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Thursday 2 April 2009

Closing in on Houghton

Burbage Old Boys 0-2 Desford
Tuesday 31st March
Leicester & District League Premier Division
Britannia Road

A very late decision was made at 5pm to attend this 6pm kick-off. I was planning to visit Tividale in the West Midlands League but didn’t fancy or feel like going that far, and with a quick check on the FA’s Full Time website I noticed this fixture between former Leicestershire Senior League side Burbage Old Boys and Desford who are in a battle with Houghton Rangers for the District League title. Some might say Burbage is a glorified suburb of Hinckley but it is a separate town / village in its own right and has its own identity. I suppose the easiest way geographically of separating the towns is the railway line.

Burbage play their home games on Britannia Road and has a rural feel about it, not surprising as it is on the edge of the village with the M69 and A5 in view. The pitch was not railed nor roped though some of the posts which used to support the rails still surround the pitch side.

At the start of play Desford occupied second place four points behind Houghton but had two games in hand, while hosts Burbage sat in 13th place in the 14 team division. A comfortable away win then?

Both teams tried to play football on a hard and bumpy pitch with Desford (not surprisingly) creating the better chances, and they nearly took the lead on 15 minutes when Simon Goodman volleyed against the left upright. Ten minutes later and Goodman found the target with a lob over the home keeper. Further half chances were created by both sides but it was the visitors who got a vital second when Reece Morris hit a shot on the turn through a crowded penalty area with two minutes remaining in the half. The second period saw a scrappier encounter with both sides having an equal amount of possession but it was Desford who came closest when they struck the woodwork in the final quarter. Not the best performance from Desford but it was a case of job done and move onto the next game, which is a home game against mid-table Birstall RBL on Saturday while leaders Houghton travel to today’s hosts Burbage.

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