Brewers forward reflects on Barnsley defeat
Lucas Akins epitomised the disappointment amongst the Burton Albion players in the wake of their 5-0 defeat at the hands of League One side Barnsley when he spoke to the club website after the game.The former Tranmere and Stevenage man knows what it is like to compete in League One but felt that things conspired against the Brewers with sloppy goals conceded and a nasty injury to Adam McGurk reducing the side to ten men for a significant part of the second half after Albion had used all three of their substitutions.
"As a player you always want to get as far as you can in the Cup so to go out in that manner is never nice." said Lucas.
"We had ten men at the end which didnt help us. Coming to a place like Barnsley, they don't need any get-me-ups. Going down to ten men couldnt be helped. Adam has gone to hospital and we all hope that he is ok. It seemed like he had a collision inside the box and taken a knock to the back which has caused the injury which is horrendous for him."
Albion were well in the game during the first half but two lapses in the final five minutes of the half gave Barnsley a two goal cushion at half time which they never really looked like relinquishing after the break
"It was frustrating and disappointing because we let them in at the worst time possible."Lucas continued, "We have gone it at half time two down and made it very difficult for ourselves."
"I felt that we were holding our own. We had a few chances for ourselves. I felt fairly comfortable and I know a few of the lads said after the game that they felt the same but we conceded at the wrong time and the rest of the game is history."
A five goal mauling seemed harsh on the Brewers but Danny Wilson's side showed a ruthless efficiency in front of goal, led by former Brewers loanee Sam Winnall, who helped himself to a hat-trick and Lucas admitted that against higher ranked opposition you can't give away easy opportunities and expect to still get something from the game.
"I think that Barnsley were just more clinical with the chances that they had. When you come to places like this you dont need to give them any incentives and we gave them a couple of gifts which they have punished us for. I think the final scoreline was a little excessive but it just one of those things that we have to get over and crack on with it."
"There were a couple of mistakes for the goals but at the end of a day we are a team and we accept mistakes as a team. The lads who have made the mistakes have been brilliant since they came into the team and its just a one off. To be honest you dont want to make mistakes like that but I would rather them happen in a Cup game like this than in a League game and that is where we need to focus and get back to what we are good at. We have a massive game coming up at Wycombe and we will focus all of our attention on that now and try to work hard to get back on track."
By the time the Brewers take on the Chairboys a new manager should be in charge of team affairs but the Brewers know that the important thing is to recapture their early season form,whoever is in charge.
"That will happen when it happens." Akins said, referring to the managerial appointment. "As players we have just got to work hard for whoever comes in. We have got to hit the ground running and try to get back to what we were good at earlier on in the season."