Burton Albion were held to a 1-1 draw away to Blackpool at Bloomfield Road after a fantastic Luke Garbutt strike ruled out a Hayden Carter first half header.

Neil Critchley's men could have moved within one point off of the play-offs with a win, however a stubborn Burton side denied them the chance to do so. 

Jimmy Floyd Haslebaink gained another big point in the context of their survival revival, and they look the team to beat at the moment.

  • Story of the game

First Half

The Brewers started the game very brightly, in-form Kane Hemmings smacked the post inside the first minute, nearly adding to his ever growing tally of goals for the season.

However inside 14 minutes there was some worrying scenes for Haselbaink and Burton as Danny Rowe was forced off with an injury, Joe Powell came on to replace him in midfield. 

The away side were in total control of the game, coming so close from the ever dangerous Tom Hamer long throw-in, Hayden Carter missed a huge chance to put them 1-0 up. The on-loan Blackburn Rovers defender couldn't direct his header on target.

Just a few minutes later, Carter made no mistake this time and put the Brewers 1-0 up. The 21-year-old got on the end of a deep ball at the back post to guide the visitors into the lead.

It was certainly a busy half for Tangerines goalkeeper Chris Maxwell and his defence, Hamer this time came close and another header was attacked towards the goal.

With Burton's eight shots to Blackpool's one in the first half, it was clear where they intent was lying by halftime. 

Second Half

The visitors came into the second half just how they ended the first half, on top of their game. 

Albion caused trouble from set plays most undeniably with corner balls. With their physical presence and ruthless aggression, it was hard for the home side to defend it. 

Just when it looked like it wasn't going to fall for them, Blackpool worked their way into the game slightly and against the run of play, they were level. Luke Garbutt scored with a fine strike into the bottom corner to even the scoreline. The former Everton man would certainly be happy with the strike. 

The game suddenly came alive, it was end to end stuff and now it looked like The Seasiders were most likely to score again, with Ben Garratt now the busiest of the two 'keepers.

It became very scrappy towards the final stages, but Blackpool had came stronger as the second half played out. 

Burton would have had their hearts in their mouths as the game edged into injury time, fortunately the flag was up anyway but Garratt denied Jerry Yates from close range with an unbelievable stop

However a gritty affair ended 1-1 in the end, and in the end it was a game of two halves. The draw was the fairest result in the end.

  • Takeaways from the match

Hayden Carter proving his importance

After Carter scored his second goal for Burton, it was yet another crucial one, much like his opener against Peterborough United 10 days ago. 

The 21-year-old has settled in to the Brewers side perfectly. 

Haselbaink will be doing everything he can to get the youngster to sign permanently at the end of the season, and it would be ever so good if the Brewers can do so. 

Haslebaink train continues on

Ultimately, it might not have been the result that the Brewers would have wanted, however Bloomfield Road is hard to go for any side in the league, and they're now on an unbeaten run of eight games. 

Burton still look the side to beat though. Their six wins on the bounce came to an end but a hard earned point up north will certainly go a long way come the end of the season. 

  • MOTM - Hayden Carter

There weren't many stand-out players on the night, however getting a big goal to open the scoring and defending well for the majority of the night, the award goes to the young defender.