Struggling Blues without a win in eight matches
Burnham FC have stretched their winless run in the Combined Counties Premier Division North to eight games after losing 2-1 to Spelthorne Sports on Saturday.
The sides had been evenly matched at half-time without a goal to separate them. However, Jamie Fuller was keen and able to net twice after the break, the first arriving in the 72nd minute and the second scored from the penalty spot five minutes later.
James Keeley grabbed the Blues’ solitary goal, a mere consolation according to boss Ash James, in the 91st minute. The defeat slips Burnham into 15th place, a far cry from where they aimed to be at the start of the season.
“It’s been quite a tough time for us lately, and we’re trying to get through this period,” said James. “After this weekend [at Southall), and our FA Vase match against Berks County, we’ve got plenty of games to play against sides below us in the table.
“I think they will make or break our season. At the moment, our squad is very stretched – we had 11 players out on Saturday and had to emergency sign three players to be involved.
“We’ve just got to get through this stage and then hopefully we can bounce back with some good players returning from injuries, suspensions etc. It’s not time to panic just yet. The players are in good spirits and so are the ones joining the club.”
On the Blues’ result against Spelthorne Sports, James added: “We had all the play in the first half without penetrating them too much.
“In the second half, we knew it could go either way and they happened to score a goal which no goalkeeper would’ve saved.
“Then, an individual error led to a penalty so we found ourselves 2-0 down. It took us until the last 10 minutes to think ‘right let’s start putting a bit more effort in’, and that’s when we pulled a goal back.
“But it was too late. We didn’t do enough to get anything from the game, so I can accept the loss.”