Somerset County Division One West

Burnham United 3, Cleeve West Town 2

BURNHAM United manager Luke Hussey was pleased to see his side rediscover their cutting edge as they saw off Cleeve West Town in their first game of 2015.

After five weeks of postponed fixtures, United surged into a 3-0 half-time lead courtesy of goals from Charlie Harding (2) and Anthony Cleave, before the visitors pulled two back after the break.

But United held on to secure a vital three points – and Hussey was pleased with his side’s performance.

He said: "It’s good to get playing again and get a win under our belts - we've played better than this and lost this season, so it was good to see the boys hold on and get the result.

“It was great to see a new pairing up front work so well and convert the chances we create to get us goals, which we've lacked in previous games.”

Burnham were quickly got into their stride against a confident Cleeve West Town side – and the early pressure paid off when striker Cleave hit a spectacular overhead kick into the roof of the net in the third minute.

With Stevens, Whitfield and Ell Lamb being very combative in midfield - Harding and Cleave were causing the visitors all sorts of problems.

Wilkins returned upfront and provided a vital platform for United to play off, as they started to play more direct - and it was a link up of the front three that saw Harding execute a quite stunning strike into the top corner of the net to give the keeper no chance.

The game was very competitive with tackles flying in and a referee who controlled the game excellently.

United were able to win the ball back early from the hard work of Cleave and Wilkins and it was a Wilkins layoff that led to club top scorer Harding chipping the keeper from range - again into the top corner.

The second period saw United's work rate dip as complacency appeared to set in.

Cleave though was electric again and was being targeted with some heavy challenges.

The visitors were starting to win an increasing amount of free kicks in dangerous areas and looked most likely to score from this method.

United seemed happy to defend and lost momentum for a ten minutes, which saw West Town score on 55 minutes and start to look threatening.

A second off the post came on 75' to set up a pulsating finish – but United held on for the win.