Familiar problems as Brewers miss out in season's opener

Set-pieces an issue as Jake Buxton's side start League One campaign with fifth straight first-day defeat

Burton Albion’s fifth successive opening day defeat came in frustrating fashion away to Fleetwood Town, the Cod Army’s winning goal coming just as the Brewers were threatening to take charge of a scrappy battle.

It was a day of ifs and buts for Jake Buxton in his first League game as manager, with notable positives to take from it but some familiar negatives too. Burton took too long to get going in the face of Fleetwood’s direct approach, then began to look like the side most likely to win, before conceding a poor second goal.

For once, a referee, Mike Coy here, took note of Fleetwood’s time-wasting, a constant under Joey Barton, and added seven minutes at the end – only for the Brewers to have John-Joe O’Toole sent off in the sixth of those for a rash challenge on Mark Duffy.

If that was on the “familiar negatives” list, the fact that Albion have, so far, failed to get the ball to striker Kane Hemmings in dangerous areas in their three competitive fixtures is fast becoming another. Hemmings has laboured tirelessly against big defenders in all three but he is looking isolated too much of the time so far.

Burton lined up with the 11 that finished last week’s Carabao Cup tie against Accrington Stanley, in which Steven Lawless had come on for the injured Charles Vernam, and named Ryan Edwards on the bench after he missed most of pre-season with a knee injury. New signing Owen Gallacher was also on the bench.

Fleetwood had all of the early possession and Ched Evans headed the first chance straight at Ben Garratt from a Callum Camps cross in the fourth minute.

The Cod Army went ahead after 17 minutes when a Josh Morris corner from the right dropped loose to Camps, 15 yards out and he struck the ball low and hard through a crowd of players, giving Garratt no chance.

It had been hit and hope from Albion up to this point but a better move deserved to bring an equaliser after 29 minutes. Joe Powell’s low cross from the right was laid back by Lucas Akins and Stephen Quinn took careful aim for the top corner, only to see his shot hit the underside of the bar and stay out.

Four minutes later, Fleetwood were equally unfortunate, when tall defender James Hill, who won most things aerial all day, rose to meet a Morris free kick and thumped a header against the inside of Garratt’s right-hand post.

Fleetwood were also a threat from long throws, with both Hill and Wes Burns able to deliver them, and when Hill got his head to one from Burns, Garratt parried it well before dropping on the rebound.

Burton ended the half with a string of unproductive corners and, after the break, slowly but surely, they began to get on top. That was not before O’Toole had made a good challenge to block an Evans shot and Hill had headed against the bar from a Paul Coutts cross, Kieran Wallace clearing the follow-up off the line. Hill headed another chance wide when Burton could not clear a corner but it was, for a while, the end of Fleetwood’s threat.

John Brayford’s marvellous long ball from the right picked out Akins on the left after 61 minutes and Powell had a goal-bound shot blocked.

Four minutes later came the equaliser, from a Powell corner. His previous efforts had been towards the near post but this time he lifted one beyond the far post and, given Brayford’s record from them last season, it is a wonder he was unmarked but he was, and planted a header back across goal.

There is no VAR, of course, in League One but Mr Coy and his assistant, who had been flagging, simulated it with a lengthy discussion before allowing the goal. If, as seems the case, the assistant felt Fleetwood keeper Alex Cairns had not had a clear look at Brayford’s header because the six-yard box was crowded, there could be an awful lot of goals disallowed this season. Pictures of the goal being scored do not support the assistant's theory.

Hemmings, with his only clear sight of goal, had a low shot saved by Cairns when Powell headed down Akins’ cross and, without being especially fluent, Burton were now on top.

Fleetwood looked ragged but one thing to admire about Barton’s regime is that they are resilient and relentless. They broke after 78 minutes and Camps unleashed a volley that Garratt did well to turn away from the top corner to his left.

Burton, however, could not get the corner away and when former Brewer Mark Duffy’s shot from the right was deflected it fell kindly for Paddy Madden to turn in from six yards. Fell kindly it did but there is no denying Madden’s predatory instincts. A lot of balls have fallen kindly for him in his career.

Madden shot wide from Duffy’s cross three minutes later and while Akins saw a deflected shot go over via the top of the bar a minute after that, Fleetwood’s game management was spot on from there to the end.

In the sixth of seven added minutes, the ball broke loose in midfield, O’Toole arrived moments before Duffy but with his foot high and studs showing, crunching into the winger. The result was a straight red card to add more misery to the Brewers’ day.

It was one of those in which you would not have expected either player to pull out of the challenge but, sadly, these sort of incidents appear to be drawn to O’Toole and, with another three-match ban coming up, it presents Buxton with an unwanted headache.

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