HASLEMERE IV 0, Alton II 5 (Hants 7). Who said you can’t win anything with kids? Fourth-placed Alton II faced a tricky trip to second-placed Haslemere II, who had already beaten the young Hampshire team season.

Yet Alton put five goals past the mature home side.

Once the early nerves had settled and a few slick Haslemere attacks repelled, the confidence grew and the sense of an upset was tangible.

A slick short-corner routine produced the first goal, the ball dispatched by Andrew Stratford. And goals two, three and four quickly followed, all scored by man-of-the-match James Golding Stewart.

Half-time found Alton wondering where this brand of free-flowing hockey had been hiding, but confidence is born of practise and a strong team ethic is probably the answer.

The second half was rather an anticlimax after Alton’s earlier fireworks. Haslemere threw everything forward, exposing their defence to Alton’s zestful attack, and eventually Forbes Hamilton scored the fifth and final goal.