Burton 0 Stanley 2

The mood on the terraces was sombre, the rain was falling down onto the players warming up, leaving the pitch with a glistening sheen under the floodlights. The scene was set for ‘the match after Hereford’ – would Burton have it about them to see off a Stanley side buoyant after a run that had seen them gain six wins and three draws in their last nine games?

The Brewers started brightly, probing the Accrington back line, with Accy happy to sit back and counter as and when they gained possession. For Burton, often reverting to a 4-3-1-2 formation, they looked more fluent than they had on that black Monday that now seems so long ago, with Bolder dictating the play with some crisp passing, offering up early opportunities for Richards and Zola. But, alas, there was always a white shirt in the way to thwart the attacks.

Callum Driver, the youngster loaned to Burton to fill the right-back vacancy, looked sharp and he had to be as he was up against Micah Evans, fleet of foot and quick off the mark. In the early stages Driver was the winner of that particular duel, anticipating Evans` feints and movement and giving the youngster on loan from Backburn little chance to attack.

And so both sides cancelled each other out but if anyone was going to break the stalemate it was Accrington captain Proctor, out-passing the Burton midfield, bullying and cajoling his colleagues and pushing them forward at every opportunity.

However, chances were still few and far between.

Then fate shone on Accrington, unfairly perhaps, when Austin it seemed tugged at a surging Evans on the edge of the Burton box. The referee signalled for a free-kick, Hughes, the former Brewer, and McIntyre lined up over the ball, and McIntyre it was who sent it goalwards, beating Atkins at his right-hand post with the aid of a deflection.

1-0 to Stanley, but Burton immediately responded and almost got themselves an equaliser minutes later. A ball came over from the Burton right and evaded the Accrington defence. Richards managed to connect on the volley but to his dismay his goalbound shot was spectacularly saved by Dunbavin. If Richards had been named ‘Pele’ and Dunbavin named ‘Gordon Banks’, then we would have been talking about the save for years to come such was the majesty of the moment.

From the resulting corner Accrington broke forward and Amond, an Irishman on loan from Portugal, broke free of James and with Atkins quivering on his line, he somehow managed to slice a left-footed shot with what could only be described as a boomerang shot gone so awry it was almost a throw-in.

The referee blew for time, the players trooped off and the Popside regulars amazed even themselves by applauding the efforts of their team. Behind they may have been, but beaten they were not.

The second-half kicked off and this time it was Accrington keeping the ball, looking compact and disciplined, and showing just why they have remained unbeaten since mid-October. They passed the ball around well and it was only a short while before they had an opening, but the man Amond was again Burton`s saviour, heading a cross so wide of the goal that the corner flag was momentarily worried.

Both sides engaged in a battle for midfield dominance, but Proctor continued to lead by example, pushing forward when the chance arose, always getting back to help out his defence. This was a general commanding his troops at the height of battle, putting the enemy on the back foot and keeping them there. Dunbavin waved to the noisy Accrington supporters and jogged around his area. Whether to stave off boredom or keep warm we`ll never know.

Maghoma and Palmer had toiled all evening, with Maghoma pushing forward to support the attack as often as possible, but it had all been in vain and they were sacrificed for Taylor and Phillips in the 60th minute. This was the master plan that would wrestle the game back for Burton during the last half-hour. Or so we all hoped.

Regrettably that wasn`t to be and five minutes later Accrington found themselves two goals to the good, courtesy of an Austin own goal. Lindfield sent over a corner, Austin rose like a phoenix from the flames, but he must have wanted to have crashed and burned as his header beat Atkins at the far post to put the game beyond his team.

For another ten minutes the good men of Burton huffed and puffed before Zola was withdrawn and Yussuf made his return from injury. Immediately he was running at the Accrington defence although his attacks were easily mopped up by the visiting defenders.

At the other end of the pitch Mr Amond completed the perfect hat-trick of embarrassing misses, this time cutting in from the right and hitting a right foot shot that curled away from him, the goal and the pitch.

Cracks were showing with The Brewers, and John McGrath came over all foul-mouthed, telling a supporter to ‘f**k off’ as he went to retrieve the ball for a throw-in as the clock ticked down.

Yussuf wouldn`t accept defeat lightly and extended Dunbavin into a save from a snap-shot, but that was it and shortly afterwards the referee blew for time.

0-2 and cue the booing from all three sides of the ground in use. McGrath, disappointingly, proved that it is only his footballing forebears that were unfailing paragons of virtue, again telling his supporters to ‘f**k off’ if they didn`t enjoy the game. Customer service training needed for our captain methinks.