A group of young footballers in Burnham-On-Sea are celebrating success this week.
Burnham Utd Juniors’ U18 team have won the Somerset U18 Youth League Knockout Cup, beating Tone Youth 5-1.
Their cup journey to the final started strongly with an 8-1 win over Banwell FC U18s and the next round saw a local derby against Burnbridge Wanderers, which they won 3-0 following a great match.
Their semi-final was against a strong Priory Pumas side, which they won despite being 2-0 down at half-time. Following a rallying, motivational team talk during the break Burnham pulled together as a strong team and were justly rewarded when their third goal found the net in the dying minutes of the game, giving them a 2-3 win and a place in the final.
“Sunday’s final started with Tone Youth going 0-1 up after a strong start but Burnham showed why they had reached the final by pulling together as a team,” said spokeswoman Sally Plume.
“After a half-time break Burnham quickly equalised and then pulled ahead, which seemed to deflate Tone a little and Burnham continued to take their chances all the way to the final whistle.”
“The win was even sweeter as Tone Youth knocked Burnham out of the cup in the semi-final last year on penalties.”
The U18 side was set up four seasons ago by Nick Robinson and Sally Plume to encourage players to stay in football after they finish at U16 and has proved very successful.
“Steve Hainsby and Gary McNulty have been a huge asset to the team for the last few seasons and they have all been very pleased at how well each team has done over the years. They have always been a pleasure to work with and a credit to themselves and the club,” she added.
“With Burnham Utd having their facilities redeveloped and Steve Hainsby taking over as 1st Team Manager next season, this season has finished on a high and the future is looking very bright for Burnham Utd seniors and juniors.”
