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| 'Gate continue Brewers woe |
| The Brewers' wretched run of form continued with a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Margate, a result which sends them plumetting to 17th place in the Conference table.
Chris Kinnear's outfit have been a perennial thorn in Albion sides since the two teams locked horns in their Dr. Martens League days, and it was no surprise to see them run off with the points after going ahead on 18 minutes thanks to some more of the kind of kamikaze defending which has blighted the Brewers recent matches. After a bright opening spell by the Brewers, Che Stadhart was allowed acres of space to get on the end of Greg Oates' ball down the left, to fire past Matt Duke. It was Margate's first, and not far from being their last shot on target, but as we've seen on enough occasions in the past, that's all they need. |
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Even the handicap of being reduced to ten men, after Sam Sodje was harshly red carded for 'stamping' on Jon Howard didn't prevent a well-organized 'Gate side shutting out the Brewers attempts at finding an equalizer. Ironically, the closest they came were two long range attempts from a defender - man of the match Colin Hoyle - while a late onslaught of pressure saw the Brewers lay siege to the Margate goal, Darren Stride seeing a header tipped over by 'Gate 'keeper Smith and Sam McMahon failing to convert a clearcut chance in the six yard box. It's now eight defeats in nine matches for the Brewers - a wretched record which has left the modest ambition of improving on last season's 16th placed finish in jeopardy, and increased the current murmurings of discontent around unhappy Eton Park. *Please note this site won't be updated until after the Farnborough match on April 17th* |
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| Brewers crash to Shots mauling |
The boos rung out around Eton Park last night as the Brewers crashed to a humiliating 4-1 home reversal at the hands of Aldershot Town, their seventh defeat in eight matches. Albion started brightly with new arrival from Doncaster Rovers Robert Gill seeing a shot dip over the bar, but the Brewers fell victim to a lightning counter-attack from the Shots on 20 minutes, John Nutter racing down the left flank before sending in a penetrating cross, converted by the onrushing Roscoe D'Sane. Albion still had their moments, with the tricky running of Andy Ducros and some incisive passing from manager Nigel Clough threatening to create an opening, but the Brewers suffered a blow when Aaron Webster had to leave the field through injury - Brewers fans will be praying it's not a long term injury. |
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Any hopes of a second half comeback were dashed in a four minute spell after the restart. The fans had barely returned to their places from the tea bars when a comical mix-up between Colin Hoyle and Matt Duke allowed Tim Sills to sneak in to set up D'Sane to double the Shots' lead with his second goal of the night, and a superb strike from Jon Challinor killed off any hopes of an Albion fightback. Darren Stride marked his return from injury by heading in Andy Ducros' corner on 55 minutes, and Gill came close to pulling another goal back, hitting the woodwork and heading over a clear header, but Aldershot had the last word when more woeful defending - this time substitute Steve Chettle the culprit - allowed Tim Sills a gift of a goal to complete Albion's misery, and boost the Shots play-off chances. The result came just three days after a mark Foran goal had given basement side Northwich Victoria a single goal victory at Eton Park, leaving the Brewers with just one win to show for their run of three home games - last Tuesday's 2-1 defeat of Telford. John Grant gave Telford the lead in the first half of that game, but a header from Jon Howard pegged the scores level before the break, and Robbie Talbot wrapped up the points 17 minutes from time. In other news the Brewers have parted company with midfielder Andy Sinton. Former Wolves, QPR and Sheffield Wednesday man joined Albion on the eve of their first season in the Conference, but has been only a handful of substitute appearances this season. |
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| Chester show Champion class |
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Brewers threatened to pull off an upset, but ultimately went down to a not
unexpected 3-1 defeat at the hands of champions elect Chester City at the
Deva Stadium. Albion got off to a dream start when Robbie Talbot capitalized on hesitant defending by the home side to slot the ball past City 'keeper Ian Turner, with just seven minutes on the clock. That goal came against the run of play but Albion did well to hang on to their lead, until a three minute spell saw Mark Wright's side demonstrate their championship class - leading scorer Daryl Clare got on the end of MacIntyre's cross to equalize on 33 minutes, and turned provider three minutes later, setting up former Gresley defender Scott Guyett to head Chester into the lead. Turner got down well to deny Jon Howard a good chance at pegging the Brewers back level on the stroke of half time, but a solo effort from Clare 20 minutes from the end put the game beyond Burton. |
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A fifth successive defeat sees the Brewers drop two places to 14th, but Nigel Clough will at least be able to take consolation from the fact that an arduous run of games against the Conference's leading sides is over. Three successive home games against Telford United on Tuesday (7.45pm), doomed Northwich Victoria a week today and Aldershot Town a week on Tuesday, will offer the Brewers a more realistic chance of picking up points and improving their league position. |
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| Loanees allowed to go |
| Loan
signings from Mansfield Alex John-Baptiste and Andy White have been allowed
to return to Mansfield Town, despite having more than a week left on their
loan deals with the Brewers. Both players got off to encouraging starts on their debuts in Albion's impressive 2-1 away win at Hereford last month, but have failed to impress in the games since then, which have seen Albion sink to four successive defeats, including the FA Trophy heartbreak at Hornchurch, away defeats at Shrewsbury and Exeter, and last Saturday's 3-2 reversal at home to Forest Green Rovers. White was injured but John-Baptiste made what turned out to be his one and only home appearance in that match, which saw the Brewers again go down to a last gasp goal. Trailing to goals from Paul More and Martin Foster, the Brewers recovered from an abysmal first half performance to turn the game around after the break. Robbie Talbot pulled one back for the Brewers 20 minutes from time, and a point at least looked assured when Jon Howard headed Albion level shortly before the end. |
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But having fought their way back into the game, Albion appeared to take their foot off the gas, and were punished when Scott Rogers' goal in the fourth minute of injury time snatched the victory for the Gloucestershire side. In other news, most fans' choice for player of the season, Aaron Webster has signed a new two-year contract with the club, while it's been confirmed that Lee Colkin has had his contract terminated, and has left Eton Park. |
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| News - March 2004 | << main >> |
