Town out of FA Cup
Fleetwood Town’s FA Cup hopes will have to wait another year after Billy Kee struck once again to send Burton Albion into the third round.
Kee, who scored the last-gasp equaliser at Highbury under a fortnight ago, volleyed past Scott Davies in the first half with it being enough to send Gary Rowett’s side through.
Chances were few and far between for the Cod Army, although questions will be raised as to why substitute Antoni Sarcevic was booked for diving when he went down under a challenge in the Brewers’ penalty area in the second half.
Graham Alexander made three changes to the side that beat Rochdale at Spotland on Saturday, with Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, Stewart Murdoch and Junior Brown all coming in for Nathan Pond, Sarcevic and the cup-tied Nathan Tyson.
And it was Town who made the first attempt, with Schumacher smashing a strike from outside the box low and wide of the left post inside two minutes, after Brown had cut in from the right.
Chris Hussey tried his luck for the Brewers at the other end, cutting onto his left foot from the edge of the area on the right before slicing his strike low and wide of the near post.
However, it was Burton who did take the lead on 25 minutes, when Alex Macdonald crossed from the right, with Hussey heading it back across goal before Kee chested down and volleyed past Davies into the bottom-right corner.
Rene Howe had a chance to double the Brewers’ lead moments later, after the ball bounced off the strikers’ head from MacDonald’s cross, with the outside of his foot, before Howe nodded the second header wide of the right post.
Town struggled to create anything in the first half - the closest they came was Brown’s speculative chest and volley from the right which Burton goalkeeper Dean Lyness held well.
Alexander was forced to change things around by bringing on Sarcevic for Jeff Hughes, who had collided with Brewers captain Lee Bell, after the half-hour mark.
And there was one more chance before half-time, which fell to the Brewers, when Rene Howe went one-on-one with Ryan Cresswell on the left of the area before striking a weak low effort at Davies.
Half-Time: Burton 1-0 Fleetwood
Town made a better start to the second half, with Charlie Taylor driving into the hands of Lyness from long range in the opening minutes.
Gareth Evans then went even closer, striking low at the feet of Lyness from the right side of the box after Murdoch had miscued his attempt from Sarcevic’s lay-off.
At the other end, MacDonald forced Davies to remain alert with a low free-kick from the right which the Town keeper held onto well.
However, Sarcevic then went down under a mistimed challenge in the Burton penalty box, but the referee saw it as a dive and decided to book the Fleetwood midfielder.
It left the Cod Army with a feeling of frustration, and they needed Davies to tip away a header from Hussey at the far post after Kee’s cross from the left, minutes before Kee smashed an effort over the cross bar from close range.
David Ball, on his return from injury, replaced Murdoch as Town looked for an equaliser with 20 minutes to go.
However, the closest either side came was Kee’s fierce free-kick from 30 yards which Davies parried away diving low to his right, as Burton progressed to face AFC Bournemouth in the next round.
Full-Time: Burton 1-0 Fleetwood
FLEETWOOD TEAM: Davies; McLaughlin, Roberts (c), Cresswell, Taylor; Brown (Crowther, 76), Schumacher, Murdoch (Ball), Hughes (Sarcevic, 33), Evans; Dieseruvwe
SUBS: Eve, Jordan, Hogan, Crowther, Sarcevic, Ball, Parkin
BOOKED: Sarcevic
BURTON TEAM: Lyness; Edwards, Sharps, Cansdell-Sherriff, McCrory; Hussey, Weir, Bell (c) (Diamond, 90), MacDonald (Palmer, 84); Kee, Howe
SUBS: Siegrist, Diamond, Phillips, Knowles, Holness, Palmer, Symes
ATTENDANCE: 1,777