster Rovers or Chester City in the final at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke, on May 10th. |
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| More
than 300 Albion fans made the trek to the Lancashire coast to celebrate the
more modest achievment of Conference survival, but the team couldn't manage
even a token goal to reward their loyal fans, who to their credit kept on
singing to the end. Morecambe were straight out of the blocks with Wayne Curtis testing Duke early on, and it was no surprise when Lee Elam converted Garry Thompson's cross to give the Shrimps the lead with just four minutes on the clock. Wayne Curtis capitalised on a comical mix-up between Terry Henshaw and Duke to double the home lead on the half hour, and although Duke would go on to made amends for his part in the cock-up with a string of fine saves - notably from Stewart Drummond and Curtis - he was powerless to prevent Jim Bentley heading in Ryan Zico-Black's cross to kill the game off as a contest, four minutes before half time. |
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Duke
was instrumental in preventing the scoreline from becoming even more unflattering
for the Brewers, with a fine save from Danny Carlton, but after Garry
Thompson had volleyed the Shrimps into a 4-0 lead nine minutes from time,
the Albion 'keeper blotted his copy book again by rashly racing out to bring
down Carlton in the area. Ryan Zico-Black converted the penalty, Duke
escaped with a yellow card. The party atmosphere amongst the Brewers fans continued in spite of what they had to watch on the pitch, and with his side having conceeded fifteen goals in their final three away games, Nigel Clough won't need anyone to tell him of the changes that need to be made in the Summer. |
| It
was always going to be a season of consolidation, and most fans would have
settled for the 16th position which the Brewers find themselves in at the
end of the 2002-2003 season. Anyone who feels disappointed with that need
only look down the A444 to Nuneaton Borough, who's defeat at home to Farnborough
sees them heading back to the Dr. Martens League after four years in the
Conference. |
| How they finished - Conference final table 2002-2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Staying up! |
| Never
in doubt! There was relief all round at Eton Park on Easter Monday after
the Brewers' 2-0 victory over already doomed Kettering Town, combined with
favourable results elsewhere, means that the Nationwide Conference status
they attained a year ago is secure for another season. A nervy encounter between a team already condemned to a return to the Dr. Martens League and one desperately hoping to avoid that fate saw Albion not surprisingly dominate throughout, although if the waif-like Michael Boyle-Chong hadn't spurned an early chance for the Poppies, it could have been a very different game. |
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| Free-kicks
from Andy Sinton and Aaron Webster, who between them were involved of most
of Albion's attacking endeavours down the left flank, were the closest the
Brewers came to breaking the deadlock in the first half, but after the break
the Brewers turned the screw tighter on their Northants visitors, and were
finally rewarded with a goal on 66 minutes. Christian Moore did well to hook the ball across the face of goal from Sinton's centre, and John Howard arrived into the fray to direct the ball into the net with a stooping header, sparking jubilant scenes on the terraces. Howard has been a valuable addition to the squad since his arrival at the club and will hopefully be on Nigel Clough's retained list for next season when it is announced in a few weeks time. Kettering's Victor Asombang tested Matt Duke with a dipping volley which the Brewers' keeper, named joint player of the season along with top scorer Christian Moore after the match, had to tip over soon after, but Albion put the victory, and their Conference survival, beyond doubt 15 minutes from the end when substitute Dale Anderson stuck out a foot to direct Sinton's shot past Poppies' 'keeper Ian Bowling. |
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Clough
later described the feeling as "great relief rather than celebration", but
there were doubtless a few pints being drunk in the Football Tavern after
the game to toast the completion of what was, after all, the prime objective
at the start of the season - Conference survival. "That was one of the biggest games in ths club's recent history," Clough told the Burton Mail, "You lose a cup final and nothing really changes, but if we had lost our Conference status after working so hard to achieve it we don't know where we would have gone." |
| Clough
praised his team for keeping their head amidst the "nerves and tension
that emanated from everywhere as soon as you walked through the gate"
and vowed to ensure that the team would not find themself in a similar position
next season. The traditional end-of-season presentations passed off in their usual good humour, with Brian Clough in good form as ever, handing out the gongs. Apart from Duke and Moore, who became the first joint winners of the player of the season award, there were presentations to Andy Ducros for his 'goal of the season' against Chester, Darren Stride for the away travel player of the season, and youngsters Mark Leeson and Peter Thompson. Having dealt with the important business, the Brewers can enjoy their trip to Morecambe for the final match of the 2002-2003 season on Saturday (3pm) with no pressure on either side - Morecambe are assured of a play-off place, and the Brewers are assured of their Conference survival. |
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| Men against boys |
| Albion
fans are set for a nailbiting end to the season after the Brewers suffered
a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of champions Yeovil Town in Somerset on
Saturday. The Glovers, playing in front of their own fans for the first time since securing the Conference title, turned on the style to record a comfortable victory over an injury-ravaged Albion side, leaving the Brewers needing a win against Kettering Town tomorrow (Easter Monday, 3pm), to avoid the nightmare scenario of going into the final day trip to high-flying Morecambe with their Conference status still in jeopardy. An already daunting task at Huish Park on Saturday was made even more difficult by the enforced absence of skipper Darren Stride, top scorer Christian Moore, John Howard, Colin Hoyle and Andy Sinton, all of whom were ruled out through injury. |
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| Youngsters
Paul Wraith and Sean Gummer were thrown in at the deep end for their first
Conference starts, the latter making an instant impression with a stunning
20-yarder - his first Brewers goal - to level the scores after Kevin Gall
had given Yeovil a sixth minute lead. Albion weren't on terms for long, Gall heading home his second from Colin Pluck's cross on 25 minutes, and Gavin Williams latched onto Lee Johnson's pass to lift the ball over Duke on the stroke of half time, to make it 3-1. Chris Giles headed Roy O'Brien's cross past to increase the home advantage, and Gall completed his hat-trick with the pick of the bunch on 74 minutes, before netting his fourth, and Yeovil's sixth, nine minutes from the end. Victories on Saturday for Leigh RMI and Nuneaton Borough mean the relegation dogfight is closer than ever, with Boro moving level with the Brewers on points, goal difference and goals scored. Albion find themselves in joint 16th position in the table while it's not yet clear what would happen if the two local rivals found themselves still with an equal record but straddling the relegation zone come the final whistle next Saturday. Albion can make sure that this scenario is never put to the test by beating already relegated Kettering at Eton Park tomorrow, a result which depending on results elsewhere, would probably guarantee the Brewers' Conference survival. There will almost certainly now be no escape route for those teams finishing in the bottom three, with the FA announcing in the week that they have rejected a Conference proposal to increase the number of teams in the league for next season. Meanwhile the three teams coming up from the feeder leagues have all apparently received the necessary Conference grading - Tamworth confirmed their promotion from the Dr. Martens League on Saturday, and will join Accrington Stanley and Aldershot Town, who need only a point from their four remaining matches to confirm their long-awaited elevation to the Conference. |
| Relegation situation - league table and remaining key matches: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| confguide.com has a full guide to the Conference relegation picture, with remaining fixtures for all the bottom eight clubs - click here... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Boro prolong Albion survival fears |
| Graham
Westley's buoyant Stevenage Borough side virtually confirmed their Conference
survival at Eton Park today, prolonging the Brewers' relegation worries in
the process. A 2-1 victory for the Hertfordshire side continues their remarkable revival under former Farnborough supremo Westley, which has seen them move from permanent residence in the bottom three to mid-table respectability - they remain in 12th position after today's game, while Albion drop a place to 14th, but are now just four points clear of the relegation zone. Slack defending and a chronic lack of creativity in all departments meant that Albion never looked like gaining a foothold in this match until Aaron Wesbter's 30-yard free-kick in the dying seconds slipped under the grasp of Boro' 'keeper Mark Westhead. |
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| By
that stage the Brewers were 2-0 down, Tony Battersby (57) and Danny Carroll
(64) both converting close range efforts after being set up by Steve Watson,
and only a fine save from Matt Duke prevented Simon Travis making it 3-0.
Five minutes of injury time couldn't prevent Webster's late strike from being
anything other than a consolation. Albion have left themselves with a difficult task if they are to avoid relying on other teams' results, or possible league re-organisation, for their Conference survival. They face a daunting trip to Yeovil Town - crowned champions today - in a week's time, and visit second placed Morecambe a week later. The last home match of the season sandwiched inbetween those two games - the visit of already relegated Kettering Town on Easter Monday - looks to be of paramount importance now. |
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| Clough blasts Edgar Street flops |
| Brewers
boss Nigel Clough was in unforgiving mood after his side crashed to
a 4-0 defeat at play-off chasing Hereford United on Saturday. Clough turned his ire on five unnamed culprits whom he blamed for the result, which brought to an abrupt end Albion's recent run of good form: "It was a split day," he told the Burton Mail, "Half the team did very well but the other half didn't play at all. Those who strived and worked away achieved nothing because they were dragged down by the other five." "It was one of the days we might have got something if we had defended properly and kept it to 0-0 or 1-0 because we could quite easily have scored ourselves." |
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| The
Brewers gave themselves a mountain to climb, finding themselves three goals
down inside half an hour of Saturday's game at Edgar Street, Karl Hawley
poking home Hereford's first on eight minutes, Steve Guinan heading in Paul
Parry's corner on 22, and notching his second eight minutes later. Portugese striker Albano Correira gave the scoreline an even more favourable appearance for the home side, hitting the Bulls' fourth, 20 minutes from the end. Results elsewhere left the Brewers in 13th place, six points clear of what is still - until the Conference bureaucrats officially declare otherwise, the relegation zone, but Albion fans will be expecting a vast improvement for Saturday's penultimate home match of the season, when Stevenage Borough visit Eton Park (3pm). |
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| News - April 2003 | << main >> |
