PETERSFIELD Town manager Mark Summerhill is hoping his side can kick-start their season after a dominant performance at New Milton Town on Saturday.

The Rams failed to take their chances and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in the Sydenhams Wessex League Division One fixture, but Summerhill was pleased with his side’s display and hopes his players can keep their performance levels up.

“It was definitely our best performance for a long time,” said the Petersfield manager.

“We changed things and went to a new system, and we hit the woodwork twice.

“They had one shot in the first half from a free kick on the edge of the box. Our keeper only had one save to make.

“We created some very good opportunities and I couldn’t ask for more. Will Webb on the right wing and Will Essai on the left wing caused them all sorts of problems.

“The lads are bitterly disappointed we didn’t win. Their keeper was man-of-the-match. Hopefully this performance will kick-start our second half of the season.”

The New Milton game was Petersfield’s first after a number of postponements, and Summerhill was pleased his side returned to action.

“It was important to get out there and get the game on after a break,” said the Rams boss.

Summerhill decided to shake things up at New Milton and employed a more attacking system to try to return to winning ways.

While the Rams boss admitted it was a gamble, he was pleased with how his side adapted to the change.

He said: “We played a 4-3-3 formation but were very fluid.

“We hadn’t worked on it too much in training, so we went into the game a bit blind. We went off the cuff and the lads adjusted really well.

“It was a bit of a gamble, but we went there on the front foot and took the game to them.

“We got more bodies forward and got more bodies in the box. If we’d scored I think we would have got three or four goals. We’ve been really stuttery since Christmas, but we were really fluid on Saturday and produced a dominant performance.

“If we play like that regularly we will win games of football. Hopefully we will be more consistent now.”

Summerhill believes the 4-3-3 formation now gives him more options going forward.

“It gives us another tool in the box,” he said.

“We have tended to rely on playing a 4-5-1 formation.”