BURTON Albion’s Professional Development Phase side booked their place in the semi-finals of the EFL Youth Alliance Cup with a convincing 4-0 victory over Salford City on Saturday afternoon.
Goals from Callum Niven and Charlie Williams put the Young Brewers in the driving seat at Partington Sports Village before Jakub Niemczyk netted twice to secure a very comfortable away win.
Despite playing in very windy conditions, Albion were in complete control of the match throughout and fully merited their first triumph of 2022.
The Young Brewers looked to attack from the first whistle and were rewarded for their positive approach just six minutes in when NIVEN latched onto Niemczyk’s through ball before powering a low shot beyond Salford goalkeeper Brad Rose.
Niemczyk went close to doubling Burton’s advantage just over ten minutes later after beating two Salford defenders with relative ease, but his effort from close range was blocked by Rose. Niven also displayed an eagerness to add to his opener, with his header from a Finn Delap long throw-in flying just wide of the target.
Shortly after the half hour mark, Niemczyk registered his second assist of the first half when he beat the offside trap and rolled the ball into the path of WILLIAMS, who stroked home from close range.
Burton increased their lead further just moments later with the same duo combining once again. On this occasion, Williams won possession deep inside the Salford half as a result of some tireless pressing before picking out NIEMCZYK inside the area. The attacker timed his run into the box well, and steered the low cross into the bottom corner of Rose’s net with an impressive left-footed finish.
Right up until the interval, the Young Brewers maintained a high intensity and could have been ahead by four goals at half-time had it not been for a good save from Rose to keep out a driven shot from Williams.
After the break, the hosts showed signs of improvement, but Burton’s sturdy defence limited them to very few clear-cut opportunities.
In the 52nd minute, Daniel Moore made a decent stop to deny Kyle Cooper, who looked to break forward from midfield for Salford when he could. Cooper again went relatively close to scoring just over ten minutes later with a shot from a tight angle which flew safely into the side netting.
At the other end, Burton continued to pose a threat and benefitted further as the home side began to tire. Following some neat build-up play, Niven found space inside the Salford area in the 65th minute, only for his shot to deflect off the keeper and roll away for a corner via the foot of the post.
With less than a quarter of the game left, Albion netted the fourth goal they deserved through NIEMCZYK, who fired beyond Rose with aplomb from the edge of the box after cutting onto his stronger left foot.
In the final few moments, Burton maintained their composure to hold onto their first clean sheet since October, and most importantly seal their spot in the next round of the competition, which is expected to take place next month.
GOALS: Niven (6), Williams (34), Niemczyk (37, 70)
BREWERS: Moore, Delap (Emery 80), Hill (Tamen 90), Hazell, Radcliffe, Robinson, Nyahwema (Maginness 80), Pace, Niven (c), Williams, Niemczyk. Subs not used: Lewis (GK), Bennett