Burton Albion Ends Three-Month Drought with First League One Victory

Ryan Sweeney is in his second season with Burton”It’s about time”.Burton Albion defender Ryan Sweeney expressed his direct sentiment when questioned about finally anticipating a “pleasant Saturday night” after defeating Shrewsbury Town, marking their initial League One win of the season. This triumph occurred on their 14th attempt and after a three-month period without a league victory. “It will be nice going home and being able to enjoy it,” he conveyed to BBC Radio Derby. “It’s a really good feeling. We’ve had a lot of disappointment in the season and it was becoming a thing at the end of the game, walking in so disappointed even when we deserved points.” He added, “That was a real good feeling to walk in with three points and the clean sheet.” The victory against Shrewsbury, who are also struggling in the third tier, was sufficient to elevate the Brewers from the bottom of the table and above Salop. Not only did the three points conclude a challenging winless start to the season for Burton, but it also represented a significant first league success for the club since its summer acquisition by the Sweden-based Nordic Football Group. The new owners undertook a comprehensive overhaul of the Burton squad, which had fought to avoid relegation in the previous two seasons, by completing a British record of 23 signings in a single transfer window while moving 24 players off their books. Tom Hounsell oversaw the win, having been appointed on an interim basis after Mark Robinson – the head coach personally selected by the new owners to lead Burton’s on-pitch transformation – was dismissed 11 league games into the season. “To get that is just a massive well done to everyone involved,” Hounsell remarked. “That feeling they got at the end, they have deserved that sooner than what it has come. I’m just happy we were able to do that today.” Goals from Tomas Kalinauskas and Danilo Orsi – two of the record number of summer recruits – secured the victory for the Brewers, completing an unbeaten week in impressive fashion. Sweeney, one of the few players retained by the club after last season’s narrow escape from relegation, stated that the point earned against Crawley in midweek, following a close win against non-league side Scarborough Athletic in the first round of the FA Cup, was crucial. “That was still a big point in terms of breaking the trend from losing the last seven [league] games,” he explained. “You have to start from somewhere, and even though it wasn’t the win we so desperately wanted, it definitely gave us a platform.”