Gary Bowyer praised his Burton side after a big 5-0 win over Boreham Wood in the FA Cup.
The Sky Bet League One side cruised past the Enterprise National League promotion contenders, as Kyran Lofthouse, a Charlie O’Connell own goal, Fabio Tavares, Dylan Williams and JJ McKiernan secured victory for the Brewers.
Burton’s win saw them reach the FA Cup fourth round for the first time since 2011, and Bowyer was delighted with progress.
He said: “I just got told that pre-game, the bookies had Boreham Wood as favourites. I think we’ve got 13 first-team players missing and we knew it was going to be a challenge.
“I’ve got a 17-year-old in midfield and a 20-year-old in goal, but they were magnificent and we’ve scored five wonderful goals with a really professional performance.
“Scoring five and keeping a clean sheet gives everybody a boost of confidence. We’ve got to hopefully get a couple back next week and focus on the league now.”
Luke Garrard felt his Boreham Wood side received a lesson about what is required to compete at higher levels.
“I felt there was a belief and confidence in the group to implement the gameplan,” Garrard said.
“I felt we start the first half OK, but they go and score a goal. We spoke about the traffic with Kyran Lofthouse down the right-hand side, but he gets the goal. We go and concede the second through a lack of communication. For me, the third is the killer.
“Do I feel it was a 5-0? No. But that shows you the levels. We’ve spoken about wanting to play higher and me wanting to manage higher, and I think we all got taught a lesson today and understanding of what it takes to be at that level.”
