Football round-up: Otoo and Tekasala fire Burnham to summit while rivals circle

Photo credit: Paul Butler/Burnham FC

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Burnham 2, North Leigh 0

Burnham moved back to the top of the Combined Counties Premier Division North table this afternoon (Saturday) after a routine 2-0 home win over North Leigh.

The Blues headed the table for 12 weeks earlier in the season before a series of indifferent results and performances saw them fall as low as sixth.

But Mo and Omz Bakali’s Blues are now unbeaten in nine league matches and they’ve won their last three, having got the better of Reading City, Ardley United and North Leigh.

A goal in each half from Zakari Otoo in the 15th minute, and Tyrique Tekasala in the 70th, were more than enough to get the job done and lift the Blues back above Broadfields United and onto the summit.

Speaking to Burnham director Paul Butler after the final whistle, Zakari said: “It’s been a long wait for my first goal but hopefully I can get more before the end of the season.

“It was a corner from Soul (Hale). It came into the box, and I jumped over and headed it into the net.

“We just need to take it game by game at the moment. Some teams have games in hand on us. We have Wallingford on Wednesday, and our focus is on that and hopefully we can get three points.”

Tyrique added: “My goal came from us playing out. They’d been sitting back the whole game, but as soon as they started to press, we played out. The ball went out wide to Jordan Akala who played in a great ball, the defenders couldn’t deal with it, and it dropped in the middle of the box, and I just had to put my body on the line to get through and score.

“It was a great team performance. First half, we could have had a bit more quality going forward. Second half we could have had a couple more goals but at the end of the day we won, and that’s all that matters.”

The result moves them a point clear of Broadfields, with a game in hand, however, the biggest challenges to their title and promotion aspirations may come from sides further down the table.

Ashford Town (Mddx) hammered Wallingford and Crowmarsh 5-1 this afternoon to move up to third – three points behind the Blues with a game in hand. Fifth placed Ardley United – whose game at home to Milton United this afternoon was postponed – are six points behind Burnham with three games in hand.

Burnham are back in action again on Wednesday when they host fourth placed Wallingford & Crowmarsh. A fourth straight league win would see them stretch their lead at the top of the table.

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Windsor & Eton 5, Holyport 2

Another potential title challenger is seventh placed Windsor & Eton who comfortably got the better of local rivals Holyport at Stag Meadow on Saturday.

The Royalists had to come from behind to get the job done after Lucas Surpanu gave lowly Port a surprise lead in the 22nd minute. Surpanu netted again in the 94th minute, but by that stage, Windsor & Eton had five goals to their name and the game was well won.

Tahir Carmichael smashed the home side level on the half-hour mark, before Jabir Laraba scored in the 40th minute to make it 2-1. The second half was only nine minutes old when Laraba helped himself to a second, before Nick Thumwood and Leo Decabo scored within minutes of each other shortly after the hour mark to complete a commanding victory.

It was the Royalists first competitive match since their 2-2 draw at Harefield United on December 20, and if this performance was anything to go by, Rob Webb’s side were itching to get back to action.

A crowd of 326 people saw the local derby with Windsor & Eton doing what they needed to do to keep themselves in the promotion picture. Port remain in big trouble at the bottom of the table, the 5-2 defeat leaving them five points from safety.

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Hertford 2, Marlow 0

A third straight league defeat has left Marlow languishing in the bottom half of the Southern League Central Division.

Today’s 2-0 away defeat to high flying Hertford Town won’t have come as much of a surprise to supporters, who’ve seen the Blues slip into another frustrating rut of form.

Having looked like they were getting their act together in the lead up to December, the Blues have been plunged into inconsistency once again and you sense manager Mark Bartley doesn’t really know what he’s going to get from his team right now.

Since beating Rayners Lane on November 18, the Blues have lost six of their next nine matches in the league and have slipped to 16th, just 10 points above the drop zone. Any hopes of a late push for the play-offs appear to be beyond them with the side now 16 points adrift of the top 5.

This game at third placed Hertford Town was effectively settled in the first 20 minutes.

Ben Herd fired the hosts in front from the penalty spot in the seventh minute before Billy Mardell-Smith made it 2-0 in the 17th minute. Marlow had some good moments, with Epsom hitting the post with a shot in the second half and Maudner firing straight at the Hertford keeper shortly after the hour mark when he might have done better. 

The Blues were much improved after the interval but left their shooting boots at home today. 

Speaking to club media afterwards, Bartley said: “I think you can see why they’re at the top end of the league, third or second, something like that. First half, I thought they were the better side to be honest. The two goals that we gave them were cheap, I think we could have done better with that, and I think that’s the frustration today.

“Second half, I thought we were by far the better side. We created a lot of openings, but as a response to our last performance, I thought we were a hell of a lot better. When you’ve been as dominant as we have been in the second half, you must score. We should have definitely got ourselves back in the game. It’s a little bittersweet, but it is what it is, and we have to move on.

“We did the hard yards in the second half. We worked hard and won the ball back but then we haven’t been ruthless enough.”

Marlow will hope for better when they host Flackwell Heath in Tuesday’s rearranged clash at Oak Tree Road.

“Local derbies, I enjoy those kinds of games,” added Bartley. “They’re full bloodied and I enjoy the nature of them.

“We need a performance more like the second half today and not like the Beaconsfield game. The challenge for us is to perform like we have done in the second half today but convert the chances. I’m looking forward to the game massively and hopefully it will be a positive night for us.”

Flackwell’s home game with Biggleswade Town this afternoon was postponed due to a frozen pitch. Having initially passed the Wilks Park surface as playable the referee then called the game off before it got underway.