I think that’s an opportunity missed – Tom Hounsell rues Burton’s missed chances

Burton’s interim head coach Tom Hounsell was disappointed not to see his side grab a first win of the season as they were held to a goalless draw by Crawley.

Tomas Kalinauskas was twice denied by Reds goalkeeper Connal Trueman along with Ben Whitfield in a strong first-half showing but Albion struggled more in the second half.

“I think that’s an opportunity missed. I was quite disappointed with how the game ended to be honest,” Hounsell said.

“We showed some real dominance in the first half. We had good control in the opposition half with some good chances and we counter-pressed well but it just didn’t turn into the goal that we needed to be able to build a win.

“Second half we dug deep,” Hounsell added. “They changed shape and it took us a while to adapt and then we seemed to get back on top again. I’m happy with the clean sheet and happy that we dug in but it’s definitely a chance not taken to grab that goal and the win.

“We created enough chances but just couldn’t convert one into a goal. We just need to carry the momentum of the clean sheets into Saturday now and build to go and grab a goal.”

Crawley boss Rob Elliot felt his side should have won the game in the second half following an improved showing after the break.

“The first half was cagey but I thought we started well and then they grew into it and our quality let us down in terms of some of our passes and in the final third we were just lacking a little bit,” Elliot said.

“That is a product of us trying to get to where we want to get to.

“But the endeavour, work-rate and mentality of the team was excellent to get us through to half-time where we could sort a few things, and I thought in the second half there was only one team going to win it towards the end.”

Substitute Panutche Camara almost snatched victory for Crawley with a bright showing after coming on as a substitute and was twice denied by Burton goalkeeper Max Crocombe and Elliot feels the summer signing has plenty more to offer.

“Pan would have been slightly disappointed not to start the game, but Gav (Holohan) was excellent on Saturday.

“He showed what an unbelievable character he is and he came on ready to influence the game.

“Due to his injuries, he has struggled to do successive games. He really showed his quality and, yes, he’ll be disappointed in front of goal, but he is going to be a really important player for us.”