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A_Wilkinson at Burton Mail
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Burton Albion (0) 0-2 (0) Fulham
A disappointing result, if not an entirely unconvincing performance, saw Burton Albion suffer a fifth straight home defeat against an excellent Fulham side. The Cottagers were simply too good in attack on the night, with Albion unable to take any of the chances they did create but not for a lack of effort.
In truth, the Brewers lacked a consistent wide threat – perhaps that will return when Lasse Vigen Christensen – ineligible to face his former club – and Michael Kightly – not signed in time to play here – are available on Saturday.
It was Albion's first match since manager Nigel Clough turned down the chance to manage Nottingham Forest after their approach a week prior, and the Brewers boss was forced into two changes from the side that beat Queens Park Rangers 2-1 on Saturday.
John Brayford had been forced off after just four minutes of that game with a knee injury one that will keep him out of action for at least four weeks, and his replacement John Mousinho started this match alongside Ben Turner at centre-back.
Tom Flanagan and Damien McCrory continued as the full-backs, behind a central midfield pair of Matt Palmer and Luke Murphy. The second change saw Lucas Akins return to the starting line-up in place of the ineligible Christensen, unable to play against his parent club, as was striker Cauley Woodrow.
Akins was part of an advanced midfield trio, with Jackson Irvine central and Lloyd Dyer left, behind lone striker Marvin Sordell. The first half was interesting enough to watch from a tactical perspective, as Albion kept their defensive line solid with Fulham's forward four seeing plenty of the ball.
On-loan Derby County striker Chris Martin – hardly out of the news pages in recent weeks – led the line for the Cottagers but saw little of possession in the opening 45, Albion dealing with Martin's clear physical threat as they did when he was marked out of the game by the Brewers' defence back in August, when Albion beat the Rams 1-0.
Tom Cairney, as the No 10, was a sporadic threat for the visitors but was largely restricted to pot-shots from the edge of the box. Albion in fact had the better chances of the opening 20 minutes. A poor header back to goalkeeper David Button was almost intercepted for a goal by Irvine, who did get a nick on the ball but could only hit it against the Fulham stopper, who turned it over a corner.
Dyer had Albion's most clear-cut chance of the first half when he was sent into the box behind right-back Ryan Fredericks by a stunning quick through ball from McCrory, but his powerful low shot was well blocked by Button.
The visitors were good to watch in their build-up play but struggled to get any meaningful crosses or passes into dangerous areas, and their best opportunities came from distance.
Malone played 22 games on loan at Albion in the 2010/11 season and on his return, he demonstrated a genuine threat down the left and with shots from distance, skewing one effort after 20 minutes narrowly over Jon McLaughlin's crossbar after a neat clip back to the edge of the area by Cairney.
The 25-year-old full-back then fizzed one wide from 20 yards after 36 minutes as Fulham pressed to break the deadlock, some neat interplay between the front four leading to little in the way of close, goalmouth chances.
A wild shot over the bar from Kevin McDonald on the stroke of half-time signified Fulham's intent heading into the break and Slavisa Jokanovic's side started brightly after the restart, taking the lead within four minutes of the referee's first whistle.
A poor pass backwards from Dyer was picked up by Aluko, who with his first touch knocked the ball into space down the Cottagers' right past an overcommitted McCrory.
Aluko cut into the box but Turner looked to have cut the danger out, only for the ball to get stuck under his feet and allowing Cairney to work the ball across to Stefan JOHANSEN. The Norwegian midfielder had far too much time to take the ball down, pick his spot and fire low past McLaughlin into the far corner.
Albion switched to a 3-5-2 for the bulk of the second half but struggled to break down Fulham's stubborn defence as the visitors continued to enjoy plenty of possession, with Albion largely chasing shadows.
Martin continued to largely be ineffective but it mattered little, with Fulham's wide and central players passing the ball neatly around the men in yellow. Aluko particularly was having some joy down Fulham's right, his low shot deflecting off McCrory and over McLaughlin but onto the roof of the net.
Martin found acres of space on the right side of the box just shy of the hour but was well offside, quickly muting the celebrations of the visiting fans behind that goal as he finished low underneath McLaughlin, and minutes later they were on their feet again as a deflected Johansen shot hit the side-netting, fooling some into thinking it had beaten the keeper.
But those travelling fans behind the goal would not have to wait long for a second goal, and it was a lovely team move. Some superb first-time passing between those forward and wide options saw MALONE released into the box, quite far over to the left, and his emphatic finish into the roof of the net nearly uprooted the goal itself.
McLaughlin had to be alert in the 79th minute to keep out a powerful low effort from Lucas Piazon.
Albion rallied in the closing stages and should have reduced the arrears. Chris O'Grady, on as a substitute, should have hit the target when Irvine's header was blocked and fell to him, while Akins had a low shot deflected wide of goal.
Ultimately, Fulham were simply the better side on the night. Albion were by no means poor, but sometimes you just have to accept that the better side won out – and the Cottagers certainly did on this evening.
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