Credit to Burton but Fleetwood didn't deserve that scoreline says boss Simon Grayson

Simon Grayson reflected on a harsh lesson for his Fleetwood Town players, who were sunk 5-2 at in-form Burton Albion on Tuesday.
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Burton 5 Fleetwood 2: Town punished in Pirelli goal-fest

This was a third defeat in four outings for Fleetwood although the scoreline at the Pirelli Stadium rather flattered the home side.

For large parts the visitors more than competed and were right in contention after Sam Finley struck to reduce the deficit to 2-1 just after half-time.

Joe Powell curls home a free-kick for Burton's second goal against FleetwoodJoe Powell curls home a free-kick for Burton's second goal against Fleetwood
Joe Powell curls home a free-kick for Burton's second goal against Fleetwood
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However, it wasn't to be on the night as the Brewers impressed again under Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink. to move within three points of 15th-placed Town.

Grayson said: “You have to give Burton credit - they were very ruthless and they scored some very good goals.

“We started on the front foot and made quite a decent start, I thought, but Burton are very direct and you’ve got to match their energy with the second balls. They’ve been on a great run, though.

“I don’t think we did a great deal wrong in the first half, then in the second half we changed the shape to a 3-4-1-2 to hopefully ask a few more questions, and I thought we played really well after that.

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“At half-time I asked the players not to bury their heads in the sand and feel sorry for themselves, and we got ourselves a really good goal to make it 2-1.

“We were dominant after that, but you do have to make sure you keep the back door shut in those situations.

“We then went 3-1 down and that knocks the wind out of your sails.

“We needed to manage the game better at that point, but they then hit us with another decent goal and we end up chasing it.

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“It then goes 4-1, 4-2 and then 5-2, and it looks like we’ve been on the wrong end of a doing, but that certainly wasn’t the case. That just wasn’t what the team deserved.”

It had been an encouraging start to the first half for Town, with Callum Camps going close, but by the interval Grayson’s men found themselves two behind and Camps had gone off with a painful-looking shoulder injury.

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