WANDERERS suffered Brewers droop once again as their unbeaten run came to a brutal end at the Pirelli Stadium.

Ian Evatt’s side capitulated in a crazy seven-minute spell to concede three goals and continue a run of six games without ever managing to beat Burton.

Sub Dion Charles did grab a consolation in the dying stages to give 1,500 travelling fans something to cheer – and surely give himself a route back into the starting line-up on Saturday against Wimbledon.

And, depressingly, at the heart of Burton’s purple patch was a dyed-in-the-wool Boltonian – Tom Hamer. The former Oldham Athletic defender whose long throw caused perpetual panic for Ricardo Santos and the Whites’ back three.

Evatt went to the Pirelli Stadium early in the morning to examine the pitch, which helped shape a line-up with four changes from the team which won at Oxford on Saturday.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Kieran Sadlier made their full debut, with Will Aimson and Kyle Dempsey also coming into the team for Kieran Lee, Gethin Jones, Dion Charles and Aaron Morley.

All the pre-match attention had been on the playing surface, which was unquestionably bare having played host to two games over the weekend.

But during the seven-minute barrage which saw Burton amass an unassailable 3-0 lead, the run of the ball on a sandy surface really didn’t matter.

The soft underbelly which has plagued Wanderers on away nights like this was on display once again. Evatt had hoped the gritty point earned in the storms at Morecambe had helped his team past that weakness… but evidently it has not.

There had been a few warning signs early on as Bolton struggled to compile any meaningful possession, spending much of their time scrapping on the edge of their own penalty box.

And 11 minutes in their defences gave way. Hamer’s long throw was flicked on by Conor Shaughnessy and with the Bolton defence watching the flight of the ball, Joe Powell did not wait around to tuck it into the net at the far post.

A similar theme would develop in a manic spell where Wanderers seemed incapable of winning either first or second contact of the ball from any sort of set piece.

Brewers skipper John Brayford made it two, crashing a header at the far post via the crossbar. And just four minutes later he was wheeling away in celebration once again when the Whites could not clear a corner and Sam Hughes hooked a cross which was blundered in at close range.

Wanderers’ vocal support was stunned into complete silence. This wasn’t in the script.

At 3-0 there should have been no logical way back into the game but had it not been for the excellence of Ben Garratt, Bolton would have pulled back at least two before the break.

The Burton keeper denied Amadou Bakayoko from close range after he had been threaded through by Sadlier. Scrambling defenders on the line then prevented Bodvarsson from turning in the rebound.

Dempsey sent a dipping shot over the bar and Garratt made a full-length save to push Sadlier’s free kick around the post as Bolton finally started to wake up.

But there was a sense that unless they managed to score before the break the gap would be insurmountable and the chanced dried up at just the wrong moment.

Play in the second half was stopped for several minutes as medical staff attended to a member of the crowd.

Bolton coped impressively well and started to push hard for a way back into the game.

Sadlier dipped another free kick just wide, Bodvarsson had a shot blocked and Bakayoko should have done better after being played in over the top, steering a shot well wide over the advancing keeper.

It simply hadn’t been Bakayoko’s night and there was a look of acceptance on his face as he jogged back towards the bench to be replaced by Charles for the final 20 minutes.

Wanderers may take something from the fact they created better chances than their hosts for a good hour of the game but just as in the reverse fixture at the UniBol, their failure to take them meant Burton’s grip on the lead was never really tested.

Dapo Afolayan came on for Sadlier – who had been a rare bright spark – and curled in one fine cross Santos, who could only head directly into the hands of Garratt once again.

Frustration boiled over in the technical area too after Burton boss Jimmy Flloyd Hasselbaink renewed Premier League playing rivalries with Evatt, coming face to face.

Charles did grab one back deep into stoppage time, seizing on Bodvarsson’s flick to loop a shot over Garratt, finally proving that he could be beaten.

But in the end Wanderers were left with nobody to blame but themselves for allowing a mad seven-minute spell which has cost them some priceless points.