A rainy afternoon saw Petersfield visiting local rivals Havant & left with a 7-2 win!

A delayed start and another cold and rainy afternoon saw Petersfield visiting local rivals Havant in a much-anticipated derby match in the Hampshire League division 5.

Both sides started at pace determined to seek an early advantage and the intrepid spectators were to be rewarded with early goals. Petersfield struck first with Rory Plewes picking up a loose ball and neatly passing on to Francis who slipped the ball inside to King whose shot was initially saved only for Harris to follow up to make it 0-1 within the first minute. Havant were not to be outdone and were quickly level with their equaliser just a minute and a half later. It was end-to-end play for the next 10 minutes but with Petersfield starting to dominate possession the next goal was looking imminent. A hard-hit cross from the right was picked up neatly by King who, after a couple of aerial taps, scored with a peach of a shot to restore Petersfield’s lead. After 22 minutes Petersfield stretched their lead further with King scoring his second of the match. Eight minutes later King was to turn provider and, after driving his way into the Havant D, set up Harris with an easy shot to make it 1-4. Petersfield were well on top now and stamped their mark on the first half earning a couple of short corners in succession resulting in Harris firing a rocket of a shot into the middle of the Havant net. A few minutes later, with the first half coming to a close, Petersfield made it 1-6 when Harris scored his fourth with a powerful reverse stick shot.

Havant started the second half in a determined mood but the Petersfield defence stood strong with Thompson, Cornelius and Henry Plewes constantly thwarting every attack. The Havant pressure was rewarded with several short corners but none were to be converted. Having weathered the early pressure, slowly but surely Petersfield came back into the game and both sides had their chances in a well-fought and fairly even second half with Tom Cooke-Priest coming closest for Petersfield with a shot going just wide. After 25 minutes Petersfield were awarded a free hit inside the Havant half which was quickly taken and spread out to Harris on the left-hand side who drove forward and hit a reverse stick shot past the keeper to make it 1-7. Despite the appalling conditions the pace of the game was impressive from both sides and Havant were finally rewarded for their efforts with a second goal just one second before the final whistle, but it was Petersfield who took the honours with an impressive 2-7 away win against their local rivals.