United left red-faced as Burton brew up a storm

Burton 0 Man Utd 0

Burton, who play in Staffordshire and are nicknamed the Brewers, emulated the achievements of Exeter City last year by holding the Premiership giants, purportedly the biggest club in the world, 0-0 to create one of the shocks of the FA Cup Third Round.

There were scenes of giddy excitement at Burton’s Pirelli Stadium as the final whistle blew and the Conference side realised the extent of their remarkable achievement.

Nigel Clough’s side have never reached the fourth round in their history and begun the game with the sole aim of avoiding a drubbing. But their wholehearted performance was so good that they thoroughly deserved to earn a replay at Old Trafford and in fact were unfortunate not to win.

They were led by builder Darren Stride, a 30-year-old defender in his 14th year as a Burton player whose commitment to the cause is so strong that he helped build the club’s stadium.

It is a sign of his remarkable spirit that he pulled a groin muscle in only the second minute of the match but played on to the end and was one of the stars of the night.

In contrast, United were so awful in the first half that their own supporters sung “Fergie, Fergie sort it out” as the players trooped off the pitch ready for the half-time hairdryer treatment.

Astonishing as it may seem, the Premiership giants had been second best from first minute to 45th and it was Burton who enjoyed by far the better share of possession and chances.

Given the memories of last year’s debacle against Exeter, when a young United were held to a goalless draw at Old Trafford, you would have thought they would be better prepared for this fixture.

But Ferguson still left out Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville. And even with Louis Saha up front and Kieran Richardson on the wing the visitors struggled to make any impact against a side who are more used to playing Hinckley United than Manchester United.

Mind you, the Premiership side knew they were in for a tough afternoon from the moment Fergie strode onto the Pirelli Stadium pitch an hour before kick-off - wearing his football boots. The fiery Scot had only taken two or three steps on the bumpy, sandy surface when he reached for his mobile phone and with a face as dark as thunder made a frantic phone call.

That must have been nothing compared to the look on his face at half-time after Burton had embarrassed their illustrious rivals and created the better chances.

Jake Sedgemore set the tone with a thumping tackle on Saha in the first minute and you could sense that United were not up for the challenge in the way that their manager would have expected.

It’s hard to remember a serious Manchester United effort on goal in the opening half, while in contrast Burton caused no end of problems through the pace and trickery of wingers Shaun Harrad and Keith Gilroy.

They came mighty close to opening the scoring after Jon Shaw’s looping header was cleared off the line by Phil Bardsley and consistently embarrassed their more illustrious opponents.

There was one wonderful moment for defender Chris Hall to enjoy as he embarked on a storming run forward, nutmegging Richardson on his way to the delight of the home crowd, and it was a good evening to be a Brewers fan.

Just before half-time Bardsley cleared another effort off the line, also from Shaw, and the second-half begun in pretty much the same fashion, with defender Darren Tinson - a physiotherapist by trade - keeping the Premiership team at bay.

Ferguson’s response was to bring on his big guns, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, but not even their arrival had a long-term effect.

Rooney’s energy made a brief difference, as he twice hit efforts that were well saved by goalkeeper Saul Deeney. But at the other end there was a handball by Gerrard Pique that went unpunished and a bobbling shot from Gilroy that had Tim Howard in something of a sweat.

Only in the final, desperate seconds when Richard Jones saw a long-range volley well saved did the visitors look like winning it. And that would have been extremely harsh on Burton who thoroughly deserved their moment of glory.

As for United, they will hope their case of Brewer’s droop will be cured very quickly. Because another limp performance like this would mean the end of their season.

BURTON ALBION: Deeney, Sedgemore, Tinson, Austin, Corbett, Chris Hall (Todd 90), Stride, Ducros, Gilroy, Shaw, Harrad (Anderson 80).

MAN UTD: Howard, Brown, Pique, Silvestre, Bardsley, O’Shea, Jones, Richardson, Solskjaer (Ronaldo 59), Saha, Rossi (Rooney 58).

Ref: H Webb (S Yorkshire).