BURTON Albion were the victims of another Cheltenham Town late show as victory slipped from their grasp at the Abbey Business Stadium on Saturday.
It was nowhere near as dramatic or as startling as the 6-5 win enjoyed by the Robins the last time the sides met in March.
But the outcome was precisely the same as the Brewers suffered a painful attack of the defensive jitters to lose a game they should have won with something to spare.
Shaun Harrad’s second goal of the campaign had given Paul Peschisolido’s side a deserved lead before the interval and they were within sight of their first away win when the roof fell in on them.
Albion’s much-vaunted new central defensive partnership of Darren Moore and Nathan Stanton had looked in control of a punchless Cheltenham attack for much of the contest.
But the pair were nowhere to be seen as headed goals by Wesley Thomas and Josh Low turned the game upside down in the final 10 minutes.
A perplexed Peschisolido was left to wonder how on earth his men had squandered the opportunity to extend their longest unbeaten run in League Two to six games, as well as passing up a place in the top five for the first time.
It was not so much the defeat but the manner of it that caused consternation in the Albion ranks after Peschisolido’s revised formation had worked a treat for much of the game.
Striker Greg Pearson dropped to the substitutes’ bench for the first time this season and Harrad operated as the lone striker in front of Lewis Young, Russell Penn and Jacques Maghoma — his first start of the campaign — while recalled skipper John McGrath and Adam Bolder were deployed in front of the back four, with Aaron Webster switching to left-back to cover for the injured Paul Boertien.
The early indications were that there was nothing negative about the formation as the Brewers enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession.
Penn had a shot deflected away for a corner after beating two men in a forceful run from midfield, while Maghoma’s powerful 20-yard shot flew narrowly wide of Scott Brown’s right post.
Apart from promising but unfulfilled runs by Thomas and Low, the Robins offered nothing to seriously test Albion’s defence in the opening 20 minutes as goalkeeper Adam Legzdins watched Danny Andrew’s long-range free kick sail over his crossbar.
However, the home side probably should have broken the stalemate in the 28th minute but former Derby County defender Steve Elliott headed Andrew’s corner kick high and wide.
After Harrad had dragged a shot wide, Harrad’s next opportunity gave the striker an opportunity to demonstrate the qualities that made him such a formidable opponent last season.
The Robins were exposed to his pace and power as Andrew misjudged Bolder’s lofted pass forward and Harrad twisted and turned away from Elliott before beating Brown with a thumping low drive.
It might have been 2-0 before half-time but Webster was unable to get enough contact on a glancing header after rising Deja vu as double strike proves costly There was a keener edge to the game in the second half, with Maghoma breaking up Cheltenham pressure by spearheading Burton counter attacks.
Legzdins made an excellent save to keep the Brewers in front when he dived full length to tip a Michael Pook free-kick round a post after Moore had been yellow carded for obstructing Thomas close to the edge of the area.
And it did not look as though the home side would be able to impose themselves on the game even when Bolder was stretchered off with a dislocated shoulder after the summer signing fell heavily in an innocuous looking tussle with Thomas on the halfway line.
fitful Cheltenham pressure but were perhaps guilty of sitting too deep at times, while also failing to profit from some promising breaks by invariably making the wrong decision or pass at the critical moment.
They were almost caught out in the 77th minute after Shaun Jeffers evaded Moore on the right, but the substitute’s cross was headed over a gaping net by Thomas.
But the warning was not heeded and the Brewers surrendered their lead as the resurgent Robins replicated that move from the opposite flank three minutes later Jeffers again had time and space to provide a decent cross and Albion’s marking was non-existent as Thomas beat Legzdins with a close-range header.
Harrad had a shot saved by Brown, but two minutes after the equaliser the galloping Jeffers exploited a suddenly vulnerable Burton defence for the second time.
Albion had numbers back as Jeffers provided a cross from the right but they were too leaden-footed to prevent Low from scoring with a stooping header.
The Brewers fought frantically to try to salvage a point but Brown produced a fine save in added time to deny Webster his third goal of the campaign and secure an unlikely win for the home team.
