Tuesday 29th April 2025. Burton Albion (0) 1 (Rumarn Burrell 57) v. Wigan Athletic (0) 1 (Ronan Darcy 90+6). Attendance: 3,506
On the 17th December when Gary Bowyer took over as manager at Burton Albion, they were 11 points adrift at the bottom of the table. Playing the role of League 1 whipping boys and wondering when, not if, their relegation to the basement division would be confirmed.
But tonight (get the Great Escape theme music cranked up in the background), with a game to spare (Charlton Athletic away on Saturday), the Brewers got the point that they needed to confirm that they were staying up, while condemning Bristol Rovers and Crawley Town to relegation.
Twentieth versus sixteenth (Wigan Athletic are also the lowest goalscorers in the division) is hardly the kind of stuff that gets people flocking to football grounds at this time of the year. But, perversely I was really looking forward to this one, even though I was resigned to the fact that it was the result that mattered tonight, far more than the hosts providing a night of enthralling and entertaining football. Charlie Webster spurned Albion’s best chance prior to half-time, when he shot over the bar, but not a lot else worthy of note happened.
Intrigue, jeapordy and suspense can all be (sort of) thrilling in their own way… if you’re happy to trot on through life putting a positive spin on things. Yes! I’m trying to big up what was a fairly dire spectacle; until the Brewers opened the scoring in the 57th minute. When Dylan Williams whipped in a cross, from which Mason Bennett forced an outstanding save from Sam Tickle, but leading scorer Rumarn Burrell was lurking with intent nearby and he smashed the ball home from the rebound, to claim his 11th goal of the season.
The Pirelli Stadium crowd spontaneously broke into song, belting out Bob Marley’s “Three little birds” - some people think it's called “Don't worry about a thing”, but I digress - with no small amount of gusto. Former Brewers player Jonny Smith almost equalised for Wigan, while Dale Taylor was denied by Max Crocombe. Then deep, into stoppage time a speculative long-range shot by Ronan Darcy secured a point for the visitors. But a draw was enough to preserve League 1 football at Burton Albion for at least another season and afford their popular manager Gary Bowyer hero status. FT: Burton Albion 1 v. Wigan Athletic 1.
This weekend Burton will be travelling to Charlton, where Nathan Jones’ side will be looking for a win, because the teams that finish in third and fourth place, will play the second-leg of their play-off semi-finals at home. 🎶“It’s not over, not over, not over, not over yet!” 🎶