A STRONG Burton Albion XI beat Midland Football League side Stapenhill FC 6-0 last night in a friendly.
The Brewers squad made the short trip across town to Maple Grove with a mixture of first team players, Academy Scholars and a trialist.
The unnamed Trialist opened the scoring inside 5 minutes, following up his first effort that hit the post from inside the area with a side-footed finish into the bottom corner.
Swans’ keeper Paul Hollis was a busy man all evening and on 27 minutes did well to keep out a thunderous long-range effort from Terry Taylor, however striker Louis Moult was there with a follow-up to score Albion’s second.
Trialist got his second of the game and the Brewers third of the evening on 36 minutes, smartly guiding a header into the top corner from Charlie Lakin’s cross from the right wing.
Moult got his second of the game just before half-time, linking up well with Trialist and sliding the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs.
HALF TIME: Stapenhill 0-4 Burton Albion
Straight after half-time Trialist got his hat-trick. A mix-up inside the Stapenhill area allowed him to sneak around two defenders and poke his shot home to make it five.
Albion started to introduce several Academy Scholars after the 60-minute mark, with Louis Moult, Trialist and Calum Butcher making way. Youngsters Dylan Scott and Tristan Bennett both created good chances for themselves and went close for Albion but were denied by some brave Stapenhill defending.
Just before the full-time whistle, Academy graduate Charlie Williams scored the goal of the night. The attacking midfielder cut inside from the left, skipping past two challenges, and curled a superb effort around the helpless Hollis.
FULL TIME: Stapenhill 0-6 Burton Albion