We now move onto game two, the “away” game, and after a fifteen minute break the teams are back on the pitch. Burnham making just one change whereas United manager Paul Hughes had a real shuffle, putting five new faces into his starting XI.

This time it was Burnham who started quicker, creating two good openings in the first ten minutes. First chance saw Jordan Dowidican try an acrobatic volley from a Richard Jeffrey centre but he was just off target. Dowidican then turned provider as he set skipper Dan Hicks through on goal, he delayed his attempt and then hurried his shot, seeing the ball go wide from 15 yards.

United then began to create chances of their own as the new line-up settled into it’s formation. A lofted ball forwards to Robert Gradwell saw his attempted lob tipped wide by Shay Morris and then from the resultant corner Gradwell headed the ball down to Seri Armand-Okuobi who shot just wide of the target.

As the break approached, Charlie Wassmer went close when his header from an Ivan Sputaj corner was cleared off the line with Morris beaten. United didn’t have to wait long to find the net though. Štolcers and Armand-Okuobi exchanged passes on the edge of the Burnham area before the former rifled home an unstoppable shot.

The second half was to be totally one way traffic as Burnham’s minimal squad of available players started to tire on the wet surface.

Toby Little breezed past three challenges before seeing his shot pushed wide by Morris and then minutes later Jack Pattison broke into the area on the right before unleashing a shot that flew into the far top corner of Morris’s net to double the lead.

Number’s three and four followed in ultra quick succession as first Little beat Morris from the edge of the area and then within a minute substitute Daniel Wishart raced past the last defender, took the ball around Morris’s dive and rolled it home.

Number five was just four minutes in coming as Little sent Wishart away on the left, he cut inside the last defender before sliding the ball past Morris’s despairing dive.

Again it was just a few minutes before the net was found again, this time Gradwell found himself in unfamiliar territory on the right wing but the striker had the presence of mind to pick out Little in the centre and he placed his shot just inside the post.

We were now into the last ten minutes and Wishart set up a good chance for Gradwellbut Morris did well to block his effort away, he could however do nothing in the final minutes when Gradwell was put through, rounded the Burnham stopper and rolled home number seven to put United top of the table.

Report by Kevin Watts. Photos by Ray Peploe.

United Man of the Match: Toby Little.