A mix of youth and experience ultimately paved the way for Burton Albion to book their spot in the next round of the Birmingham Senior Cup thanks to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Highgate United on Wednesday night.

For an hour, the clash - hampered by a driving wind and heavy rain - looked to be heading for a decisive penalty shootout.

But it suddenly exploded into life late on, with the sight of club captain Shaun Barker making a late appearance - and bagging a crucial goal - one of several highlights on the night for those Brewers fans who travelled to watch.

Only 24 hours after Albion's first team had secured a valuable point away at Brentford, a youthful side travelled to a sodden and windswept Coppice.

The exceptions to the inexperience came at either end of the pitch, with physio Nick Fenton slotting in at centre-back and sports scientist Chris Beardsley partnering under-18s leading scorer James Harrison up front.

Fenton played in between captain Jayden Cotterill and Max Smith in a 3-4-1-2, with Harry Campbell in goal.

With the conditions playing their part, the role of the back three was primarily to get up and head clear a series of long balls, although they moved well as a unit to cut out any balls along the ground during an open first half.

Jack Hallahan was at the heart of the four-man midfield alongside Jack Bromfield, with Reece Hutchinson on the left flank and Daniel Cooke starting on the right.

Shaun Barker of Burton Albion
Shaun Barker of Burton Albion

It was Hallahan, along with Charlie Dowd in the number 10 role behind Harrison and Beardsley, who asked the early questions of Highgate.

Hallahan sat deep to spray some accurate, direct passes left and right, while Dowd was quick to get on the ball and run at the home defence.

He also registered Burton's first shot in a half that provided a few, with the diminutive midfielder curling a dipping effort just wide of the lefthand post.

Campbell was called into action at the other end moments later to fly across and tip a long-range free-kick wide as it threatened to sneak in at the far post when running unchecked through the Albion box.

Marcus Dinanga (left) and Jack Hallahan

The Brewers keeper was a spectator - and likely a cold one, at that - for long spells of the clash.

But whenever he was called upon in the opening 70 minutes, he showed good control with his hands, clutching onto some low, fizzing efforts across the wet turf to deny the Gate forwards any follow ups.

Albion failed to get themselves in front before the break despite enjoying much of the pressure, Dowd continually asking questions and Harrison growing into the contest, imposing himself more and more on the Highgate defence.

Harrison poked one effort wide himself, before Beardsley was denied twice in quick succession by the home keeper after a tidy pass through from the lively Dowd.

Ben Fox (left) and Jayden Cotterill (right)

But the former Mansfield Town man would make amends in the second half, as he lit the spark in a bonkers final half-hour.

His opener owed much to a fine run from Dowd, whose pace took him through to square for Beardsley to take a composing touch and slot past the keeper.

For 15 minutes, that looked to be sending Burton into the next round of the competition.

Highgate, though, would set about turning the tie on its head soon enough.

A game of pinball in the Burton box led to the leveller, with an attempted clearance flying off Scott Turner and into the visitors' net.

Only three minutes after that, United were suddenly in front and seemingly heading for the third round in the 82nd minute.

A well-delivered ball from the right was met by the head of Marco Adagio, with the forward getting in front of Campbell to nod home.

The Brewers were being asked to show some real character at this stage - and they responded superbly.

Marcus Dinanga (left) and Jack Hallahan

The introduction of Shaun Barker off the bench for some welcome gametime ultimately told, with Albion’s club captain moving straight up front to make it 2-2 in the 84th minute.

Tristan Matthews drove in a low cross, and Barker showed commitment to dive in and poke a finish under the advancing Highgate keeper, who raced back in an attempt to claw it back, only for it to sneak across the line.

And while it was the experienced Barker who got the Brewers back into contention, it was a moment of brilliance from one of Albion's youngsters that booked their spot in the next round.

Hutchinson found some welcome space on the left flank and showed quick feet to beat his man and lash a powerful low drive into the net for the winner.

Clashes such as this one can do priceless good for the young members of Burton’s academy.

Many caught the eye, including goalscorer Hutchinson, Dowd, Hallahan and Cotterill, and it said a lot about the character of the under-18s team in general that they fought back against a tough-to-beat Highgate outfit.

Those same players will be intent on ensuring the Brewers’ run in the competition continues for a little white yet.