Alresford Town 2 Horndean 1: ALRESFORD fielded three new singings in this match against high-flying Horndean – and picked up three points by recording only their third league win of the season.

New between the posts was Ben Kneller, who was a prominent member of the Alresford side that won promotion to the Wessex Premier in 2007 – as an outfield player. The other two new signings were midfielder Gary Fulker and centre-back Iain Calder, both experienced campaigners with plenty of Wessex League games under their belts.

Neither side had played since the middle of December, so the players could be forgiven for showing signs of rustiness. But there was no sign of that from the Magpies, who had trained hard during the weather-enforced break. They tore into their opponents from the start, and took the lead in the 11th minute thanks to good work by Rian Jima-Otero and John Howard down the left. Howard fed Tom Donaldson, who cut in and directed a bouncing shot across visiting keeper Del Harding and in at the far post.

Alresford continued to look the sharper, and added a second goal on the half-hour mark. Craig Bryant was the provider with a long ball forward from his central defensive berth. Howard took the ball on his chest and rounded his marker to fire under the diving Harding.

Horndean had hardly figured as an attacking force in the first half. But they played much better in the second, and Kneller had plenty to do. However, on 50 minutes the hosts should have wrapped the game up. John Mulhern was brought down by Dan Hayes as he surged into the box, the referee showing Hayes a second yellow card. But Mulhern’s spot-kick came back off the post, and the Deans hacked the ball to safety and drew some confidence from the incident.

The Magpies’ numerical advantage didn’t last long. On 60 minutes Simon Everett was shown a second yellow for contact on Deans sub Robbie Tambling.

Alresford seemed to miss their influential midfielder more than their visitors missed their centre-half. In the latter stages the visitors piled on the pressure, Kneller making two saves with his legs and Jima-Otero getting back to make an important clearance off the line.

Horndean halved the deficit from the penalty spot on 82 minutes when Calder, ailing with a knee injury, handled Josh Maloney’s right-wing cross. Nathan Kirby did much better with his spot kick than Mulhern had done, and a tense finale ensued. But Alresford held on to bank a vital three points and kick-start their fight against relegation.