ANDOVER II 3, ALTON 4

ALTON finally ended their losing streak with a crucial win that keeps them well outside the bottom two, with a decent chance of preserving their Hampshire 2 status.

Andover had most of the early possession and played the ball around well, but struggled to open up Alton’s defence, despite winning several penalty corners.

Having weathered the early storm, Alton built up pressure of their own and took the lead. Pete Howland sent a fast ball into the circle and as the keeper left it to go out of play, a lucky bounce off the post caught Andover off-guard and Brogan Fife pounced to put away the rebound.

Soon, man-of-the-match Martin Kercher scored his first goal and then added a second to put Alton 3-0 ahead at half-time.

Andover showed plenty of fight on the restart, while Alton seemed to have lost their earlier rhythm. The home side pulled one back and a nervy Alton then saw their lead reduced to one when Andover converted a penalty flick, despite a valiant effort to save by Lawrence Jones.

With 15 minutes to go, Andover came again and a shot hit Jonny Dane’s body on the line to give them another penalty, and the equaliser at 3-3.

Alton’s defence then showed grit and guts under sustained pressure. With a minute left, the visitors mounted one last attack. Fife hit the post after a driving run and in the ensuing goalmouth scramble, Dane emerged to reverse-stick the ball into the net for the winner, sending his team-mates into a frenzy.

Alton host Winchester III in their penultimate fixture this Saturday.