Head coach Martin Paterson praised Burton’s character after a 2-1 victory against Stevenage moved his team three points clear of the League One relegation zone.

Mark Helm and Tom Hamer scored either side of the break while Stevenage were forced to play with 10 men for 30 minutes after Dan Butler lashed out at Helm.

Kane Hemmings scored with two minutes left but ultimately the Brewers managed to put an end to their 10-game winless run and gain a slight advantage over 21st-placed Port Vale with a valiant victory.

Paterson said: “I am so pleased with the group because of the effort. It took humility and hard work and when the chances came from the back of that framework the freedom came.

“We have got character and we have been pushing really hard for a performance like that. We have been through a bit of a dip and we always knew we had the character to get out of that.

“There have been so many opportunities and heartbreaks along this road in terms of games but most importantly now we have put a small marker down is the players recover and live right.

“As a group we have been working on a lot of things to promote things in terms of confidence and awareness of taking a little bit more time.

“But that is what happens when you are in there and you are fighting every week for status. I don’t necessarily care about the name on the back, it is about working as a collective and we have to be unified now.”

As much as it was a galvanising victory for Burton, for Stevenage they have now seen any chance of promotion almost slip from their grasp as they sit six points away from the play-off spots with two games left.

Manager Steve Evans said: “It has been an incredible effort and we have come up a bit short over the season but we will try to go to Oxford and be competitive.

“I think a lot of people would take fifth from bottom, where the likes of Burton are, but it has been an incredible amount of hard work.

“I can only applaud them, I can’t do that today because we lacked a lot. But I am not a manager to throw them in the river because there has been some really bright days.

“We are asking a lot of the players to play at the highest they have played and there hasn’t been a game since I have been here that has not had something resting on it, including today.

“We have gone to the well but found it a bit dry over the past few weeks.”

Tom Hamer scored the vital goal in a 2-1 victory against 10-man Stevenage to move Burton three points clear of relegation.

Mark Helm netted late in the first half and after Dan Butler was sent off, Hamer added a buffer to the score which proved crucial when Kane Hemmings struck two minutes from time.

The victory saw Albion open a three-point gap between them and 21st-placed Port Vale while Stevenage fell six points behind Oxford heading into the final two games.

Boro dominated the first-half possession but Helm scored with the game’s first shot on target when he diverted Sam Hughes’ flick-on past Craig MacGillivray just before half-time.

Helm was to cause more damage to Stevenage after the break when a tussle with Butler ended with the Boro defender lashing out and seeing red and Hamer made sure Burton took advantage of the extra man by lashing in Hughes’ pass.

Stevenage were much improved in the second half but couldn’t find a way past Max Crocombe until the 88th minute when Hemmings converted Jamie Reid’s cross.

Manchester United academy product Mark Helm was singled out for praise after Burton’s much-needed 2-1 win over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

Helm’s fifth goal of the season added to Ciaran Gilligan’s opener to help the Brewers move four points clear of the League One relegation zone.

And Albion manager Martin Paterson was thrilled with attacking midfielder Helm’s display.

“Mark is a really talented player and I’m really pleased with him because he had a really good game,” Paterson said.

“The most important thing is that even though he’s a flair player, he works very hard for the team.

“There were lots of good, positive actions from him in that final third but there’s so much more there.

“He works really well down that left side and shows just how intelligent he is by sneaking into great little pockets where we can find him during transitions.

“He has got really good qualities but my test for him now is to go and get more goals.”

Gilligan put the visitors ahead two minutes before half-time with his first senior goal.

Helm added a second when his low shot beat Jed Ward in the 57th minute.

Rovers skipper Antony Evans hit back on the hour to set up a tense finale, but Burton held on.

Paterson added: “It was a really well-deserved win and I say that with humility.

“It looked like nearly a complete performance but we shouldn’t have conceded a sloppy goal.

“We were structured and well organised but we always carried a threat going forward.

“It’s a good win but there’s no reason to start getting carried away. I’m programming the players’ minds that we’re trying to catch teams ahead of us.

“From that they come in knowing to climb up the table and that’s why I’m really pleased with this win.”

Rovers manager Matt Taylor had a case of deja vu after he experienced a home defeat against lowly opposition for a second time in a week.

“I feel the same as I’ve felt too often this season,” said Taylor, whose side lost 2-0 to Fleetwood last Tuesday.

“I can’t hide away from the fact that every time we come up against this type of challenge that we fall short and that’s a reflection on myself and the group, so it’s a painful one.

“More physicality is needed and we’re short in that department. When we attack and the ball goes out, 10 seconds later we’re defending our box and that happens every single time.

“Regardless of who I change it happens and I’m looking for different formations and solutions to search but I guarantee it won’t change.

“That’s due to the nature and DNA of the squad which is not to go towards the ball.

“We’ve got to find a way of protecting them but I can’t protect against a goal-kick.”

Port Vale manager Andy Crosby was proud of his 10-man team after they earned an FA Cup first-round replay against fellow League One side Burton with a goalless draw.

Captain Nathan Smith was given a straight red card in the 18th minute after bringing down Mark Helm, but Burton failed to make their one-man advantage count.

Vale actually finished the game with nine men as Jason Lowe was withdrawn through injury and they’d already used their three substitution intervals.

The draw comes on the back of Crosby’s men booking their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, but they’re currently on an eight-match winless run in League One.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of the group, the togetherness of the group,” Crosby said.

“We were the better team with 11 men, we were the better team with 10 men, we were the better team with nine men.

“We controlled possession, we controlled them out of possession, we controlled them with 10 men and we controlled the possession with 10 men.

“And I can’t tell you how together this group is, how much they care, how disappointed they’ve been with the run we’ve been on.

“But to go into that game and start the way we did and have the chances we did.

“And then to suffer the disappointment we did with the referee making the decision, to not feel sorry for ourselves, to keep going.

“They crawl off that pitch in a better place than when the game started.”

In a game not short on chances, Burton finally found the net in the dying moments through Josh Walker, but it was ruled out for offside against substitute Cole Stockton.

Albion boss Dino Maamria felt his team were blatantly denied a place in the second round, rather than missing a golden opportunity to go through.

“We scored a legitimate goal in the last minute of the game – it’s clearly onside,” he said.

“Watch it back. Diagonal ball from Jake Caprice, Ryan Sweeney’s in an onside position – he heads it down. Josh Walker’s in an onside position – he turned and volleyed it in brilliantly.

“But the offside got given on Cole Stockton at the near post with the ball nowhere near him.

“It’s a really, really frustrating decision to give, but in all honesty am I surprised by it?

“You see it when they got the sending off in the first half, every decision after that – the crowd, their bench – they’re on top of the referee, they’re on top of the linesman – he got abused throughout the game.

“I didn’t think they were strong enough to deal with that.

“And flagging that last decision there denied us going through.”

Burton and Bolton had to settle for a point apiece as goals from Mark Helm and Dion Charles cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw at the Pirelli Stadium.

Helm put Burton ahead soon after half-time before Bolton, looking to get back to winning ways after their 4-0 home defeat to Wigan last time out, equalised through Charles just before the hour.

Albion had the clearest opening of the first half when winger Bobby Kamwa took advantage of some poor Bolton defending to run through and round goalkeeper Nathan Baxter only for his effort to hit the post.

Kamwa also fired wide from the edge of the box as Wanderers made a nervy start but the visitors grew into the game and both Randell Williams and Charles forced good saves from Max Crocombe in the Brewers goal.

The second half could not have started any better for Burton with Helm firing home a minute after the break when the Wanderers defence failed to deal with Kamwa’s cross.

However, Bolton were level just before the hour when Charles pounced on indecisive Burton defending on the edge of the box to score.

Crocombe made an outstanding save to deny former Burton striker Victor Adeboyejo as Bolton pushed for all three points but neither side could find a winner in a pulsating encounter.