LADY Luck may not be bestowing her favours on Burnham Ramblers at the moment, but manager Keith Wilson is hoping that will change pretty soon.

Wilson said his players hadn’t got the rewards they deserved from some of their recent outings and felt this was typified nowhere better than in their 2-1 defeat at Barkingside on Saturday.

That loss extended their winless run to five games in the Essex Senior League as a late decision went against Ramblers.

Having outplayed their opponents for much of the game but been unable to make more of their many chances count, Burnham conceded a penalty with the game poised at 1-1.

However, after Ramblers keeper Jack Parr made a diving save, the referee ordered the spot-kick to be retaken.

The officials said Parr had left his line for the initial attempt and the Barkingside player made no mistake at the second time of asking to win the game, with Wilson feeling that it summed up his team’s luck at the moment.

“I might change our name to Unlucky Ramblers,” he said. “I have no qualms with the penalty being given, but for the second time in five games Jack Parr has made a great save only to be penalised for coming off his line.

“You just don’t see that being penalised but we have been twice in five games.

“That was the killer for us, but we only have ourselves to blame as the game should have been dead and buried long before then.

“It should have been 4-1 by half-time and we missed umpteen chances after the break, but got punished for one mistake.”

Adding to the sense that Lady Luck was looking elsewhere were injuries to some key players before and during the game.

Captain Stuart Judd broke down with an ankle problem in the kick-off, while Burnham lost Martin Guest, Dean Strutt and James Gillingham inside the first hour to injuries.

Wilson added: “We are on a run of bad luck, but someone is going to either get a hiding soon or we will win a game when we have been outplayed.

“If we go out there, keep working hard and play the right way, then it will go right for us.”

Ramblers beat Barking 2-1 in the league on Tuesday night and visit champions Stansted on Saturday before a trip to Eton Manor next Tuesday.

Wilson said he expected Guest and Gillingham to be fit for Saturday’s game, while Reece Brandon would return from suspension, but Strutt and Judd were rated as 50/50.

The Burnham boss has bolstered his defensive options with the loan signing of 21-year-old centre-half Jack Beaumont from Canvey Island.