Blues battle back to beat Tadley in nine-goal thriller
A remarkable second half fight back from Burnham saw them beat Tadley Calleva 5-4 at The Gore having trailed 4-1 at the break.
The Blues were seeking to secure their third straight league win and this they managed in a classic game of two halves, played out on a bitterly cold November afternoon.
Player manager Manny Williams hailed his side's 'character' and powers of recovery after they hauled themselves back into contention and won the match with a late goal from Tayo Ajavi.
Ajayi had scored for the Blues in the first half, however, the momentum was very much with the visitors at the half-time interval after a goal from Jordan Goater and a hat-trick from Brett Denham gave them a seemingly insurmountable lead.
The Blues also missed a penalty in a crazy game of football, but Aaron de Rama scored to give them a foothold in the contest at 4-2, and Dwayne Clark netted twice, in the 63rd and 75th minute, to bring the home side back on terms.
The wind was very much in Burnham's sails at this point and Ajayi was on hand to bag a last-gasp winner for a side whose fortunes appear to be on the up.
A few weeks ago, Williams set the side a target of collecting nine points from their next four matches against teams in and around them in the league and, after victories over Holyport, Virginia Water and now Tadley, they've managed it and risen from second bottom of the standings to 13th. They'll now set their sights on a fourth straight win when they travel to Edgeware Town on Saturday.
Reflecting on his side's win on Twitter, Williams said: “Missed a pen, 4-1 down at half-time. Target was nine points from 12. Great character shown by the boys today.”