BURTON Albion's Development Squad came from behind to defeat Redditch United 3-2 in a friendly match at the Pirelli Stadium.
Handing debuts to Tessa Martin, Ava Shenton and Freya Mear, the Brewers started the game the stronger of the two teams, with Amy Frisby and Mia Fellows working well down the right-hand side and causing the Redditch defence huge problems - and FELLOWS would eventually tuck away a cross from Frisby just after the 20-minute mark.
Burton's defence held very well during this time, with debutant Martin dealing with anything aerially and Maggie Croxall sweeping up and playing out effectively. Shortly after the opener however, Redditch would come alive, scoring two very quick goals with their pacey striker making very good runs in behind the Burton defence
The first half would finish with a flurry of small chances for the Brewers, as they looked to get back on terms. A succession of corners looked very dangerous, with Martin and Agnew coming close, but would not find the back of the net before the break, and would go in a goal down
HALF-TIME: BURTON ALBION 1-2 REDDITCH UNITED
Albion would be tested straight away from a Redditch kick-off, again, getting in behind and round another debutant in Mear in goal, who was able to force the striker wide enough for the Burton defenders to get back on the line and clear the ball.
After this close call, the Brewers would wake up and take the game to Redditch in the second half. Shenton would come on for the second half and looked to try and create chances for Milly Clarke and Fellows, and eventually she managed just that. Shenton picked up a good bit of space just inside the box, before picking out FELLOWS in the centre to slot home her second of the game on 65 minutes.
Five minutes later, Burton would take the lead. A strong run and cross from Fellows down the right-hand side would find Lex AGNEW in the box, who would have to battle both the Redditch keeper and a defender to get just enough of a touch to guide the ball into the back of the net, to get a well-deserved goal for her performance, and to make the game 3-2 on the 70th minute mark.
Burton would have late chances to finish off the game, with good chances falling to Clarke, Millie Cokayne and Mia Sutton, but just could not find the back of the net to finish the game off.
Redditch would have some small chances during the half, but each were well dealt with by the Burton defence. Cassie Blood spent much of the game battling hard in midfield to secure possession, and would stop a 1v1 late on in the game to ensure a Burton win.
FULL-TIME: BURTON ALBION 3-2 REDDITCH UNITED
Manager Joe Kirkland said: "We’ve shown yet again how far we’ve come in such a short period of time - we had five newly-promoted U16 players in the squad today who all started.
"We’re a trying to build both a young and competitive team who are all here for a purpose, and that’s to develop, enjoy playing and win.
"We have a tough run of games coming up now so we need to keep the momentum going and work even harder."
