BINFIELD kept in hot pursuit of runaway Hellenic League leaders Westfields by beating Burnham 4-1 in a thoroughly entertaining game at Hill Farm Lane last Friday, writes Dave Wright.

The Moles, now up to second place, never looked back after Andy Parr had given them the lead inside the opening two minutes.

Burnham, however, were not an easy side to break down and it required a piece of brilliance to produce the second goal in the 35th minute. George Short found Josh Howell, who swiftly back-heeled the ball back into the midfielder's path and Short went on to lash home.

Just before half-time it needed more quick-thinking, this time from Elliott Legg, who raced back to prevent a certain goal after Kian Duncan had rounded keeper Chris Grace and shot towards an empty net.

Grace came under further pressure for a brief time and the visitors must have gone into the break believing they could get back in the game.

However, those hopes ended in less than three minutes of the second half when a sweeping move down the Binfield left flank led to Sean Moore extending his side's lead.

After Moore and Jamie McClurg had gone close to scoring, the Blues pulled a goal back in the 63rd minute when Ermide Joseph-Lawal split the home defence before coolly slotting the ball low past the advancing Grace.

But the Moles continued to hold the upper hand, particularly in midfield, and had a great chance to score again when an unnecessary foul on Parr earned them a 72nd-minute penalty, only for Moore to blast the ball over the bar.

With missed penalties costing them dearly in their recent FA Vase defeat by Deal, a lesson in how to take a spot-kick could be high on the agenda on Binfield's training nights.

But skipper Moore made amends for his miss by netting a late fourth goal from a chance set-up by substitute Josh Helmore, his shot finding a way past keeper Joe Williams, who recently left Binfield after losing his place to Grace.

Moore now has 22 goals for the season, three fewer than Helmore.

Binfield are on the road this coming Saturday, with a visit to Brackley Town Saints (3pm).

Then next Monday evening (7.45pm), they host fellow top-three side Fairford in the quarter-finals of the Bluefin Sports Cup.