Gary Bowyer delighted to see ‘crazy’ Burton boys beat AFC Wimbledon

Gary Bowyer hailed his “crazy” gang of players after Burton beat Sky Bet League One promotion hopefuls AFC Wimbledon 1-0 at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.

The Dons could have been ahead at half-time after being awarded a penalty, but Brad Collins saved Omar Bugiel’s spot-kick to keep the score level.

The visitors capitalised five minutes after half-time when Alex Hartridge headed Charlie Webster’s sublime free-kick delivery into the top-right corner.

Bowyer admitted his players are a “crazy bunch” after they secured a crucial three points.

“They threw everything at us, but we stood up and we were counted,” he said.

“This gang that we have got, they are a crazy bunch, aren’t they, and they keep pushing us, so we are really pleased for them.

“We started ever so well.

“We have come to a team who have won six out of their last seven, and we took the game to them.

“We had Charlie Webster’s chance, the goalkeeper came rushing out, and you expect to score them.

“You had a header, and we had some other good chances in the first half.

“Then we had the penalty going against us, we were overplaying and got caught out, but that’s when you need your goalkeeper to step up and my goodness, he stepped up.

“We actually spoke about him doing something like that, and he has done it, it was a great save and a great reaction from the others.”

The result leaves Burton two points clear of the relegation zone in 20th, while the Dons are one point behind league leaders Cardiff in fifth.

Johnnie Jackson insists he does not view the match as too much of a setback in their bid for promotion to the Championship.

“It was the game that we expected, Burton came here and they made it really difficult,” he added.

“Especially in the first half, when they had the wind, they were able to play in our half with the long throws every time it went out of play.

“The ball came into our box, we had to defend that, we had to defend set-pieces, and we stood up to that.

“I thought if we could ride that out in the first half, we would eventually take over in the second half.

“The problem was that we went behind before that happened.

“Obviously, we were frustrated with the goal, but the response from the team was good.

“We probably did everything but score; it was one of those days, a missed penalty, missed chances, that is obviously on us.
“We did not do enough.

“I don’t see it as a setback, obviously, you want to win, so there are three points that we left out there, but we are close to the top of the league, so we are doing loads of stuff well.”