THE Burton Albion under 18s suffered just their second defeat in six games as they were beaten 2-0 by Notts County at St. George’s Park.
The away side had a number of chances, with Oliver Fairbrother producing a string of good saves to keep the Brewers in the game, while Joe Brown headed a ball off of the line in the first-half.
Burton had chances of their own. Luke Tandy was found free at the back post from a free-kick but his header clipped the crossbar on the way over. Second-half substitute Nathan Morley drove at the County defence with the ball but fired his effort over.
Morley almost got an assist when he found Reece Hutchinson at the back post, but the Notts County goalkeeper denied the young Brewer from halving the deficit with a good save.
Professional Development Phase Lead Coach Sam Rose said:
"It is disappointing to lose a game, it always is. Notts County are a strong side and I think that they played really well today. The first goal that they scored was a good team goal and we could not get near to it.
“We are disappointed with the second goal and we thought that we could have nicked a goal in the second-half. It will be a good one for us to reflect on because when we changed our shape in the second-half, we looked a better side.
“All credit to the opposition today, they were the better side and we weren’t good enough.”
Striker James Harrison said after the game:
“As a whole, we all dug in as a team and tried our hardest, but they were clearly the better team on the day. As a whole, we worked hard but we have just got to accept it and move forward.
“I think the most important thing is that we keep a good team morale and don’t let this affect us.”
Noaman Mallass has spent part of this season on the sidelines due to injury, but he was able to enter the fray as a second-half substitute on Friday. The forward says that he is determined to take whatever chances he is given this season.
“I have got to take it game by game, I need to get game time but it is crucial that when I play, I play well. I have to try and impress Sam and hopefully earn a start.”