Burnham turn ‘em over

Burnham 2-1 Willenhall Town

By Martyn Simpson

Willenhall’s maiden visit to The Gore was a forgettable experience, as two soft goals saw them come away empty handed, having suffered their first defeat of the season.

The hosts’ first chance came on 19 minutes, Adam Logie’s long throw caused havoc in the box, and the Reds had Martin Myers to thank for scrambling the ball off the line. However, the warning wasn’t heeded, as just six minutes later another Logie throw in created panic, and Matt Miller forced the ball goalwards, with strike partner Yash Romeo claiming he got the final touch.

Having found Willenhall’s weakness, the lead was doubled soon after. Another long throw was only half cleared, the ball was sent back into the mix and this time Miller didn’t need assistance in turning the ball home.

From then on, the visitors dominated, with Phil Rowe and Lee Vaughan having chances to reduce the deficit. Home keeper Jamie Jackson appeared to stamp on Reds skipper John Newall, but the referee was unsighted. However, he was on hand when Gary Hay was chopped down in the area, but with no penalty awarded Willenhall seemed destined to go home empty handed.

Perhaps to atone for this, Willenhall did receive a hotly disputed late penalty which sub John Quilt converted, but it was a case of too little, too late. The Reds are in FA Cup action this weekend, playing host to Malvern Town.

Reds line up: De Bont; Platt, Newall, Khela; Campbell, Holland (Sheppard 45), Myers, Rowe (Quilt 45), Vaughan (Perrow 58); Danks, Hay. Subs not used: Swann, Rochester

Burnham line up: Jackson; Brown, Smith, Horsted, Brett; Williams, Saunders, Logie, Jones; Miller, Romeo. Subs: Deaner, Leacock, Lennon, Maye, O’Connor