Petersfield Town 3 Hythe and Dibden 4: IN ATROCIOUS conditions at Love Lane on Saturday the Rams took on promotion chasing Hythe and Dibden.

The pitch passed an inspection late Saturday morning but when the rain became heavier in the lead up to kick off it looked like the game would be in doubt.

The match went ahead though and the visitors took an early lead when in the seventh minute Terzidiz Filippos broke clear to slot the ball past debutant Rams keeper Aaron Smith.

In the 12th minute the Rams were back on level terms when Harry Giles took full advantage of a defensive error to fire home, but just a minute later they fell behind when Wayne O’Dell weaved his way through the home defence to shoot past Smith.

In the 18th minute Hythe extended their lead when Smith parried a shot and Filippos was on hand to fire home the loose ball.

Callum Coker replaced Matt Rowland in the 58th minute and found himself on the end of several good chances.

In the 85th minute Coker was rewarded when Grant Ellis spilt the ball and he pounced to give the Rams renewed hope.

Just a minute later they drew level when Coker found the back of the net again, this time with a header from a Will Essai cross.

However, Petersfield’s ecstasy soon turned to agony when in the 89th minute Filippos completed his hat-trick with a strike that gave Smith no chance to give Hythe the points.