Brewers found right recipe to keep cooking for full match

THE euphoria, relief and pride around the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday made for the best atmosphere at the ground for some while after Burton Albion had comprehensively outworked and outplayed an expensively-assembled Bolton Wanderers team and won 3-0.

- By COLSTON CRAWFORD

It was exactly the sort of performance the Brewers have been striving for but for an alarming first few minutes when Bolton raced out of the traps, yet it came with three further injuries cutting deeply into the squad. The spirit in that squad under Gary Bowyer is something else.

What the atmosphere proved, as well, is that you can paint whatever you like in new colours, change the food menus, go digital, any of that stuff but the thing that brings people through the gates and sends them home feeling good about the club they support is results, first and foremost, and it always will be.

Here are some of the talking points from the weekend.

A 90-MINUTE PERFORMANCE AT LAST

Bowyer says on-loan wing-back Sebastian Revan had stood up in the team's debrief and told the squad they needed to play well for more than half-an-hour or 45 minutes here and there.

I had made the point last week as well, for what it's worth.

Well, Revan was out injured but the players took him at his word and delivered at least an 85-minute performance against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, once they had got a jittery five minutes out of the way at the start.

The work-rate was off the scale, all around the team. You could not say any one of them was a weak link. It was absolutely a blueprint for what the Brewers want to do in games and to do it with a squad down to the bare bones against such a strong squad as Bolton's was an exceptional achievement.

DELAP SET THE TONE

In those alarming five minutes at the start, Bolton looked certain to take the lead, in the second minute.

A long ball down the left - Bolton delivered three more of those than Burton in the game, 89-86 - caught the Brewers out and Sam Dalby was able to go round keeper Brad Collins.