Gaffer delighted with Cup win
Burton Albion manager Gary Rowett was proud of his side after beating Wigan Athletic 2-1 in the first round of the Capital One Cup.
Goals from Dominic Knowles and Stuart Beavon cancelled out Marc Antoine-Fortune’s opener, and Rowett was delighted with the performance of his team.
“I thought it was an excellent performance and I’d say that was probably our best performance in my time as manager in so many ways.
“I know Wigan made ten changes to their starting line up, but a lot of them are household names and we shouldn’t take anything away from our lads,” he said
Despite being two divisions below the visitors, the Brewers dominated proceedings for the majority of the game and were fully deserving of their passage into the second round, with the draw taking place on Wednesday evening.
“We also attacked well in the first 25 minutes and created chances, and even in the second half when were under the cosh we defended firmly and still created chances. It’s really pleasing and the lads showed a lot of character tonight.
“When you play a top side like Wigan, if you end up too high up the pitch you cause yourself problems and it can make it very difficult for the midfield to control the game. It was important we kept our shape and when we do it gives us a great structure to attack from.
“It’s not about defending, but creating a bit of space in order to attack and we did that really well, so it’s a really pleasing evening,” Rowett added.
Squad depth has been an important factor for Rowett, and he hailed the effort of the whole team in dumping the Latics out of the competition in the first round.
Rowett also spoke of the fantastic vocal support from the crowd at the Pirelli Stadium, and is hoping for that to continue when Dagenham & Redbridge visit on Saturday for the club’s Wall of Colour campaign.
“Any player could have won Man of the Match. We had to change quite early on with Adam McGurk getting injured but it hasn’t really affected us too much, which shows the depth of the squad.
“The fans were magnificent tonight and we really appreciate their support. They got behind the players and like Fulham last season, they were excited by what they saw.”