Andover Town 1 Petersfield Town 0: A FIRST-MINUTE goal condemned Petersfield Town to an away defeat at Andover Town on Saturday.

The Rams fell behind after less than a minute after lacklustre defending from a corner. Owen Trapnell had time to control and shoot in the area to give the hosts the lead.

The Rams almost got themselves back on level terms when Cameron Smith’s free kick forced a fine save from Andover keeper David Tasker.

The home side outplayed the Rams in the first 15 minutes and Joshua Bertie’s ambitious effort clipped the crossbar on its way over.

The Rams created a chance when Matt Low fed the ball out wide to Will Webb. His cross was aimed towards Charlie Merritt, but he couldn’t get enough contact and his effort went wide.

The visitors pushed for an equaliser in the second half, although Andover hit the Rams on the counter attack and forced keeper Matt Petts to make a fine block.

Petersfield’s best chance was created by Webb.

The move started with Smith playing the ball out wide to Webb, who weaved inside and played a swift one-two with Marvin Orepo before his effort was saved by Tasker.

Petersfield had a strong claim for a penalty when Orepo used his pace down the line alongside an Andover defender. A barge seemed to put Orepo off balance, and he went down in the penalty area after another tussle.

The referee wasn’t interested, though, and waved away Petersfield’s appeals.

There was late drama when the Rams almost equalised from a free kick. Petts lofted the ball up the pitch, and a flick-on took the ball past Tasker. A wall of Andover bodies on the line tried to clear and the ball fell to Joe Roberts, but his shot was also blocked.

After the highs of last week’s thrashing of Folland Sports, this defeat was something of a reality check for Petersfield.