BURTON Albion bowed out of the Papa John's Trophy after a 4-2 defeat against Accrington Stanley

Albion twice led in the first half through skipper Deji Oshilaja and a Doug Tharme own goal but were pegged back on both occasions as Harvey Rodgers and Joe Pritchard struck to equalise. Stanley grabbed the lead deepo into first half stoppage time when Tommy Leight crept in at the back post and Rodgers put the game beyond Albion with his second midway through the second half, capitalising on a defensive error.

Tyler Onyango returned to the team having started Saturday’s draw with Derby on the bench and he was joined by Davis Keillor-Dunn and Adrian Mariappa coming back into the team as Albion looked to progress further than they have ever been in the competition. Skipper John Brayford dropped to the bench whilst Victor Adeboyejo and Joe Dodoo were not in the eighteen named by Dino Maamria.

Ben Garratt was called into early action saving a Tommy Leight effort smartly at his near post but it was Albion who grabbed the lead in the seventh minute, Onyango and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson exchanging passes on the left for the Albion wing-back to send a curling cross in for OSHILAJA to rise like a salmon and head inside the near post.

Joey Pritchard sent over a devilishly teasing cross on twelve minutes but it was too good for anyone of either side to get a vital touch to.

Accrington continued to respond well to having gone behind and they were level on twenty minutes when Albion struggled to clear a free-kick into the box and RODGERS somehow hooked the ball over his head and over Garratt.

But parity was only restored for three minutes as Albion. Sped up field and retook the lead as the first half hit the mid point. Bobby Kamwa sent Onyango away on the left and his low cross had THARME in all sorts of bother as it hit the Accrington defender and flew into the net with Keillor-Dunn pressuring him and ready to pounce had he not got to the ball.

Keillor-Dunn, who netted a hat-trick in the League game away at Stanley back in August, went close to a third for Albion moments later winning possession high up and moving to the edge of the box before drilling a shot wide of the far post.

Accrington looked to have equalised again on 32 minutes when Ethan Hamilton fired home but after consulting with his assistant for what seemed an age referee Scott Oldham ruled that Shaun Whalley had been blocking Garratt’s attempts to save from an offside position.

Chances continued to come and Keillor-Dunn stung the hands of Jensen in the Accrington goal when Tom Hamer won a battle on the edge of the box and was able to find the Albion striker just inside the box.

Stanley were level again four minutes before half time when a free kick to the left of the area presented a good shooting opportunity and PRITCHARD found the net via the merest of deflections off the Albion wall.

And Pritchard was heavily involved as Stanley headed into the break in front swinging in a cross to the far post that eluded everyone apart from LEIGH at the back post.

Half time: Burton Albion 2-3 Accrington Stanley

Albion came out on the front foot after the break and Kamwa was close to an Albion equaliser when a cross came in but it hit him rather than him making a good contact after it had deflected off an Accrington defender and the ball dropped wide,

Accrington extended their lead on 68 minutes when a back pass from Keillor-Dunn was intercepted and although Garratt did well to block the first effort the ball came out RODGERS was able to fire in with the help of a deflection.

Albion turned to the bench as soon as the goal went in with Marappa and Ndaba withdrawn and Brayford sent on along with Mustapha Carayol.

Carayol quickly had Albion thinking of a third goal when he sent it an inviting cross from the left that Oshilaja got up well to meet but under pressure from a defender he could only head into the arms of Jensen.

Sam Hughes had a free header from 12 yards, latching onto a Taylor free kick but his header bounced wide of the post as Albion tried to set up a grandstand finish but it was all to no avail as Stanley saw it through to progress to the last eight.

ALBION: Garratt; Hughes, Mariappa (Brayford, 70), Ndaba (Carayol, 70); Hamer, Oshilaja, Taylor, Onyango (Gilligan, 76), Borthwick-Jackson; Keillor-Dunn, Kamwa.

Substitutes: Kean, Butcher, Thorpe, Mancienne

GOALS: ALBION - Oshilaja (7), Tharme (23 own goal); ACCRINGTON - Rodgers (20, 68), Pritchard (41), Leigh (45+5)

Referee: Scott Oldham

Attendance: 390