Contrasting fortunes for Burnham and Holyport
Combined Counties round-up: Blues up to eighth after successive league victories
There were contrasting fortunes for two of our Combined Counties Premier Division North sides as Burnhan and Holyport returned to league action following Saturday's postponements.
Matches at all levels of the football pyramid, from the Premier League down to grassroots and junior level football, were called off over the weekend as a mark of respect to the late Queen Elizabeth II, but play resumed this week with Burnham travelling to Wokingham & Emmbrook.
The Blues results have been a little up and down this season, but they headed to the Emmbrook Sports and Social Club with some form behind them, having stuffed league leaders London Lions 7-0 at the 1878 Stadium on September 3.
And Ben Murray's side made it backto-back league wins thanks to goals from Aitor Andon Pasantes, Ollie Bishop and Rhys Harper.
Victory lifts the side to eighth in the table ahead of Saturday's home game against 13th placed Broadfields United, another game they'll be targeting for three points.
Reflecting on Tuesday's performance, and their season so far, Murray said: “With the scores we've been getting it looks a bit up and down,” said
Murray. “But we've now had a bit of time on the training field and we're starting to show some consistent form. We did our homework on the London Lions, and I think some teams try to overplay when they come and play us on the 3G. We're used to our pitch, and we stuck to our plan for 90 minutes. We contained them well and we picked them off at will in the second half.
“We've matured up quite a bit, even though we have a young squad. Last night (against Wokingham) we dug in, when 2-0 up, conceded a penalty which we had to get on with. We defended very maturely during that period and then got the third goal which I feel our play deserved.
“It's about keeping this momentum now, so we'll see how we go from here. But this league is very difficult because there are so many contrasting styles of play. I'm always confident that we'll score lots of goals and we're working hard to keep it quite tight at the back.”
Holyport suffered their first league defeat of the season, going down 2-1 at Reading City in a tight encounter.
The Cityzens tapped home their opener in the 11th minute but Dan Wilson's header on the stroke of halftime drew Port level. City retook the lead with five minutes to play before Port missed a great chance to take something from the game when they missed a late penalty after Johnson was brought down.
Speaking to Jay Harvey afterwards, boss Sam Lock said: “There was a bit of naivety. We've conceded in the 85th minute from a header on our goal line and then we've missed a penalty.
“Yes, we had some players unavailable but people need to step up and take these chances.”
Holyport will look to bounce back at home to fourth placed Egham Town on Saturday.