Bore draw at Exeter boosts Burton’s battle against the drop

Burton gave their hopes of League One survival a small boost with a valuable point from a dire 0-0 draw at Exeter.

In atrocious conditions that ruined the match as a spectacle, the Brewers claimed their seventh point from their last four games to edge a point ahead of Bristol Rovers and officially relegate Shrewsbury.

Exeter started well with Caleb Watts rounding Max Crocombe in the Burton goal, but his shot was superbly cleared off the line by Dylan Williams.

Julian Larsson saw a shot deflect over with the Brewers’ first effort, while Crocombe came to their rescue with a good save to deny Jack McMillan after a superb Exeter move.

Reece Cole almost opened the scoring early in the second half, but his long-range effort was straight at Crocombe.

Williams shot straight at Joe Whitworth from 20 yards, after charging through midfield, but both teams were struggling to cope with an increasingly saturated surface, which saw the ball hold up on numerous occasions.

Exeter thought they had won it in the 87th minute, but Andrew Oluwabori was denied a first goal for the club – and in the EFL – by an offside flag, after turning in a Ryan Woods free-kick from close range.