Cardiff City 0-1 Burton Albion: Brewers spring shock defeat on Bluebirds as price paid for missed chances

Cardiff City missed the chance to go top of League One as bottom side Burton Albion snatched a shock 1-0 victory at Cardiff City Stadium.

Brian Barry-Murphy’s side dominated for long spells, created a host of opportunities, and even had a goal ruled out in the first half - probably unfairly on second viewing. But it was the Brewers who delivered the sucker punch late on through Charlie Webster.

It's the second defeat of Barry-Murphy's tenure at Cardiff but this one will really sting. After 77 percent possession and 20 shots, the zero still loomed large next to their name on the LED scoreboard inside Cardiff City Stadium. The epitome of frustration.

Because the Bluebirds were on the front foot from the very first minute. Perry Ng, Chris Willock and Cian Ashford all caused early problems down the flanks, while Yousef Salech’s aerial presence continually unsettled Burton’s back line.

Salech forced Bradley Collins into an early save, before seeing a close-range strike disallowed for a foul later on in the first half. It looked a dubious call on second glance, with Alex Hartridge having gone to ground rather easily during their duel.

Rubin Colwill’s clever free-kick also carved open a golden chance for Joel Bagan, only for the full-back to blaze over. That really was a golden opportunity for City to seize the initiative, but it went begging.

Burton rarely threatened in open play before the break, but nearly stunned the hosts when George Evans’ header was superbly saved by Nathan Trott, with Ng scrambling the rebound off the line.

Cardiff, meanwhile, spurned another big opening just before half-time when Dylan Lawlor’s inch-perfect ball picked out David Turnbull, who lashed wide.

The pattern continued after the restart. Willock