HUDDERSFIELD and Bournemouth couldn't beat them, and Colchester might yet become the third major scalp of Accrington Stanley's memorable FA Cup run.
But Burton Albion eventually made sure the cup heroics weren't repeated in the FA Trophy at Eton Park on Saturday.
Stanley showed a glimpse of their indomitable spirit to drag themselves off the floor and draw level with 10 men after being given a pasting by Nigel Clough's team.
However, hopes of a third round replay were shattered when midfielder Jon Howard pounced on a rare mistake by goalkeeper Jamie Speare and Aaron Webster scored from the penalty spot in the last six minutes.
Ultimately, all Stanley had to show was Steve Halford's red card, bookings for Rory Prendergast, Steve Flitcroft, Paul Cook, Paul Mullin and Steve Hollis and a potentially untimely blow to their confidence.
The home team squandered a hatful of chances in both halves and it was ironic that the visitors should eventually have to hand victory to them on a plate.
Cruellest of all was the fact that it should be Speare, of all people, who made the costliest mistake.
The Stanley keeper had kept the score down almost single-handedly at times, but in the 84th minute he allowed the ball to slip through his hands as he routinely jumped to gather a cross from Andy Ducros, leaving Howard to tap the ball into the empty net.
And in the final minute, Stanley substitute Dean Calcutt's first contact was with the ankles of Ducros, resulting in the penalty that was emphatically put away by Webster.
The pattern of the game was established in the first minute when Speare had to come to the rescue of his defence by tipping a Robbie Talbot shot round a post after Stanley had struggled to deal with a Webster free kick.
Lutel James and Paul Mullin prowled dangerously for the visitors, but the supply line was often cut short by a dominant Burton midfield, which in turn provided the service for the pace and movement of Dale Anderson and Talbot to run a languid Stanley defence ragged.
The goal Burton had threatened arrived in the 22nd minute when Sam McMahon lofted a pass to the edge of the area, where Anderson was too quick for Robbie Williams, and put enough height and direction on his left-foot lob to beat the advancing Speare.
Burton squandered chance after chance, with Talbot the biggest culprit, until the 33rd minute when Webster out-jumped their defence to power home a six-yard header from a Ducros corner.
Stanley should have been sunk without trace, but out of the blue they were thrown a lifeline in the 48th minute when Ged Brannan tapped a free kick square for full back Paul Howarth to continue his rich vein of scoring form with powerful 20-yard shot.
Burton's response was another burst of fierce pressure that resulted in Halford, the last defender, being shown the red card for yanking back Anderson as he burst onto a McMahon pass in the 58th minute.
But Burton wasted more chances to finish off Stanley and were made to pay dearly when the visitors bravely pulled level in the 70th minute.
Clough's men had chances to clear the ball after initially dealing with a cross from James, but it eventually fell for Mullin to stab home a shot from eight yards.
Burton: Duke, Henshaw, Wassall, Stride, Webster, Corbett (Dudley 80), McMahon (Clough 85), Howard, Ducros, Anderson, Talbot. Not used: Colkin, Williams, Hoyle.
Stanley: Speare, Howarth, Hollis (Calcutt 88), Williams (Smith 41), Halford, Brannan, Flitcroft, Cook (Cavanagh 76), James, Mullin, Prendergast. Not used: Kennedy, Durnin.
Referee: M P Russell (St Albans)
Attendance: 1,402
BURTON ALBION 4
ACCRINGTON STANLEY 2
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