Hamble Club 5 Petersfield Town 0: DESPITE a spirited display from Petersfield they still bowed out at the Second Qualifying Round stage of the Buildbase FA Vase competition on Saturday.

The final scoreline was harsh on the Rams as they conceded three goals after the 87 minutes point of the game – but the match was not as one sided as that scoreline suggests.

The visitors may have lacked enough firepower to unlock their hosts up front but defensively this was a vast improvement from when Petersfield lost 7-0 to the same opposition just over a month ago at Love Lane.

With one or two key players still missing, Petersfield had to rely on more youth rather than experience against a strong Hamble Club side.

The home side had their first chance to score after just two minutes when the ball was crossed in from the right and Jack McCarthy’s effort was pushed out by keeper Luke Eaton and the follow up shot was blocked.

Petersfield had a good chance on 14 minutes when a free kick from midfield was floated towards the far post but Michael Johnson could not guide his header below the crossbar.

Hamble Club took the lead on 21 minutes after Petersfield had partially cleared their lines. However, when the ball was curled back into the box, McCarthy had got in front of his marker and headed the cross back across Eaton and into the net.

The Rams almost got themselves level two minutes later when a deep free kick found Jordan Geddes on the far side of the penalty area but when he knocked the ball back across goal keeper Rory Anderson reacted quickest to gather the ball before anyone could apply the finishing touch.

Hamble had another chance moments later when a cross found Nathan Lynch on the edge of the box but his header looped over the crossbar. After this the visitors had their best chance of the game to score.

The ball was played over the home defence and Anderson cleared the ball before Marcus Bedford could get to it. The clearance fell to Grant Powell who had the time to chip the ball over the head of Anderson but defender Prince McLean got back in time to hack the shot clear before it crossed the line.

Hamble Club went close to getting their second goal on 51 minutes when a corner was cleared to Danny Cox on the left. His deep cross to the far post was met by McCarthy who tried to prod the ball over the line from close range but Eaton blocked his shot with his legs.

The home side did double their advantage on the hour mark when Cox picked up the ball in midfield and drove past three Petersfield players before he was brought down by the fourth as he made his way into the box. Lynch ensured there was enough power on his spot kick for it to find the back of the net.

Substitute Doug Rowe then tried to hook a corner home at the far post but put the ball over the crossbar, Mike Byrne put his free header from a corner wide of the post and James Thomson’s shot beat Eaton but went wide of the post.

Then came the home side’s late goal surge. On 87 minutes Charlie Wagstaffe curled his free kick from 25 yards out around the defensive wall and straight into the net.

Three minutes later a good ball forward was chased down by Thomson who had the time to go through into the box before firing his shot past Eaton and into the net.

The final goal came after four minutes of injury time when Rowe latched on to a long ball over the visiting defence and he side footed a pass to Thomson, who was completely unmarked in front of goal, to side foot home.

Petersfield: Eaton, Johnson, Geddes, Tremlett, Kennedy, Dove, Powell, Small (M Essai), Evans (Boxall), Bedford (Thomas), Kershaw. Subs not used: W Essai.