Petersfield Town 0 Hamworthy United 3: PETERSFIELD Town’s latest setback – a home defeat against Hamworthy United on Saturday – means they are starting to be cut adrift at the bottom of the table.

The Rams are now six points behind Amesbury Town, the side immediately above them in the Wessex Premier Division, as the curtain came down on a miserable year of league form at Love Lane.

If you take the calendar year of 2017, Petersfield have only picked up one win and three draws from all of the league games they have played on home soil during the last 12 months.

Against Hamworthy, so many of the issues which have plagued their season so far came back to haunt Petersfield – conceding early, defensive mistakes leading to goals and at the other end they didn’t put away their chances.

The visitors took the lead after only seven minutes when a corner from the right was allowed to find Chris Clarke at the far post. He had been left unmarked and had all the time in the world to steady himself and then smash the ball home from close range.

Petersfield came into the game more as the first half wore on – first Harry Tremlett fired over after a free kick was cleared to his feet on the edge of the box and then Billy Connor made a break through the middle which saw the ball run to Olly Kershaw but he smashed his shot over the top as well.

Hamworthy went 2-0 up on 35 minutes when Darren Watts curled a free kick from the right hand side of the penalty area towards goal. Keeper Luke Eaton and his defence appeared to leave it for each other to deal with and the ball bounced into the net off the far post.

Petersfield should have pulled a goal back ten minutes into the second half when Connor and Luke Kendall got the home side driving forward into their opponents’ box. The ball eventually ran loose to Kershaw, who lifted his shot over keeper Shane Cooper but he looked on in agony as it bounced against the crossbar and was cleared to safety.

The visitors then got their third goal on the hour mark when they broke forward quickly after defending a corner. Eddie Hodge eventually picked up the ball on the left hand side of the penalty area before he rolled a low shot across the goal and into the far corner.

The home side created two more chances in the final ten minutes. A free kick was flicked on towards the far post and a shot from close range was partially blocked by Cooper and as it rolled loose inside the six yard box no one could apply the finishing touch to force it over the line.

From another free kick substitute Nick Tayler knocked the ball towards the far post and Kershaw again failed to find the target when well placed in front of goal.

The Rams did manage to force the ball over the line before the end when Cooper failed to deal with an inswinging free kick and appeared to knock it over his own goal line but he was saved by the referee who judged he had been fouled as the ball came across his six yard box.

Petersfield: Eaton, Gilbert, Geddes, Tremlett, Plackett, Wycherley, Keogh (Beauchamp), Kendall, Connor, Walker (Tayler), Kershaw. Subs not used: Evans, Thomas, Collins.