Jake Buxton lauds ‘massive leader’ John Brayford following captain’s late winner

Posted Sunday, September 20, 2020 by PA

Burton boss Jake Buxton hailed John Brayford’s desire and leadership qualities after watching his skipper head home a late winner against Accrington.

Brayford struck in the 87th minute to earn Buxton his first league victory with Burton following a dramatic finish to the clash at the Pirelli Stadium.

A tightly fought encounter saw home midfielder Joe Powell open the scoring after 72 minutes following good work from Lucas Akins and Kane Hemmings, only for Stanley to battle back and equalise seven minutes from time through Joe Pritchard.

But Albion were not to be denied, with Brayford flashing a header into the net via the palm of keeper Toby Savin and the post to snatch the points, leaving Buxton full of praise for his captain and his side.

“We spoke at half-time about taking an extra touch in the final third and I think that extra bit of composure showed” said the Brewers player-manager.

“It’s a great touch by Kane Hemmings and it comes nicely for Joe Powell who gets his head over the ball and it’s a great finish.

“The second goal is all about desire to get your head on the ball and Bray has glanced it in.

“Bray is a massive leader on the pitch. He gives everything out there and is part of a great senior group here.”

It was a spirited response from Albion after the heartbreak of being beaten at the death by Premier League side Aston Villa in the League Cup earlier in the week.

“To lift themselves like they did after the disappointment of Tuesday night when they hung on for so long against Aston Villa, to come back again today and finish it off and then see it through, especially the senior players, is a massive credit to them,” Buxton added.

For Accrington boss John Coleman it was a case of reflecting on a second visit to the Pirelli Stadium in a fortnight where his side left empty-handed after closely-fought encounters.

“I didn’t think there was much in the game and I thought we probably had the better chances,” said Coleman, whose side were beaten on penalties by Burton following a 1-1 draw in the Carabao Cup.

“They took their two chances and we didn’t take any of ours. Our keeper has had two right at him that you would expect him to save and their keeper has made two really good saves.

“It’s a great goal to win it from them to be fair but the game could have gone either way and we just didn’t take our chances and that is the harsh reality of football at this level.

“As hard as we worked and as much as we were organised Burton didn’t pose us too many threats. It’s just disappointing that sometimes it becomes like the flip of a coin and today we came down on the wrong side of it.

“I think both sides were a bit better than in the League Cup game today but I don’t think anyone could say that we deserved to lose the game with the amount of chances we created.”