Ladies’ Sedgemoor 1
White Eagles 3, Burnham-on-Sea 2

BURNHAM’s positive start to the year ended in frustrating circumstances in freezing conditions in Devon.

A slow and lacklustre first half saw them trailing 1-0 at half-time despite having a lot of possession.

In truth, they had struggled to do anything with that possession.

A couple of short corners came and went, and Hattie Lambourne almost got on the end of a few goalmouth scrambles, as the front three tried desperately to force an equaliser.

The Blues worked really hard to win the ball in the first two-thirds of the pitch, but then shoddy passing or their holding on to the ball for too long gifted possession back to the home team, so they had to start all over again.

Had it not been for some solid defending from Emma Ballard, Nicki Glanville and Imogen Wright, Burnham could well have been further behind at the interval.

Their second-half performance was far better, showing more urgency and commitment, which instantly reaped rewards.

Quick thinking by Carly Bush saw her perfect long-range pass find Amy Edmundson, who showed great control and finesse to dink her finish past the keeper.

Back on level terms, Burnham should have gone on to win the game; Caroline Hunt showed great energy and drive, as she began to take control of the midfield and link with the attack.

Kerry Harvey and Jo White created chances but, as Burnham failed to take any of them, Eagles hit back from another short corner.

A mix-up in defence gifted them their third and, all of a sudden, Burnham were up against it again.

They refused to give up, though, and the team pulled together for one last push.

Louise Peace combined with Bush, who showed great determination to power down the right to the byline, where she crossed for Edmundson to score again with a tap-in.

Burnham threw everything at Eagles as they looked to force another equaliser – Hunt and Harvey trying to win a short corner with direct running.

However, it was not to be, as they ran out of time.

Had they started the match how they ended it, Burnham could have been celebrating another three points.

Player of the Match: Caroline Hunt.

On Sunday, Burnham are at home to Minehead.