Albion boss takes draw after more rain at the Pirelli
Burton Albion boss Gary Rowett believed today’s game was there for the taking ahead of kick-off but after the full-time whistle blew at Pirelli Stadium he was content with a point.
Albion secured a 1-1 draw with Paul Tisdale’s Exeter City after Adam McGurk’s second-half strike cancelled out defender Ian Sharps’ unfortunate own-goal to leave the Brewers in seventh place in Sky Bet League 2.
“I think if you’d have said that we would have drawn the game before the game started I would have been disappointed,” he told Brewers Player.
“It was a big game for us today it would have given us some real impetus going into the next few.
“But after seeing how we’ve played and the conditions and how the game went I would have to say it was probably a point gained.”
The Burton manager admitted afterwards that his side failed to play to the standards they had set themselves in previous weeks.
“We didn’t play well, we didn’t play anywhere near well enough.
“First-half I felt we didn’t really have enough penetration and we got a few good balls into the box but again we couldn’t get on the end of it and there were too many bodies in and around there.”
“I felt we played into Exeter’s hands, in the way that we played and the way they did things.
“It’s important that we learn from that and use that point to kick-on from here,” he explained.
With conditions again difficult at the Pirelli Stadium due to driving rain and a worn pitch Rowett explains how playing the ball on the floor was not the answer to unlocking Exeter’s defence.
“There was absolutely no point trying to play short football and tip-tap it around because ultimately the pitch isn’t great and it allows them to get behind the ball and makes it very difficult to find any space.”
He added: “We needed to get the ball further forward a little bit earlier and create a bit of space of our own.”