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McKenna: Completely Different Type of Game at Burton
Monday, 15th Aug 2022 12:58

Town boss Kieran McKenna is anticipating a very different game from Saturday’s 3-0 home victory over MK Dons when his top-of-the-table Blues travel to Burton Albion on Tuesday evening.

While the Dons take a passing approach similar to Town’s, Burton are known for their direct, more physical approach.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s side picked up their first point of the season on Saturday - and scored their first goals - as they drew 4-4 at Accrington but having been 4-2 up going into injury time with Davis Keillor-Dunn having netted a hat-trick.

Prior to that they were beaten 3-0 at Wycombe on the opening day, 4-0 at home by Bristol Rovers and 2-0 away by League Two Rochdale in the Carabao Cup. Overall, the Brewers, who are third bottom of the League One table, have already conceded 13 goals this season.

“There’s no doubt about it, MK are probably at one end of the scale in footballing teams in this division and will try and play and will try and impose their style, and they did that on Saturday,” McKenna said.

“Burton will, I think, try and make the game very difficult for us and will try and impose their way on the game and their will on the game and we’re certainly going to have to stand up to that.

“They got four goals on Saturday and are usually a real attacking threat and create a lot of chances.

“So I think it’s going to be a really tough game and a perfect example of the league and the challenges of the league where you go Saturday-Tuesday with a game like Saturday’s with 20-plus thousand at home with two real footballing teams and then Tuesday night having a different challenge against a really aggressive team.

“We know that’s coming, we’ve prepared for that in the off-season and we’re going to have to stand up and be ready for that.”

McKenna was asked whether the sweltering conditions in which Saturday’s match was played would have an impact on his team selection.

“I think at this stage of the season it does,” he reflected. “You have to be mindful of the effort that people have put in.

“But also we managed to use the five subs again so there weren’t many of those in the most high-demanding, explosive positions who did 90 minutes.

“So I think we will have a good number of players who are ready to go again and I don’t think we’ll have many enforced changes.

“But we’ll look at all the different aspects, the opponent, how we want to set up, the type of game it’s going to be, the condition that our boys are in and also the need at this stage of the season to continue to utilise the squad and keep everyone involved and ready.

“We’ll take all those factors into consideration and pick a team for Tuesday.”

McKenna, who says one or two players have bumps and bruises and will be assessed ahead of the game, will almost certainly hope to stick with the same goalkeeper, Christian Walton, and back three, Janoi Donacien, Luke Woolfenden and George Edmundson, who celebrates his 25th birthday today.

Leif Davis and Wes Burns will continue as the wing-backs unless McKenna and his staff have any concerns regarding fatigue following Saturday’s match with Greg Leigh and Kyle Edwards likely to take over in the second half.

Ideally, McKenna would want to start Conor Chaplin and Marcus Harness behind lone striker Freddie Ladapo but, as he said, he will be guided by the impact of Saturday’s game and heat.


McKenna will again look to utilise his five subs in the second half to refresh his attacking players.

Midfielder Dominic Ball (ankle) remains unavailable, while young centre-half Corrie Ndaba (hip flexor) is due to return to training in the middle of this week.

Burton have injury concerns regarding full-back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and midfielder Calum Butcher, the pair having suffered knocks in the eight-goal thriller at Stanley.

“Calum came off with a slight groin strain and we are checking that today but he’s doubtful. Cameron took a knock on the head and we need to monitor that and see how he is,” assistant manager Dino Maamria told his club’s official website.

“Everyone else is fit and ready but we have to consider that after Rochdale, Accrington and playing again tomorrow, we may need to freshen it up and get a team that is ready to be on the front foot against Ipswich.”

Despite being pegged back by two goals in injury time, Maamria felt there were plenty of positives to be taken from Saturday’s display.

“We saw so many good things and it was totally different to what we had been seeing, but managing that last few minutes of the game needs to be better,” he added.

“We gave away some soft free-kicks and defended them too deep when there was no need. That’s an easy fix and we will show them that today.

“It happens because when you haven’t been winning you try and hold on for dear life rather than just carrying on playing the game in front of you.

“Because we haven’t been winning, psychologically our players aren’t ready to be comfortable seeing the game out. If we were on a wining streak, we would never have drawn that game.

“But we started the game really well and the physical data shows that we covered more ground than at any point in the season and created more chances so there are so many positives.”

Regarding Town, the former Stevenage striker added: “I’m not a gambling man but if you gave a me a pound, I would put it on Ipswich to get promoted this season.

“They are a very good team with a fantastic coach. They have a strong squad with depth and top players.

“We haven’t got the finances of the likes of Ipswich and Portsmouth, so we have to better organised, hungry and a team that presses off the front foot and that plays off the second ball and makes things happen.

“We saw that on Saturday and I think at any other given time we would not concede those goals in the future. Clean sheets are fundamental and that’s something we have to work on and get better at.”

Town and Burton have only met 10 times in competitive fixtures, all in the league in recent seasons, with Town having won eight, Burton one and one match having been drawn.

Man-of-the-match Kayden Jackson scored one and assisted two as the Blues beat Burton 3-0 at Portman Road in February.

Jackson put Town in front in only the 42nd second with his first league goal of the season and then laid on the Blues’ second for Burns in the 62nd minute and then the third for Bersant Celina on 78.

Albion’s only victory over the Blues came in August last year when Lucas Akins netted an 86th-minute penalty to see his side to a 2-1 win, former Brewer Scott Fraser having missed an earlier spot-kick for Town.

Joe Powell gave Burton the lead on 19 but Joe Pigott levelled three minutes later, a goal which initially went down as a Tom O’Connor own goal.

Town were better after the break but Fraser missed from the spot in the 57th minute and sub Kyle Edwards hit the bar before Akins made no mistake for the Brewers.

Among the players Burton have brought in this summer are weekend hat-trick hero Keillor-Dunn, who signed after leaving Oldham Athletic, for whom he scored in last season’s FA Cup tie at Portman Road.

Striker Victor Adeboyejo came in after leaving Barnsley, while central midfielder Tyler Onyango is on loan from Everton and keeper Viljami Sinisalo from Aston Villa.

Two of their additions have Town connections. Midfielder Butcher, who was signed from Dundee United, was an academy schoolboy with Town before moving on to Tottenham’s youth set-up but returned to Playford Road for a trial in December 2010 when he featured at right-back for the Blues’ reserves in a 2-1 defeat to Luton.

The 31-year-old is in his second spell with the Brewers having been with them during 2015/16.

Another midfielder, Portuguese-born Quevin Castro, who is on loan from West Brom, spent spells on trial with Town’s U23s in the summers of 2019 and 2020 having played for local non-league sides including Mildenhall, Thetford, Leiston and Bury.

Among those to depart over the summer were centre-half Michael Bostwick, who rejoined Stevenage, and ex-Town winger Danny Rowe, who was released and is yet to find a club.

Central defender Oshilaja came very close to signing for the Blues in the summer of 2018. The 29-year-old, then with AFC Wimbledon, was at Portman Road to complete a deadline-day switch but the clubs were unable to agree a fee.

Blues summer signing Harness was with Burton as a youth player having joined them from Coventry. The forward broke into the first team in 2013/14 and went on to make 31 starts and 52 sub appearances, scoring six times before departing for Portsmouth in July 2019 for a reported £800,000.

Tuesday’s referee is Ben Toner from Lancashire, who has shown seven yellow cards and no red in his three games so far this season.

Toner’s last Town game was the 2-1 defeat at Peterborough in February 2021 in which he booked Flynn Downes and Andre Dozzell.

He was also in charge of the 4-1 home victory over Tranmere in September 2019 in which he yellow-carded James Norwood and two of the visitors.

His only Blues match prior to that was the 1-0 FA Cup replay defeat at Lincoln City in January 2017 in which he cautioned Jonathan Douglas and two home players.

Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Keogh, Burgess, Burns, Vincent-Young, Leigh, Davis, Penney, Morsy (c), Evans, Humphreys, Harper, Aluko, Harness, Edwards, Chaplin, John-Jules, Ladapo, Jackson.


Photo: TWTD



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MickMillsTash added 13:34 - Aug 15
We've sold all our tickets.
Might be harder for Donacien to create against their bus/ low block, and it could be a night for set pieces.
Feels like the sort of game you win if you are going to get in the top 2.
9

Nobbysnuts added 13:38 - Aug 15
As far as I know its still 11 v 11 kicking a round leather thing about....pretty much the same I think km...🤔
-9

Pettabelieveit added 14:35 - Aug 15
The signings of Ball, Lapado and Keogh make us so much more adaptable to these types of opposition compared to last season! Shame Ball is injured and I don't believe Keogh will necessarily start but from an outside viewpoint we seem to have such a more rounded squad!
6

Pettabelieveit added 14:36 - Aug 15
Ladapo*
1

JewellintheTown added 15:23 - Aug 15
Time to get a decent goal cushion going and take advantage of games like this. Burton will come out of the blocks fast and hard and make it tough so important we block that and take advantage on the counter. They wont be pushovers.
4-0 win would be a nice score line for us under better weather conditions. Clean sheet and a decent number of goals in the bank, however we do have a habit of not taking advantage in some games (hopefully not this one) so a more conservative score line and showing a bit of respect to them would be 2-0 win.
1

NthQldITFC added 15:41 - Aug 15
That 3-0 video above, the home game last season, was the one where our groundsman realised he had to use weaker white paint after Wes' celebration of the second goal, iirc.
0

Barty added 16:50 - Aug 15
Burton have conceded 11 goals in their opening 3 games and although it will be a different game, if we can play anywhere near like we did against MK Dons then we will win quite comfortably and I fancy Freddie to open his account.
3

Stato added 18:20 - Aug 15
At this stage only Cheltenham & Morecambe are more fancied to go down. With Plymouth, Sheff Wed and Pompey coming up in the 2nd half of September it would be useful to get ahead of the points curve in the next 3 games and reality they are the tricky ties not Burton. Of course football doesn't work like that but 9 points from the next 3 games will take some of the pressure off those games at the end of Sept.
3

Dissboyitfc added 20:04 - Aug 15
Barty... MK Dons allowed us to play, no time wasting or theatrics from the Dons making it a decent game of football! Will be totally different against Burton, this game will not be the easy 3 points many think it will be!

I can see Keogh getting a runout in this one!
5

Edmundo added 20:04 - Aug 15
Every game like this, that we totally ball$ed up last season, is a chance to improve and more importantly show how far we've come.
7

dusth added 21:42 - Aug 15
Just don't let them have the ball.
1

ArnieM added 07:36 - Aug 16
I think many will be in for a shock tonight. I feel Burton are a far better team than their current position and early league form indicates. I think we'll be lucky to get a draw tonight, but having said that to get 4 points every two games is promotion form nonetheless.

Having said the above, I will be VERY happy to be wrong about tonight's predicted result. COYBs 👍
0

Razor added 09:36 - Aug 16
First 20 crucial------and that is not pubs before the game, glad I am staying overnight!!
1

Europablue added 09:42 - Aug 16
ArnieM We won't be lucky to get a draw, maybe lucky to get a win. More like Burton are capable of a shock result.
The win against MK Dons wasn't as easy as many people seem to think. We scored an excellent first goal then somehow MK Dons missed a sitter, then they made a terrible mistake for another goal. Of course, it was a well-deserved win, but if luck were against us, the result could have been very different.
1

Razor added 09:47 - Aug 16
OK it is an old cliche I know but the first 20 minutes are so vital-----they will undoubtedly charge at us and try to unsettle us and grab an early goal but hopefully skill and class will win out in the end------what a choice of pubs before the game, just glad am staying overnight
2

dirtydingusmagee added 10:56 - Aug 16
will be a hard game i think, certainly Burton have been wacked already but they should have learned from that and will be a harder nut to crack. IF , we come away with three points it will be great, COYB
1

ArnieM added 11:18 - Aug 16
Europablue:

You could easily have just given your opinion and left it at that be, instead you see fit to down arrow my post/opinion!

The gist of my post above was, do not underestimate Burton as I feel they are in a false position. Strangely enough your post is not too dissimilar from my view. You just happen to have worded it differently. Maybe you should give yourself a down arrow!
0

Europablue added 11:33 - Aug 16
ArnieM Nothing personal about giving you the down arrow, I just don't agree with what you said. Feel free to give me a down arrow. What you said made it sound like a Town win would be a shock. I don't agree, I'm expecting a town win, but at the same time it wouldn't be a huge shock if Burton did win.
1

BurleysGloryDays added 11:35 - Aug 16
I thought we were outstanding against MK (and most of Bolton, and FG), but as many have pointed out MK missed a couple of golden opportunities to punish us and it'd have made it a different game.

But there is a huge difference playing a team like MK and a team like Burton, a huge difference in game-planning. What's so pleasing about MK, Bolton is that we've beaten teams that try to play like us - last season, we didn't. Now we need to do the same against the teams that park busses.

For me, if we score early they'll be in trouble. But, if they shut us out for a long time, it'll be anyone's based on mistakes.

They play that horrible, horrible Mick McCarthy law-of-averages which is if you pump the ball up field enough, oppo mistakes will get you goals. And we know the Town defence has a mistake in it, certainly.

Early goal, open them up, tear them apart is the plan. (Everyone has a plan until the first punch!)
1

Barty added 13:21 - Aug 16
Parking the bus hasn't worked for Burton so far this season [ conceding near on 4 goals a game ]
1

BromleyBloo added 16:01 - Aug 16
Bottom line is that we need to stand up and be counted - like we did against FG - to ensure that, unlike last season, we win matches like these. So in the first instance stand strong and match whatever they throw at us and then impose our superior, passing football style to dominate and, hopefully, win comfortably.

So far much more confidence and self- belief evident in the squad, so COYBs - we just have to give a good account of ourselves and win these sort of matches if we want to get promoted and I think we will…………………..COYBs!!!
0

Northstandveteran added 16:17 - Aug 16
Expect the worst then you won't be disappointed.

This mindfulness has worked very well for me over the years.
2

Ebantiass added 18:54 - Aug 16
No walk in the park , but hopefully we will too much for them, I expect a close one tonight with them buoyed after hitting four last time out. Id happily take a scrappy 1-2 victory.
0


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