PETERSFIELD head coach James Alder was pleased with the overall performance of his players against Sandown and Shanklin, although he highlighted the need for his team to make smarter decisions during the game.

Alder confessed that, at the start of the day, he would have taken a losing bonus point from the tricky fixture.

However, with the match so tight from beginning to end and his side coming so close at the death to scoring the winning try, he declared himself disappointed with the result.

Alder praised his forwards for their solid performance against a heavyweight pack.

While not as dominant as they have been in previous matches, they still impressed at times in the set piece.

Alder said: “We appear to have one of the smallest packs in the league this season, but we still managed at times to push the opposition off the ball.”

Field’s rivals for the top spot, New Milton, won 32-26 at Fordingbridge on Saturday.