A first Accrington Stanley goal for a new look Josh Windass was enough to end Burton Albion’s 13 match unbeaten streak and keep all three points in East Lancashire.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s side arrived at the Store First Stadium three points clear at the summit of League Two but were sunk by Stanley’s number eight and his sharp new haircut.

Windass had waited nearly two seasons to register a Football League goal but proved to be the match winner mid way through the first half.

It was a cagey start to proceedings as the sides weighed each other up, with Stanley deploying three centre backs and Piero Mingoia and Kal Naismith as wing backs.

The league leaders had the opening sights of the home goal, with Damian McCrory lashing well wide and a header from former Red Phil Edwards punched away from danger by Scott Davies.

Largely though, John Coleman’s men had their visitors frustrated as they pressed the ball from the off and looked to provoke errors.

Windass tried his luck with an audacious chip 19 minutes in and saw it fly wide but didn’t have to wait long to finally open his account in the red shirt.

The opener came when Terry Gornell knocked down a ball out of defence into the path of Windass who drilled it venomously low into the right corner of the net, leaving Jon McLaughlin in the Burton goal with no chance whatsoever.

The goal rocked the Brewers and Stanley were now in the ascendency with Naismith superbly controlling a defence splitting pass from Anthony Barry before firing an effort just over the bar as they looked to double their lead.

Moments later Windass forced McLaughlin into evasive action with a power packed from kick from fully 30 yards that the keeper had to turn over the bar.

Late Burton chances to level before the break came to nothing, with McGurk and Stuart Beavon unable to hit the target with late efforts

The visitors began the second period with renewed purpose but weren’t able to craft a clear opening, with Naismith instead fizzing in a low cross from the Stanley left that McLaughlin could only push out and was cleared.

Stanley’s defending was energetic and resolute with Gornell and Windass leading from the front, leaving the visitors with little time on the ball.

For large parts the second half was very uneventful, with Darrag h Lenihan’s wild lash high and wide of the home goal representative of the action in the final third.

Coleman was forced into a reshuffle as the last ten minutes loomed as a trip from Robbie Weir caused Gornell to pick up an injury. His replacement was Matt Crooks, re-signed on a permanent transfer just hours before kick off after he left Huddersfield Town at the end of January.

Edwards had a late opening for Albion with a header from a deep McGurk free kick that flew over the top before Atkinson threw himself at a strike from John Mousinho to send it spiralling over and into the crowd for a corner kick.

Four minutes of added time brought an inevitable charge forward of visiting defenders but the Reds held firm to take a deserved three points and send Hasselbaink’s men home empty handed.