Burnham stunned by Milton while Royalists share spoils with Ashford Town

Windsor & Eton's Toby Bridges celebrates with Sam Hutchings(no.4) and team. Photo Richard Milam

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Burnham remain top of the Combined Counties Premier Division North table this week, but they missed the chance to pull clear of their title rivals after slipping to a 1-0 defeat at Milton United.

With promotion rivals circling and having games in hand on the Blues, Burnham really needed to win all their remaining games to lift the title and take the one automatic promotion place to step 4.

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Milton could prove a fatal blow to those hopes with only seven league matches left to play.

The loss at Milton will have frustrated joint managers Mo and Omz Bakali, with the Blues falling behind to Seth Humphries 18th minute opener and then failing to capitalise on their own opportunities.

Those hopes weren’t aided by Joel Ampabeng’s 76th minute dismissal which left the visitors with only 10 men for the final minutes plus stoppage time.

The Blues return to league action at home to Harefield United on Saturday.

The defeat is damaging but it could have proved more problematic had one or two of their title rivals been able to take full advantage.

Second placed Broadfields United - the true winners of the weekend - weren’t in action and now have three matches in hand over the Blues to make up the three point deficit.

Third placed Ashford Town and fifth placed Windsor & Eton held each other to a 2-2 draw at the Robert Parker Stadium, with neither able to make significant inroads into Burnham’s lead.

The game was well attended, with 436 spectators pouring through the turnstiles to see this clash between the promotion hopefuls. Contrast that with the 33 who watched Burnham’s game at Milton or even the 690 who watched Slough Town take on Dover Athletic in the National League South.

Two MPs were also in attendance with Windsor’s Jack Rankin watching the game alongside Ashford’s Lincoln Jopp.

The game was incredibly well contested with the Royalists holding a narrow 2-1 lead until the closing stages when former Marlow and Flackwell Heath striker Marcus Mealing curled home a fabulous equaliser for the home side.

⚽️ pic.twitter.com/UfWFe8SF7K

— Marcus Mealing (@Marcus_Mealing) March 1, 2026

Jack Arnold fired Ashford in front after only eight minutes but two goals in a matter of minutes from Windsor & Eton late in the first half turned the match on its head.

First Nick Thumwood capitalised on a mistake from the Ashford keeper to head home the equaliser in the 28th minute, before Sam Hutchings scored from 25 yards in the 30th minute, his goal coming from another mistake from the Ashford keeper Liam Allen. The visitors held that advantage until the 75th minute when Mealing brought the sides level with a curling effort from distance and that’s how it remained.

For Windsor, this is the second time in the space of a few days they’ve dropped points after losing 2-1 away at North Greenford United on Tuesday. They are though just 10 points behind Burnham with six games in hand. Ashford in third are seven points adrift with three games in hand on the Blues.

Windsor, who have many games to make up in a short space of time. are in Premier Challenge Cup quarter final action on Wednesday when they visit Kidlington. They then host the same opponents, currently sixth in the division, at Stag Meadow on Saturday.

Another potential challenger, fourth placed Wallingford & Crowmarsh slipped to a surprising 2-1 defeat at bottom club Edgware & Kingsbury.

Further back, seventh placed Ardley United and eighth placed North Greenford United have put themselves in contention with their results and the matches they have in hand over many of the teams above them. Ardley edged out British Airways 1-0 away from home while North Greenford United were 3-0 winners over Holyport at Summerleaze Park.

Port saw this game taken away from them either side of half time with Leonard Farhall scoring in the 41st minute and Charlie Mitchell making it 2-0 in the 47th,

Mitchell scored his second from the penalty spot in the 61st minute to complete a comfortable away win for the visitors.

Holyport remain 17th, five points above second bottom North Leigh in the relegation spots, but North Leigh have six games in hand over them. 18th placed Amersham Town also have six matches in hand on Port and are only three points behind them.

Port are back in action this Saturday, away to Ardley United, and have only six games left to play this season.