Petersfield hosted Trojans, who are battling to get out of the relegation zone.

Petersfield hosted Trojans, who are battling to get out of the relegation zone. The previous meeting saw Petersfield finish with a victory of 2-1 after a match that was dominated with midfield play.

Petersfield started the match with Morgan Jones earning his debut for the first XI after some encouraging fixtures within the Petersfield 2nd XI. The first half saw a midfield battle where little was shown to make a difference between either team, matching the previous fixture. The Petersfield defence broke down Trojans attacking play which gave goalkeeper Broadmeadow little to do. Trojans did however create a handful of opportunities from open play and penalty corners which the defence of Broadmeadow, Alder, Hart, Anderson & Budden kept their nerve and kept the score to 0-0. Defenseman Alder is owed further praise as he made a goal line save as goalkeeper Broadmeadow was beaten on a 1v1 scenario. Petersfield did not go without the chances though as Edwards, Hind, Jones and Elms all tested the goal keeper yet the final shot was not precise enough to beat the Trojans goalkeeper.

The second half saw the same action of the midfield battling for possession and chasing every player with the ball trying to force fundamental errors which could put either side on the back foot. Petersfield gained the upper hand after ‘Captain’ Grinstead deflected a Budden cross past the poorly positioned goalkeeper, taking a 1-0 lead. The half then begins to counter against each other where both teams kept the game at bay. Trojan’s gained an advantage as goalkeeper Broadmeadow was sin binned for illegally using his feet outside the circle. Striker Elms took the gloves and stepped in for the duration of the sin-bin. Elms was forced straight into the action with a double save from the penalty corner. Petersfield re-structured the formation under the direction of the Captain (Grinstead) and Vice-captain (Alder) where the side managed to hold the opposition away from the circle until the team was returned to full strength. In the last 10 minutes both sides began to let the frustrations out at one another along with the discipline towards umpires slipping. For Petersfield this led to Edney being shown a green card and the opposition narrowly avoiding a dismissal. Petersfield continued to play in a defensive style and palyed the game out to a 1-0 victory.

Petersfield host Bournemouth in the next fixture to be played on the 14th March, 13:00 push back at Bedales School. Petersfield will be looking to collect 3 points from the opposition along with inflicting a high scoring deficit as Bournemouth beat Petersfield 3-2 earlier in the season and stopped their unbeaten run at 47 games.

Team: Broadmeadow, Anderson, Hart, Alder, Budden, Macey, Grinstead ©, Edney, Edwards, Hind, Elms & Jones.