Bournemouth 3 Petersfield Town 1: THEY say it is the hope that kills you in football and it was certainly the cue for more frustration for Petersfield on Saturday afternoon.

They took the lead in this trip to Dorset and looked good value for it too before they conceded an equaliser on the stroke of half time and two soft goals during the second half to return home empty handed once again.

Petersfield took the lead on 42 minutes when Billy Connor latched on to a long clearance down the left. He held off the challenge from a defender as the ball dropped and then took it forward into the penalty area.

As keeper Steven Boore advanced off his line, Connor flicked the ball over his head and it dropped inside the far corner of the net.

Petersfield’s celebrations were short lived however, as Bournemouth equalised in the fourth minute of injury time at the end of the first half. The home side won a free kick on the edge of the penalty area and Fawzi Saadi curled his shot over the wall and into the net.

Bournemouth edged into the lead on 63 minutes when a long clearance was allowed to bounce in behind the visiting defence. Substitute Louis Coulson got to the ball first and managed to toe poke it past Rams keeper Luke Eaton and into the net.

The home side got their third goal on 74 minutes when Coulson was again quickest to react to a loose ball close to the Petersfield goal and after winning possession he struck a low shot home past a static defence and goalkeeper.