BURGHFIELD took their eighth win of the campaign with a convincing away performance at WARGRAVE in the Thames Valley Premier League.
The table before the game showed Burghfield challenging in fourth but with games in hand over those above them, they’d only played 12 league games before this, and Wargrave in 8th place.
The game started with the visitors taking the game to the hosts, the first 15 minutes saw Burghfield pushing Wargrave back, constantly probing to try to find an opening.
A free kick by Jordan Cox from the left corner of the area was well punched away by Ben Lallament and a shot from 20 yards by Will Vallins was straight at Lallament who gathered well.
Vallins again caused the hosts defence problems when his great run and pass to Ollie Brown was cut back from the byline but Wargrave’s Tom Bray managed to get back and block the shot.
Next a searing run down the left by Brown took him clear of the defence and into the area but Lallament got his angles right and saved well with his legs. At this early stage Wargrave were under siege and just looking to weather the storm.
In what looked a tight call from the referee’s assistant on the nearside, Harvey Beales played in Brown again who slotted the ball home but was flagged for offside.
Beales was again the provider with some good hold-up play before playing in Brown once more, this time Brown took it to the byline and cut it back to Owen Smith but his shot was too high.
Just two minutes later Burghfield took a deserved lead. A throw on halfway was picked up by Brown and once again his pace took him clear.
He fizzed a low cross across the six yard box finding Beales waiting at the far post for a simple tap in to make it 1-0.
Wargrave almost caught Burghfield napping two minutes later when Stuart Moss latched onto a long ball from the back, held off the last defender on the edge of the box but just put his shot the wrong side of the post.
For the last five minutes of the half, the hosts managed to get a foothold in the game but without being able to test Ian McCulley in the Burghfield goal.
The final action of the first half so nearly saw the visitors double their lead.
Harvey Beales picked up the ball halfway inside Wargrave’s half, controlled well, knocked it past a defender before unleashing a shot from fully 30 yards which beat Lallament but cannoned off the crossbar and away to safety.
It had been pretty much one way traffic in the first half which somehow finished with only one goal to show for it.
The second half started with Wargrave looking to make more of a game of it. Some nice link up play between Zakir Chowdhary and Stuart Moss released the latter into the area and his shot forced McCulley into his first save of the match, a full length diving stop to his left.
There was some nice link up play down the right between Ross Gordon and Joe Wigmore, whose deep cross to the far post was met by Moss but he could only volley over.
Burghfield came back into the game and won a free kick on the centrally on the edge of the box. Jordan Cox tried a curler into the top corner but Lallament was equal to it, tipping his effort wide.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 59th minute. Beales made a great run into the area, checked back to make himself space and then floated a lovely cross to the far post where an unmarked Brown headed home. 0-2
Next came another contentious decision from the assistant on the nearside. As the hosts went forward looking to get back into the game, they thought they’d done it when Wigmore sent a shot from outside the area into the bottom corner only for the official to rule his effort out, apparently for Moss straying into an offside position, which looked a harsh call.
Burghfield went hunting for more goals and came close following nice link up play by Brown and Jack Bowyer which opened up a shooting chance for Harrison Amitage.
His well hit shot from 20 yards was well saved low to his left by the busy Lallament. They did make it three in the 75th minute. A nice ball down the right sent the pacy Brown clear into the area and he gave Lallament no chance, firing across him into the bottom corner of the net. 0-3
In the 88th minute, Burghfield put the icing on the cake with a fourth. A free kick from the left by James McClennan was flicked on by the one man wall and took two ricochets on the edge of the box before falling nicely at the feet of Cox, who finished coolly from the edge of the box. You can see the goal here. 0-4
Report by Dave Read
