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| Tough draw for six-goal Brewers |
| Albion
made light work of the challenge of Northern Counties East League side Buxton
on Saturday, but once again the luck of the draw was nowhere to be seen as
the Brewers came out of the hat with a long trip to Division Three side Torquay
United in the First Round proper. Buxton arrived at Eton Park roared on by 700 travelling fans hoping their team could continue their best cup run in 20 years, but two goals early in the first half settled any jitters amongst the home fans and Albion ultimately cruised into the First Round. Aaron Webster started the ball rolling, heading home Andy Ducros' centre with just four minutes on the clock, and Dale Anderson netted the first of what turned out to be a hat-trick on 20 minutes. |
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Buxton briefly threatened a fightback, and their supporters were celebrating a 'goal' which was disallowed for offside, before Albion seized complete control of the tie in the final quarter. Robbie Talbot's goal-bound run was brought to a premature end by Bucks defender Sean Hutchinson 20 minutes from time, the result being the red card for Hutchinson, and a penalty for the Brewers, cooly converted by Webster. Talbot got himself on the scoresheet soon after with an easy finish from Ducros' centre, and as the superior fitness of the Conference side began to tell, Dale Anderson found acres of space to head in his second from Colkin's cross. Anderson converted from the spot after being tripped in the box in time added on to complete an easy victory for the Brewers, who must now face an arduous trek to Devon a week on Saturday. In other news, the Brewers look set to be docked a point for fielding an illegible player in the match at Forest Green Rovers earlier this month. The player in question, Sean Gummer, had been on an extended loan spell at Belper Town but was recalled by the Brewers to cover their injury crisis. Gummer played for just five minutes as a substitute in the 1-1 draw at the Lawn, but it has since emerged that the midfielder's registration with the Brewers as a non-contract player had not been renewed. Secretary Tony Kirkland has since resigned from the club, although the docking of one point has yet to be confirmed by the Nationwide Conference. |
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| Less is Moore for Brewers |
| A
stunning goal from Andy Sinton set the seal on an impressive 2-0 away victory
at Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday, the Brewers apparently unpeturbed
by the shock news of the sale of striker Christian Moore to Telford United. Sinton smashed home Lee Colkin's centre just a minute after making his entrance as a second half substitute, to add to the opener gifted to the Brewers when Daggers defender Dean Beckwith converted into his own net midway through the first half. The victory, Albion's first since the 4-1 thrashing of Hereford a month ago, lifts the Brewers back into the top half of the table, and provides a timely morale boost ahead of Saturday's FA Cup outing against Buxton (3pm) and coming only a day after the announcement of the departure of Moore. |
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The 30-year old striker (pictured) has joined Telford in a deal worth £20,000, a record for the Shropshire club and a sum which will rise if Telford get promoted or if Moore is sold on. Moore's departure will leave a big hole in the Brewers squad, with Dale Anderson and Robbie Talbot the only remaining recognized strikers at the club. Nigel Clough won't even be able to call on loan signing Gary Twigg for Saturday's FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie - Derby didn't want their man to be cup-tied and the Brewers have chosen not to extend his loan spell. The deal with Telford will however be seen as a good piece of business by the club, representing a profit on the £17,500 they paid, in a record fee of their own, for the striker when he signed from Ilkeston Town in the 1999-2000 season. Not a bad return on a player who is out of contract at the end of the season, and who probably only has a couple of seasons left in him at this level. |
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| Home draw in Cup |
| The
Brewers will kick-off their FA Cup campaign with a home tie against Northern
Counties East League club Buxton in a fortnight's time. On paper the tie, against a side three leagues lower than them in the pyramid, should provide the ideal opportunity for the Brewers to progress to the First Round proper, but Nigel Clough won't be underestimating the Derbyshire outfit, who are currently enjoying their best Cup run in many years. The Bucks, having already knocked out two sides from this area one level above them in the pyramid in Gresley Rovers and Belper Town, beat UniBond Premier Division Radcliffe Borough, in front of a crowd of over 1,400, the highest of the day in the competition on Saturday, and will be hoping to go one better and pull off one of the upsets of the round when they visit Eton Park on Saturday October 25th. |
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The two sides have crossed paths in the past, with Albion having played them every season during their first spell in the Northern Premier League in the early to mid 80's. Meanwhile, back in the Conference, the Brewers have stemmed the flow of recent defeats with two 1-1 draws this week. An injury time penalty from Aaron Webster earned the Brewers a dramatic draw in front of the TV cameras against Chester City on Wednesday night, cancelling out Darren Stamp's opener for Chester 15 minutes from time. On Saturday's trip to Forest Green Rovers, there was penalty drama of a different sort, with Brewers' 'keeper Matt Duke twice saving a penalty from Neil Grayson, after he had been adjudged to have come off his line for the first effort. The penalty incident also saw Barry Williams red-carded for a professional foul on Grayson, who had also given the home side the lead in first half injury time. However, inspired by Duke's penalty heroics, the 10-man Brewers fought back to earn a point, loan signing from Derby County Gary Twigg claiming his first Albion goal, heading in Christian Moore's cross, 12 minutes from time. Albion have a blank midweek to hopefully attend to some of their lengthy injury list, before making the trip to Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday (3pm). |
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| Devine intervention sinks Brewers |
| Another
Friday night thriller at Eton Park saw the Brewers this time on the wrong
end of a high-scoring encounter, losing by the odd goal in seven to Exeter
City. The Grecians, on their first ever visit to Eton Park, stormed into a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes, both clinical strikes from Sean Devine, before Aaron Webster gave the Brewers a foothold back in the game, converting from the penalty spot after the tricky looking Andy Ducros was impeded in the box. From then on Albion bossed the game, but failed to take their chances, and were punished 20 minutes from time when James Coppinger gave a lesson to the Brewers forwards in how to find the net, rounding off a lightning counter-attack by firing home a sublime effort from 25 yards. |
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| The
topsy-turvy game continued with Christian Moore finding an instant response
to head home Dale Anderson's cross, but Exeter effectively killed the game
off when Devine got inside his marker to drill home a low shot from the edge
of the box to claim his hat-trick, eight minutes from the end. A second Webster penalty after a handball by an Exeter defender in the dying minutes gave the home fans a brief glimmer of hope but the final whistle brought home a sorry tally of 10 goals conceded and zero points from the three games Albion have played in since their 4-1 triumph over Hereford. Improvements in key areas of the field will be needed if Albion are to avoid getting a hiding in front of the Sky TV cameras, when high-flying Chester City visit Eton Park on Wednesday evening (7.45pm). |
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| News - October 2003 | << main >> |
