Venue: Eton Park
Tues 8th October 2002, 7.45pm kick-off.
Conditions:
Ground:
Nationwide Conference :
Burton Albion 1 – 1 Yeovil Town
Att: 1,989
Referee: Mr N Appleby
Bookings:
Yeovil: Williams (89, unsporting behaviour)
Burton: None
Line up : (3-4-1-2)
 12. Jon Sheffield |
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2. Adam Lockwood |
14. Roy O’Brien |
5. Colin Pluck |
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10. Nick Crittenden |
6. Darren Way |
8. Lee Johnson |
11. Michael McIndoe |
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20. Gavin Williams |
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18. Kim Grant |
19. Abdoulai Demba |
Substitutes: 1. Chris Weale, 9. Carl Alford (81, for Grant), 12. Chris Giles, 16. Andy Lindegaard, 24. Abdelhalim El Kholti
Burton Albion: 1. Matt Duke, 16. Jason Kavanagh, 27. Stuart Reddington, 12. Colin Hoyle, 3. Paul Talbot, 15. Glenn Kirkwood, 20. Nigel Clough, 4. Neil Glasser, 11. Aaron Webster, 10. Christian Moore, 17. Craig Dudley
Subs : 2. Terry Henshaw (28, for Glasser), 7. Darren Stride (82, for Kavanagh), 13. Daniel Robinson, 14. Stephen Evans (72, for Dudley), 25. Lee Glover
Scorers: Abdoulai DEMBA (73, 0-1), Christian Moore (90, 1-1)
This report courtesy of Tim Ray:
Although Yeovil finished this game a point better off compared to their nearest rivals, most will see it as two points thrown away after dominating the game but failing to finish off a Burton side who, for all their commitment and tenacity, rarely looked like improving their dismal home record.
Burton almost got off to the perfect start when after less than a minute Christian Moore cut in from the left and fired in a shot which Sheffield did well to deflect onto the crossbar, and minutes later the same player kidded the ref into awarding a free kick on the edge of the area, but the lively Aaron Webster couldn’t quite squeeze the ball past the Yeovil defensive wall.
Play then settled into a pattern with the Greens shading the possession, but finding no easy way through a crowded midfield and packed defence, while Burton tried to catch Yeovil on the break by running onto long through balls. Williams and McIndoe both had shots saved as Yeovil forced a number of corners in the first ten minutes, but the delivery of these from both McIndoe and Johnson was disappointing, as they would be all evening. At the other end Roy O’Brien continued to deputise competently for the suspended Terry Skiverton, cutting out any dangerous Albion moves, and distributing the ball well including one fine cross-field pass that found McIndoe in space, his shot from an acute angle ending disappointingly in the side netting. When Aaron Webster did manage to break through the Yeovil defence, O’Brien held him up just long enough for Sheffield to get in position to make a great reaction save with his legs.
Terry Henshaw replaced the struggling Neil Glasser for Burton after half an hour, and this co-incided with a spell of better passing football from Albion, but a number of timely interceptions from O’Brien and Lockwood meant that the Yeovil goal was rarely threatened. Yeovil meanwhile continued to force corners, but failed to capitalise with Pluck heading over the bar, and Demba unlucky not to score with a neat overhead kick.
Yeovil finished the half the stronger side, with Williams linking well with Grant and Demba to create a couple of half-chances, in a foretaste of what the second half was to bring.
Half-time: Burton Albion 0 Yeovil Town 0
Yeovil started the second half very positively, clearly trying to make better use of their superior pace and fitness, with both Demba and Williams unlucky not to make more of quick breaks, Demba in particular finding more space and causing the defence all sorts of problems. Crittenden and Williams both fired in shots which flew wide after beating defenders for pace, and Lee Johnson was at last beginning to regain his passing touch, which seemed to have deserted him up to this point. At the other end there was no room for complacency as a long-range Glen Kirkwood shot skimmed off the crossbar with Sheffield beaten.
Yeovil’s sustained pressure surely had to pay off sooner or later, and in the 73rd minute it did; Kim Grant nodding the ball down perfectly for DEMBA who fired the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-0. Yeovil continued to dominate, although Grant’s substitution for Alford in the 82nd minute did seem to deprive the team of some of their incisiveness. The chances continued to be squandered though, with Johnson firing tamely into the keepers arms twice in two minutes, and Demba just failing to control a Williams cross having escaped his marker.
With the game moving into injury time the sizeable and vocal Yeovil support began to sense danger as Burton forced a number of free kicks and corners. Williams was booked for a foul on Webster as he ran for goal, although the Yeovil team were clearly less convinced than the ref by the theatrical tumble. Play was then held up for a good four or five minutes as a Burton player received treatment for an injury, ultimately being stretchered from the field. When play restarted with only seconds remaining the Yeovil defence were caught napping as Christian MOORE ran onto a ball through the middle unchallenged to score the simplest of goals, thus depriving Yeovil of what would have been a four point lead at the top of the Conference.
Credit must be given to Burton who have so far struggled to come to terms with Conference football, but this evening they made life difficult for Yeovil who will be rueing the fact that they didn’t capitalise on the chances they created throughout the second half. Still, the unbeaten run is extended to twelve games and the lead at the top of the Conference doubled to two points, so maybe it is only Saturday’s awesome performance against Southport which has made us become so greedy for glory!
Final score: Burton Albion 1 Yeovil Town 1
Tim Ray
Internet Man of the Match Voting Result:
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Overall match rating: 6.6 / 10
Performance: 6.5
Entertainment: 6.6
12 votes received.