Burrfields viewing Mid-Solent League runners-up spot as a ‘missed opportunity'

The club finished second in Division 1, after ending third in 2020/21. Had they won their final league fixture against Mob Albion, they would have been crowned champions.

Burrfields were leading Mob 2-1 in the second half, but ended up losing 4-2. Had Harvest and Mob then drawn last Saturday’s fixture, Brian Kirby’s men would still have won the title. As it was, Harvest’s 3-2 win gave them the silverware.

‘We view it as a missed opportunity,’ Kirby rued. ‘At times we have played some wonderful free-flowing football and have been a handful for most teams in our league.

‘We dispatched some decent teams with ease and looked like we were going to get the job done in our final league game against Mob. But we lost our composure and allowed Mob to use their experience to get the upper hand in the end.

‘Mob are a strong team and probably the best football playing side we’ve faced all season.’

Kirby added: ‘We are a young team and the hurt of not winning the league this time around will definitely make us stronger.

‘We finished third last year behind Meon Milton and Mob so to take runners-up spot keeps us moving in the right direction.

‘We were the only team to defeat Meon Milton last season who now play at county level and this year we did the double over Harvest Reserves.’

Burrfields progressed to the semi-finals of the MSL’s Father Purcell Cup with a 3-0 victory over lower division Horndean United.

On target were Charlie Ellis, Jack Palmer and Jordan Shuttleworth.

AFC Stubbington defeated Carberry 5-1 to advance to the last four, with Meon Milton having previously reached that stage.