Nigel Clough was left wondering what might have been for his Burton Albion side after their goalless draw with Queens Park Rangers today.

The Brewers flew out of the traps at Loftus Road - the scene of one of their best away performances last season - and dominated long spells of the first half with their intensity in the middle and pace on the break.

Sean Scannell sent Albion's best chance cannoning back off the near post, while Marvin Sordell also had a shot saved and several good breaks were thwarted at the last.

But a tactical switch and a couple of half-time changes from the Hoops changed the dynamic of the game after the break, with the combined defensive quality of Jake Buxton, Kyle McFadzean and Ben Turner keeping the hosts at bay during sustained pressure late on.

Burton Albion forward Marvin Sordell in action during the Brewers' match against QPR
Burton Albion forward Marvin Sordell in action during the Brewers' match against QPR

Clough knows the value of a second consecutive away draw for his side - and a second consecutive away clean sheet too.

Still, might it have been even better?

"It's a good point for us overall," said the Brewers boss.

"We're just disappointed that, in the first half, we didn't make more of the situations and chances that we had.

"A little bit more sharpness and a bit more quality and we'd have got a lead.

"Because the game switched at half-time. Ian (Holloway) made a couple of substitutions, put the big lad Matt Smith on up front, and all of a sudden we were penned in and on the back foot.

"But in the first half, we missed our opportunity."

After making nine changes for Wednesday's Carabao Cup trip to Manchester United, Clough reverted to the same starting XI that beat Fulham at the Pirelli Stadium last Saturday.

Burton Albion forward Lucas Akins heading Alex Baptiste's strike clear
Burton Albion forward Lucas Akins heading Alex Baptiste's strike clear

There was a real freshness to his side in the opening stages, although the clinical final touch was notably missing.

"There were balls over the top, with Sean Scannell getting in good positions, and Marvin Sordell," he added.

"They just didn't quite have that killer-instinct finish today.

"It's funny, when you rest them all for Wednesday night, or the majority of them, you hope they're going to be a little bit sharper than that.

"But I think we'll get the benefit on Tuesday and Saturday against Aston Villa and Wolves."