TWO goals from Mark Helm helped Albion to a second successive 2-2 draw as pre-season continued apace at Brackley Town.
The January signing from Burnley showed great composure with both efforts as Albion dominated their Vanarama League North opponents in the first half. Helm’s first came on seven minutes after good work down the left and his second came from the right, drifting inside to find the top corner.
A sloppy start to the second half saw Alfie Bates score twice for the home side to level things up before the usual raft of substitutions in the second half saw a slightly more disrupted game which helped top up Albion’s pre-season minutes ahead of the new season.
Tom Hamer lined up on the right side of a back three having confirmed his return to the club earlier in the day whilst Kegs Chauke came into the midfield and Mustapha Carayol
Carayol had the first real shooting opportunity as early as the fourth minute but on his left foot could only fire over the bar.
Albion went in front on seven minutes. Cole Stockton fed Steve Seddon and his through ball picked out HELM on the edge of the box. Smartly turning to find room in the box the young midfielder set himself and fired a rising shot into the net.
Jamal Blackman made an excellent one handed save to deny Dom McHale on fourteen minutes and also got his handling and position right when Cosmos Matwasa tested him from the edge of the box.
In between those efforts for the home side Albion strung some good passing moves together, a good promising sign of the style of football Dino Maamria is looking to employ with his team this term.
Hamer clipped a superb ball forward into the box on 42 minutes and after a fortunate first touch, HELM brought the ball under control, drifted inside a defender and curled another left footer beyond keeper Danny Lewis.
Half time: Brackley Town 0-2 Burton Albion
Brackley pulled a goal back within thirty seconds of the second half starting. Midfielder Alfie Bates latched onto a loose ball in the box to fire past keeper Max Crocombe who had just come on for the second half.
And the home side were level four minutes later when BATES curled in a free kick that struck the post and bounced in off Crocombe.
Bates really should have rounded off what would have been a fine hat-trick when he raced clear onto a through ball on 56 minutes but slid the ball wide of both Crocombe and the post.
Albion then made wholesale changes for the final half hour of the game, including Bobby Kamwa who almost sealed a victory late on with a sharp run to the near post but finidning his shot blocked at close quarters.
Trialist C also shot a shot deflected around the post in the closing moments before Joe Powell created an opening from the resulting corner but fired over the bar.
ALBION: Blackman (Crocombe, 46); Hamer (Kamwa, 62), Trialist A (Delap, 62), Sweeney (Lakin, 62); Trialist B, Chauke, Harper (Powell, 62), Seddon; Helm (Gilligan, 62), Carayol (Trialist C, 62); Stockton (Hewlett, 76).
GOALS – BRACKLEY – Bates (46, 50) ; ALBION – Helm (7, 42)