Burton Albion v Reading
Sky Bet League One
Pirelli Stadium
Pirelli Stadium
Tuesday 28th January 2025
7:45pm
Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours and 20 minutes. We left home just after 4pm and after a couple of stops for fuel and a bit of shopping, and going the wrong way trying to avoid the M6 toll we arrived at the ground just after 7:20pm. We parked on the Ryknild Trading Estate, which is part of the official stadium parking, for £5. From here it was a two-minute walk across the main road to the ground.
Ticket Price: £18
Programme Price: £3
Attendance: 2,358 with 416 Reading fans.
This was my first visit to Burton, a ground I had realised would be fairly easy to get to after our recent trip to Lincoln. As we arrived not long before kick-off, we made a quick trip to the club shop to buy a programme then made our way into the ground. We had tickets in the Russell Roof Tiles Stand which is the away end at the Pirelli Stadium. The Russell Roof Tiles Stand is a single-tiered covered terrace and as it was not sold out it was easy for us to find a comfortable position behind the goal.
To the left of the Russell Roof Tiles Stand is the Carling Stand. This is a single-tiered all-seater stand that is shared between home and away fans. It is the main stand at the Pirelli Stadium and houses the team dug-outs at its front. Opposite the Russell Roof Tiles Stand is the Don Amott Stand a single-tiered covered terrace which houses the most vociferous Burton fans. To the right of the Russell Roof Tiles Stand is the Raygar Stand, another single-tiered covered terrace.
Reading came into the game in a poor run of form having lost the two previous games. The Brewers were struggling at the wrong end of the table but had been on something of a resurgence after appointing Gary Bowyer as manager. Burton took the lead against the run of play in the 10th minute when Rumarn Burrell headed home unmarked from Jack Armer's left-wing cross. The Brewers doubled their lead just before the half-hour mark when former Reading striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson poked home ahead of goalkeeper Joel Pereira after JJ McKiernan had headed Owen Dodgson's free-kick across goal, although the Icelander did appear to have strayed offside.
Into the second-half and Reading really had some work to do if they were to take anything from the game. The Royals came close to scoring just before the hour mark when Chem Campbell headed against the bar from Charlie Savage's right-wing cross. Reading got a goal back in the 69th minute when Michael Craig shot home in off the post from Sam Smith's pull-back. Two minutes later and the Royals were level, Smith heading home what turned out to be his last goal for the club from a yard out, after Harley Dean had headed Savage's right-wing corner across goal. Reading appeared to be in the ascendancy and the more likely winner, however they were hit was a sucker-punch two minutes into stoppage time. The Royals inability to defend crosses was once again highlighted with Burrell tapping in his second of the game from Dodgson left-wing cross to give the lowly Brewers all three points.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere was surprisingly good with the Burton fans in the Don Amott Stand making noise throughout the game, apart from a short time after Reading equalised. The atmosphere in the away end wasn't great in the first half, but improved in the second-half especially after two goals in as many minutes.
Journey Time home: 2 hours 10 minutes. We left the ground as soon as the game finished and were away in the car at 9:40pm. We arrive home at 12:45am after stopping for a little under an hour at McDonald's in Shrewsbury for some dinner.
Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Burton. It was nice to stand on a terrace again even though it was pretty cold and the game was pretty good to watch. However, it was frustrating to see Reading throw away a point after working hard to get back into the game. I really think that if they had pressed on after the equaliser, they would have got the win as Burton were struggling to cope with the pace of the game at times in the second-half.
