Burton boss Gary Bowyer was immensely proud of his side as they came behind to grab a much needed three Sky Bet League One points with a 2-1 victory over Leyton Orient.
A second half fightback inspired by Charlie Webster and Rumarn Burrell turned things around with two goals in four minutes after Albion had suffered a double first-half blow with Dan Agyei’s close range finish for Orient and the substitution of captain Ryan Sweeney following a head injury.
Bowyer said: “It was unbelievable from the boys tonight. It’s not a surprise though because we have spoken about their togetherness and connection before.”
“You lose your captain with an unbelievable selfless act of bravery and fair play the lads stood up and did it for him in the second half.
“He’s gone to hospital now, so I hope he knows that the lads really pulled it out for him tonight.”
Bowyer acknowledged that the first half left Albion with a mountain to climb before praising his goalscorers for their part in a win that pulls the Brewers to within three points of safety and with a game in hand.
He added: “We have got real character in the squad and that showed tonight. First half we were not good enough but second half we played with the intensity and, wow, when we play like that we give ourselves a chance.
“Charlie’s goal is an incredible effort; it’s a tight angle and he does brilliant to put it in from where he was.
“The second goal, you are thinking ‘oh no, we’ve hit both posts’ but Ru is so alive in there and it’s a real striker’s goal. Probably my favourite since he started scoring in January.”
Frustrated Orient boss Richie Wellens reflected on another game where his side had started well but crucially not got a second goal and seen out the game.
He said: “It’s a big problem for us which we’ve had for a couple of years now, where we play really well and should be two or three up and we stop doing the things that have got us joy in games.
“Some of it is madness, 25 minutes in we are cruising and we are wasting time. It’s crazy.”
Wellens criticised his side for a poor second half where his side were loose in possession, adding: “It’s not the way we want to play.
“I would love to say that second half it was a wacky five minutes where Burton have got the two goals but the number of times we turned the ball over in the previous five minutes it was more than a wacky five minutes. We just couldn’t put our foot on the ball and control things and Burton deserved it.
“Tonight is a massive blow for us. It wasn’t a difficult night for us because we were so much the better side in the first half and we should be two or three up but then Burton are fighting for their lives and in the end I think they probably deserved it.”
