Gary Bowyer remains grounded as Burton edge closer to survival
Dylan Williams bagged his first league goal in added on time to push the Brewers to within a point of safety although their superior goal difference over Crawley and Bristol Rovers makes them overwhelming favourites to survive.
'It was a win that symbolises this squad.' Bowyer began. 'Dylan Williams hasn't played many games for us and has been sub for a long time and it is a great example of the togetherness of this group.'
A nervy first half finished with red cards for both sides with Cambridge substitute Ryan Loft shown a straight red for lashing out at Albion's Udoka Godwin-Malife whilst Burton's JJ McKiernan picked up a second yellow for his aerial challenge on U's keeper Jack Stevens.
Icelandic striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson put Albion in front in the opening moments of the second half with his fifth goal of the season before Elias Kachunga briefly raised hopes of a Cambridge turnaround with a late equaliser.
'It wasn't the greatest of games.' Bowyer admitted. 'Bodvarsson scores a wonderful goal after a crazy couple of minutes at the end of the first half. I am not sure how Dylan has put that one in but fair to say we are all delighted to see it go in.'
Perhaps crucially, Albion have a game in hand on their rivals, a home game against Wigan on Tuesday and Bowyer was at pains to emphasise that the job is not finished.
'We haven't done anything yet. It's a big word – almost. It is my job to make sure we go ab out these next two games properly. Mathematically it is not done and until it is we have to keep going.'
For Cambridge boss Neil Harris, who only returned to the club in February, defeat confirmed their relegation back to League Two.
'I am disappointed for the football club and the fanbase and it is important that I apologise for a disappointing season,' he said.
'You get relegated for a reason.' Harris said bluntly. 'Usually, it is because you haven't been good enough over the course of a season. Today summed that up.
'We had the best chances but didn't take enough. Didn't defend our goal well enough and gave a way cheap and sloppy goals because we are not good enough defensively and that sums up the season and the red card is farcical really.
'You rely on players as a manager, and I can't trust the players. We changed our shape at the start of the second half but then concede. We can't run, so can't defend 1 v 1 and we are not good enough in the final third to have that killer instinct so what chance have we got?'
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Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Why Scotland debutant must start vs Liechtenstein as Iceland star reveals what surprised him most at Hampden
Scotland debutant Cieran Slicker had a night to forget at Hampden on Friday. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Goalkeeper Cieran Slicker needs to start for Scotland against Liechtenstein on Monday after his nightmare debut in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Iceland at Hampden on Friday night, according to to his opposite number Elias Rafn Olafsson. The 22-year-old debutant was thrown into the action after just six minutes at the national stadium when goalkeeper Angus Gunn appeared to injure his ankle when he came to collect a cross, while fellow stopper Robby McCrorie suffered a thigh injury in the warm-up. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, in the opposite goal, Olafsson was hailed as one of Iceland's top performers after making a series of excellent saves to deny George Hirst and, latterly John McGinn, as Scotland pushed to get back into the game, leading the FC Midtjylland man to admit the line between hero and villain is marginal when it comes to being a 'lonely' goalkeeper. Cieran Slicker had a nightmare debut for Scotland and was at fault for all three of Iceland's goals in the 3-1 defeat at Hampden. | Getty Images 'Of course, it's always tough,' said the Icelandic goalkeeper. 'Especially when you come into the game cold off the bench. Then when you come in and make some mistakes, it's hard to get back into the game. I feel empathy for him. It's not the preparation you want for your debut, to not know you're coming in this early in the game as well. It's difficult. It's not going to be the most fun of nights, but it's about keeping your head up. It's just about now going to the hotel, forget about this and move on.' Asked if he'd ever had a similar experience himself, the 25-year-old was quick to recall his own error in the Europa League clash against FCSB last November, where he gifted the Romanian outfit a goal just three seconds into the second-half of the game when his clearance was charged down by Daniel Bîrligea. Explaining what he did to get over the mistake that saw his side fall to a 2-0 defeat, Olafsson believes Slicker must simply get back on the horse as quickly as possible, and backed him to start for Steve Clarke's side against Liechtenstein on Monday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It probably is [the best thing for him to play again on Monday] to be honest,' said the Iceland international. 'To come into the game and know you're going to play. That's 100% the best thing, in my opinion. I had one in the Europa League game. I don't know if you've seen it. It's a pretty big mistake from kick-off, but that's how it is. Elias Rafn Olafsson in action for FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. | Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima 'People see the mistakes. You have to be strong mentally for that. You just have to be honest. It's a mistake by you. You just have to be honest and forget about it. It's a part of the game. When we make mistakes, it's very obvious — it leads to a goal. It's a bit of a different position to the outfield players. You hope you make them in training, not in the games. But you can't always. It was not his day today. It was a hard game to come into. I feel it's hard making any debut, coming in when you don't expect to come in as a goalkeeper off the bench.' His country's first ever victory on Scottish soil, the imposing 6ft 7in goalkeeper admits the win was vitally important to Iceland as he reflected on his own performance in Mount Florida and explained what surprised him most about Scotland's display. 'It's a really big one, especially with the new things we're trying to build,' said Olafsson. 'It worked out pretty well. Apart from the last 20 minutes where we fell back a little bit trying to keep the ball a little bit, it went well. It was really nice to play in front of the Scottish fans as well. It was a nice experience. It was definitely one of the most fun ones. It really was. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Sun
12 hours ago
- The Sun
‘Blessed' – Snooker icon reveals new business venture after becoming third world champ to take residency in Hong Kong
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Scottish Sun
15 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Clarke's men drained the enthusiasm of every Scotland fan with a catalogue of calamities vs Iceland writes Bill Leckie
SON'S OF APATHY Clarke's men drained the enthusiasm of every Scotland fan with a catalogue of calamities vs Iceland writes Bill Leckie RIGHT behind Steve Clarke's dugout, punters craned their necks for a look at a star of the hit TV show Sons Of Anarchy. The rest of Hampden? Advertisement 3 It was a nightmare debut for Cieran Slicker Credit: PA 3 Steve Clarke reacts during the disappointing friendly at Hampden Credit: Kenny Ramsay 3 SunSport's Bill Leckie has given his take on the clash Credit: John Kirkby - The Sun Glasgow It was swamped in tons of apathy. Little wonder. Because this was a night to drain the enthusiasm out of the most optimistic Tartan Army footsoldier on earth. Advertisement What was billed as the chance to roar Steve Clarke's men towards a make-or-break autumn schedule turned into 90 minutes of moans and groans and boos – and of cringe-making agony at the performance of rookie keeper Cieran Slicker. Behind his blackout sunglasses, Easterhouse-born actor Tommy Flanagan, scarfaced Chibs Telford to the eight million who watched the motorcycle gang drama for eight seasons, sat shaking his head with the rest of us. And, like most the 32,000-plus who'd forked out hard cash for this sorry Friday night, he'd exited stage left long before the end. How young Slicker must have wished he could have done the same. The kid with 21 on his back, three times the number of senior games he's played at the age of 22, had a horrible, horrible night from the moment his first clearance went straight to an Icelandic shirt and led to the opening goal minutes after he'd come on for the crocked Angus Gunn. Advertisement But this defeat wasn't his doing; far from it, given that in front of him were ten outfield players who will be pretty close to our first picks for that World Cup qualifying cavalry charge of six ties in 74 days. We had Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, fresh from winning Serie A with Napoli. We had Andy Robertson, off the back of his second English title with Liverpool. Tartan Army fan who walked to Germany embarking on new challenge for the World Cup We had John McGinn, skipper of the Aston Villa side who stormed to the last eight of the Champions League. We had Lewis Ferguson, who led Bologna to their first Italian silverware in half a century. Advertisement We had Kieran Tierney, ready for a hero's return to Celtic. Along with Austrian league champion Max Johnston and English League One winner Grant Hanley, they were all applauded to the rafters pre-match when the big screens hailed their individual achievements. Sadly, as a collective they weren't so much champs as chumps. Clarke had said it himself – this was no time for experimentation. It was a night for his tried and tested stalwarts to step up one last time for the season in front of the Tartan Army and give them a shot in the arm of optimism that would last right through the summer, a right good dose of footballing Vitamin D. Instead, this was like touching down in Majorca to find it's peeing down and the hotel's only half-built. Advertisement It started badly when Angus Gunn landed awkwardly taking his first catch of the night with only a couple of minutes on the clock. Still, at least he can say that everything he was asked to do while he was on the pitch, he did flawlessly. The rest? Wow. Where do we start. How they rated Angus Gunn - Came for a cross in the first minute but crumpled with an ankle problem so was unable to continue. Terrible timing given he is without a club having left Norwich. 1 Max Johnston - Given his chance on the right hand side and made a positive impact. Will be disappointed he didn't make more of a back post chance to score. A decent start. 6 John Souttar - Showed great strength inside the box to hold off his marker and head home Max Johnston's wicked corner. Will be furious at the goals Scotland lost. 5 Grant Hanley - Tried to show Andri Gudjohnsen inside after Cieran Slicker's poor kick but ended up with egg on his face as he whipped it into the top corner from 25 yards. Grim night. 4 Kieran Tierney - 50th cap and a poor occasion to hit that milestone. Matched Albert Gudmindsson's runs all night before going off for debut man Lennon Miller in the closing stages. 5 Andy Robertson - Bombed up and down the left flank as he usually does but final balls were lacking the precision to really hurt Iceland. Skipper has to drag Scotland's defence out of this rot. 5 John McGinn - Patrolled the middle of the park as he usually does but nothing really came off for him high up the pitch. Scotland will need him refreshed and flying in September. 5 Billy Gilmour - Did precisely what you expect from him now. Kept possession and the ball ticking over as the link man all over the pitch. Below his best like so many. 5 Lewis Ferguson - Didn't know much about it at the own goal which put Iceland back in front. Unlucky as a comedy pinball moment saw the ball crack off him and squirm past Cieran Slicker. 5 Scott McTominay - Started on the left of midfield, tasked with supporting George Hirst. Few flashes of what he can do but a big game player so he keeps the real heroics for when it counts. 5 George Hirst - Missed an early header then denied his first Scotland goal by two great saves from the Iceland goalie then an offside call after scoring. Showed he's got some promise. 6 Subs: Cieran Slicker (Gunn 6) - Debut didn't go to plan, that's for sure. Poor kick for the opener, flailing at the second, even worse at the third. Difficult not to feel sorry for him at times. 2 Lennon Miller (Tierney 67) - First cap. 3 Scott McKenna (Hanley 67) - Shored it up a bit late on. 3 Che Adams (Hirst 67) - No chances. 3 Nathan Patterson (Johnston 79) - Replaced Johnston. 2 Tommy Conway (McTominay 79) - On for McTominay. 2 There was George Hirst's header over an empty net from three yards out. There was the catalogue of calamities that saw John Souttar and Ferguson combine to deflect the second Icelandic past the floundering Slicker. There was a countless number of slack passes. There was a tempo that rarely got above jogging pace. There was a total lack of the togetherness that had pulled us back from that terrible start to the Nations League and very nearly kept us in the elite group – replaced, worryingly, by so much more of the disjointed, disorganised nonsense we'd shown in THAT Hampden hammering by the Greeks on the night we were eventually relegated. It was woeful. It was hugely worrying with those fast-improving Greeks to face along with Denmark if we want to make it to the top table across the Pond next summer. Advertisement And, as much as I'm a huge fan of the guy, it's another bad night on Clarke's CV as his record extends to just four wins from his last 21. Again, I've backed him through thick and thin, but it has to be said that previous gaffers have been hunted out the door with better records than that. He has a massive rebuilding job to do on this squad's confidence before Copenhagen on September 5 – and, yes, I know we're in Liechtenstein on Monday night, but what that will tell us about ourselves goodness along knows. Except maybe which players have the character not to pull out by the time you read this. As for young Slicker? He doesn't need anyone to tell him he had a nightmare. He's already a joke pub quiz question about the only guy to win two caps on the same night: His first and his last. Advertisement It wasn't his fault, though. He's played nine minutes of first team football this season for Ipswich Town, he's played six first team games in total for them and Rochdale and he's never played one single minute of top flight league action. How do you end up playing international football with that little experience? Answers on the back of a postcard from Vaduz. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
