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| Brewers scrape win to continue unbeaten run |
| A
last minute winner from Andy Corbett, his first Brewers goal, provided a
dramatic finish to a game Albion will consider themselves lucky to have won,
against Phil Starbuck's improving Leigh RMI. Playing in front of their lowest ever Conference crowd, 1,327, things looked ominous for the Brewers when Matt Duke's botched attempted clearance handed the lead to the visitors on 17 minutes, David McNiven taking advantage from the edge of the six yard box, but Albion seemed to have regained control of the game with two goals in eight minutes at the end of the first half. Dale Anderson found the net at the second attempt after Leigh's former Ireland international 'keeper Gary Kelly had spilled Terry Henshaw's cross six minutes before the interval, and then Anderson (pictured) turned provider, his cross being headed home by Jon Howard, deep into first half injury time. |
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| Leigh's
confident passing game belied their lowly league status, and the Railwaymen
seemed to have grabbed the point their performance deserved seven minutes
from time when Wayne Maden was allowed time and space in the box to head
in substitute Ian Monk's cross. The last word fell to Albion however, Corbett's deflected shot on the stroke of full time earning them a scarcely deserved thre point, and extending their unbeaten run to ten games in all competitions, with four wins and three draws from their last seven Conference games. That run was continued on Saturday when two goals from Dale Anderson earned the Brewers a 2-1 victory over Margate at Dover's Hoverspeed Stadium, a match marked by an inspired Brewers debut of former Derby County midfielder Adam Murray. Murray, 22, a recovering alcoholic recently released by the Pride Park club, is hoping that Albion will be a stepping stone toward ressurecting his career, and a return to the upper echelons of the Football League, with several League clubs believed to be following his progress. "Adam has had his problems and we would like to help him to put them behind him," Brewers boss Nigel Clough told the Burton Mail, "The most important thing he can do at the moment is to start playing football again, although we're not sure how long he will be with us. It could be for one game, it could be for 10 or it could be until the end of the season – it's that sort of open-ended arrangement. "Hopefully, signing Adam will prove mutually beneficial because he's comfortably a Division One player and it's not often a club like ours gets the opportunity to sign a player of his quality and calibre." The Brewers have two away trips ahead of their televised FA Cup Second Round tie against Hartlepool United a week on Sunday. At the weekend they travel to Kingfield to take on fellow mid-table side Woking (Saturday, 3pm) and that's followed by the trip to second bottom side Northwich Victoria next Tuesday (7.45pm). |
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| Tale of two penalties |
| A
last minute penalty conceded cost the Brewers dear in Friday night's Eton
Park clash with Halifax Town, a 2-2 draw, combined with unfavourable results
elsewhere, seeing Albion fall to 14th in the Conference table. In blustery conditions, Andy Ducros' free-kick deflected in off a Halifax defender on 12 minutes, and both sides had chances to add to the scoring in an entertaining first half. Halifax equalised on the hour mark, a swift counter-attacking move culminating in Lewis Killeen's drive from just inside the box, but Albion looked to have secured the points thanks to a bizarre penalty decision eight minutes from time. |
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| Darren
Stride was felled in the box by Jamie McCombe in an off-the-ball incident,
but after discussions with his linesman, referee Mo Matadar yellow carded
the Town defender and awarded Albion the spot-kick. Aaron Webster made no mistake from the spot, but he wasthe hero-turned-villain after his trip on Ryan Mallon at the other end on the stroke of full time gifted Halifax a golden opportunity to grab a draw. Craig Midgley fired home the penalty past Matt Duke, and Shaymen 'keeper Mark Cartwright ensured a share of the spoils for his side, clawing away Darren Stride's injury-time header. The game also saw a few promising touches in a 20 minute appearance as substitute by new signing Andy Corbett, the 23-year old striker signed from Nuneaton Borough. Albion are next in league action when they travel to Dover to take on nomads Margate on Saturday (3pm), before which Alvechurch are the visitors in the Birmingham Senior Cup on Tuesday night (7.45pm). |
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| Live TV date for 'Pool clash |
| Albion
are set for another FA Cup cash bonanza after the BBC announced they have
chosen the Brewers' Second Round clash with Hartlepool United as their live
match. The club stands to gain £50,000 for the rights to screen the match, on top of a £12,500 payment for reaching the Second Round thanks to Saturday's 2-1 victory over Torquay United, and gate receipts from an expected sell-out all -ticket crowd. The Brewers have appeared on live television on Sky several times before, but this will be the first time they have been screened to the nation's living rooms on terrestrial TV. The game will take place on Sunday, 7th December with a 1pm kick-off. |
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| The
Clough connection was undoubtedly the major factor in the BBC choosing to
screen this match - Brian Clough started out his managerial career at Hartlepool,
before going on to lift the league championship and the European Cup
twice each during spells with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. Brian is happy with the draw, according to his son: "He is absolutely thrilled," Nigel Clough told the Burton Mail, "He and the whole family are looking forward to the game." "It will be a very difficult game because Hartlepool are riding high in the Second Division," he continued, "but it is the home draw we wanted and it will be a very special day for the fans, especially the 500 who made the journey to Torquay and gave us absolutely fantastic support." Meanwhile the Brewers turn their attention back to league matters, beginning with the visit of Halifax Town to Eton Park this Friday evening (7.45pm). |
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| A home draw as Brewers blast into Second Round |
| The
Brewers have been rewarded with a home draw in the Second Round of the FA
Cup, after claiming their first Football League scalp in nearly twenty years
with a 2-1 win at Torquay United on Saturday. Robbie Talbot's goal 20 minutes from time at Plainmoor proved enough to carry Albion through to the Second Round for only the third time in their history, where they will face Second Division Hartlepool United at Eton Park over the weekend of 6th December. The Brewers hardly travelled to the Devon coast in the best circumstances, their injury-ravaged squad being able to produce only 12 fully fit players, a situation exacerbated by the absence of Terry Henshaw due to a bereavement, and injuries to Lee Colkin and Steve Chettle which saw both of them limp off during the game. |
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| The
fact that Albion were forced to bring on assistant manager Gary Crosby, a
player with only a handful of substitute appearances to his name in recent
seasons, illustrates the 'backs to the wall' nature of the task facing the
Brewers at Plainmoor, despite taking an early lead thanks to a freak goal
on 10 minutes. Lee Colkin's run down the left flank produced a cross into the Torquay box, and Gulls defender Steve Woods, under pressure from lone Brewers frontman Dale Anderson, stuck out a boot in an attempt at clearance, only to send the ball looping over 'keeper Arjan Van Heudsen and into his own net. As Albion dug in deep to defend their lead, the home side had their chances to level, Matt Duke denying Tony Bedeau from ten yards, and Jimmy Benefield heading wide when he should have scored. Benefield was on target though ten minutes after the restart, slotting home Reuben Hazell's cross after the Gulls winger had taken advantage of Glen Kirkwood's slip. |
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looked bleak for Albion when a recurrence of Steve Chettle's back injury
forced his departure, and Crosby's arrival into an unaccustomed right-back
role, but the 39-year old more than earned his corn with at least one killer
pass and a header off the line, this after the Brewers had, against the odds,
retaken the lead, 20 minutes from the end. Andy Ducros got hold of the ball after Aaron Webster's corner and fed the ball to Nigel Clough, who's delicate chip found Robbie Talbot in acres of space inside the box, the Scouser chesting the ball down to fire home, the Torquay defenders frozen in search of an offside flag which never came. |
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| The
final 20 minutes saw Albion well and truly up against it, with Crosby's header
off the line and a crucial save from the solid Matt Duke preventing another
Oldham-esque late heartbreak for the Brewers. They may have ridden their
luck at times, but given recent experiences in the FA Cup they deserve a
bit of luck, and for sheer togetherness and Dunkirk spirit in difficult
circumstances they well and truly earned their place in the Second Round. Albion have only reached this stage of the competition twice before, but on both occasions, in 1956 and 1984, they went on to face top flight opposition in the Third Round, a record they'll be hoping to maintain when Hartlepool - the team Brian Clough first managed - come to Eton Park in a month's time. |
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| Brewers grind out a result |
| A
Darren Stride goal proved enough for the Brewers to record their third successive
victory and third successive clean sheet, in an uninspiring match against
Farnborough Town on Saturday. Albion got off to the ideal start when their skipper headed home Lee Colkin's cross with just 10 minutes on the clock, the referee ruling the ball had crossed the line despite Boro' keeper Mark Osborn's attempt to scoop it out. That however was the highspot of an otherwise tepid encounter which saw the Brewers adopt a doggedly defensive approach in the second half to keep a spirited resistance from the Conference's bottom side at bay. |
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| The
result sees Albion move up a place to tenth, the same league position as
their Division Three opponents in the FA Cup on Saturday, Torquay
United. The Gulls went down to a single-goal defeat on Saturday to Doncaster
Rovers, who have made a sensational start in their return to the Football
League, and who currently sit in second place. |
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| News - November 2003 | << main >> |
