A frustrating third 1-1 draw in a row for the Clapton CFC Men’s First Team saw Hutton’s lead at the top of the table increase to five points with six games to go.
It was a chaotic and injury-plagued start to the game. On 12 minutes, Andre Odeku was forced off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Eight minutes later, Sam Cook was caught by a heavy challenge after taking a shot from the edge of the box, and was helped out of the ground on crutches.
Burnham adjusted to the pitch better and struck first in the 31st minute, their winger pouncing on a loose ball in the area to finish comfortably.
Sub David Makisi almost provided an instant reaction, skimming the face of the bar from a tight angle. Then sub Louis Brown saw a spectacular header cleared off the line just before half-time.
The second half saw a more assertive CCFC. New signing Bernardino Andeme came on for his debut and together with Tami Unuefa were tormenting the Burnham defence. The pressure finally told in the 76th minute, when Unuefa surged down the right and found Brown to sidefoot home through a crowd of players.
In the 86th minute, CCFC were handed a golden opportunity to win it when Unuefa was brought down in the box. Julian Austin stepped up, but his penalty was saved, and a follow-up scramble was somehow smothered by the Burnham defence.
As the clock ticked into the 90th minute, a Burnham player was sent to the sin bin, giving CCFC a man advantage. The away side thought they had snatched it in the 92nd minute when the ball was tucked home from another Unuefa cross, but the linesman ruled that the ball had crossed the line before the delivery. The ensuing protests led to Unuefa being sin-binned himself.