We have two reports on the Burton game for you this week.  Firstly from Tim Pryor and secondly from Jason Harcourt...

A lacklustre City display against Burton, saw Albion triumph 2-0 at the Pirelli Stadium.  Over 400 Exeter fans (along with "Eric" the flag) braved freezing conditions on Friday night, but the passionate away following wasn't matched by the men in blue City shirts.

The Grecians lined up as follows:

Jones,

Woodards, Santos, Todd, Jones,

Mackie, Buckle, Cronin, Challinor,

Phillips, Edwards.

It was the hosts that went closest early on when Shaun Harrad broke free of the Exeter defence but could only hit the bar.  The rebound neatly nutmegged Christian Moore about six yards out and rolled away to safety.

It wasn't however just the home side that hit the woodwork in the first period.  At the other end an Exeter effort cannoned back off the bar, just out of the reach of the onrushing Jon Challinor.

Half Time: Burton 0 Exeter 0

The Burton side, not at full strength due to an illness that has been spreading around the squad, were definitely looking the more likely to score.  Albion finally broke the deadlock just after the hour mark when Darren Tinson found Keith Gilroy out on the left.  Gilroy cut inside and managed to find some space in the area to drill a low shot into the back of the net.

The hosts deserved to be in front and managed to double their advantage just two minutes later.  Gilroy was once again involved, this time floating a delightful free kick onto the head of Shaun Harrad who had no trouble beating Paul Jones from close range.

Steve Flack and Craig Farrell came on but couldn't provide the spark that was needed to get Exeter back into the game.  Two minutes from time it was Farrell that had City's best effort of the match, but his shot was well saved and The Brewers got the win they deserved.

Final Score: Burton 2 Exeter 0

Attendance: 1,924

Chant of the Match: "I'd rather have my cider than your beer!"

City fans travelled up in great numbers for this Friday night trip to the new Pirelli Stadium which, to be honest, looked a lot better from the outside than the cold concrete block design on the inside.

The City line-up sprung a couple of surprises - Santos in with Sawyer on the bench, with Mackie in place of Carlisle (not even on the bench) on the right. So, the line-up was: P Jones in goal, a back line comprising B Jones, Woodards, Todd and Santos, a midfield quartet of Challinor, Mackie, Cronin and Buckle, with Phillips and Edwards up front. The bench was made up of Rice, Sawyer, Flack, Farrell and Gill.

Right from the off it seemed that it was going to be a long and painful night for the City faithful, who were not only present in numbers but were in great voice. As early as the 3^rd minute Jonesy had to be alert to tip a speculative effort over the bar, then a short while after that came a real let-off. The ball was played through, and the Burton attacker just beat Jonesy to the ball, but left with a narrow angle was only able to hit the bar. The ball rebounded to Moore who was slow to react with an empty net in front of him and instead of tucking it away instead allowed the ball to pass right through his legs.

Moore had a half-chance shortly afterwards when he met a cross with a powerful header, however the angle was against him and the ball went harmlessly wide.

Burton were patently not a very good side, but were being made to look world-beaters by a City side lacking in confidence, reduced to hoofing the ball anywhere whenever they got the ball.

It was perhaps ironic that the closest City came to scoring in the first half was courtesy of a Burton player whacking his own crossbar - the ball came down too quickly for Challinor who could only skew his follow-up wide.

The second half begun somewhat brighter for City - at least there was a shot on target, albeit a powder-puff effort from Edwards from distance. However, this new-found purpose quickly gave way to the same sort of hoof-and-hope stuff of the first half, as the game descended into an even more dire encounter. The most galling tactic of all seemed to be City's "hoof it in the air" policy when receiving the ball from throw-ins - even Sunday League Footballers show more finesse than this.

Burton's fans - who supported their side from all three stands in which their fans were present - finally got their reward around the hour mark. Gilroy out-muscled Woodards down the Burton left, then ran for goal, shaking off Todd before beating Jonesy at his near post.

Burton then did what City have done so often this season - followed up a goal with a quick second to kill the game off. This time a free-kick on the Burton left found Harrad in acres of space and the simplest of headers. Where was the marking?

City brought on Flack and Farrell after this in an attempt to salvage something, Farrell coming very close late-on, but to be frank the performance did not warrant anything. At the final whistle the fans made it perfectly clear what they thought with scenes not seen on City's travels since the Grays Trophy debacle last April. With most fans having taken time off, and having spent a lot of money to get to the game halfway across the country on a Friday night, the least we could have expected in return was a performance of guts and determination. Instead we were treated to a shambolic display where the players treated the ball like a hand-grenade and were unable to string more than two passes together. If we are serious about our attempts to gain promotion we need to improve on this 1000%.

It would be unfair to single out individuals for criticism, as it was a collective display rather than individual performances that contributed to City's downfall. On the other hand, some praise must be doled out, particularly to Edwards, who looks to have been transformed by his spell at Tamworth.