THE promise shown in recent weeks was bafflingly absent on Saturday as Petersfield Hurricanes under-8s were blown away by North East Hampshire Youth League rivals Grayshott Youth Tigers.

The Hurricanes were outplayed in almost every department in a strangely lacklustre display and only had two goals from leading striker Taylor Pearce to show for their efforts at Love Lane.

Pearce latched onto Alex Garlant’s through ball before planting it confidently past the Grayshott goalkeeper shortly before half-time and then deceived the visiting keeper with a speculative, looping effort from close to the left-hand touchline just before the final whistle.

The double strike took Pearce’s seasonal tally to 11 and were rare bright spots for a disjointed Hurricanes side which failed to cope with a change in formation.

Another tireless shift from birthday boy Oscar Walker and some crucial touches from Harry Timmons spared their side more punishment from a slick Grayshott side while Benjamin Oru did himself no harm with some brave blocks and tackles.

James Port put on a brave show, sharing goalkeeping duties with Connor Redpath, but too often was left horribly exposed by a wandering defence.

At the other end, Walker and Timmons were both denied by two fine saves from the Grayshott keeper in quick succession, but the Hurricanes offered little else with Garlant strangely subdued and Redpath and Finlay Stafferton struggling to get into the game, the former providing some drama at the wrong end as he headed the ball onto his own crossbar.

Hurricanes: James Port, Connor Redpath, Oscar Walker, Harry Timmons, Finlay Stafferton, Benjamin Oru, Alex Garlant, Taylor Pearce.