PETERSFIELD head coach James Alder praised his players after their defeat against United Services Portsmouth.

Alder said: “This was a game of two halves; the first a tough encounter with both teams pushing for points at every opportunity. In the second, United Services started better and were more ruthless in their finishing, while we worked hard to create chances but could just not finish them off as we did in the first half.

“Huge credit to my players as they all put in a shift and were rewarded for it at the death with a deserved fourth, bonus-point winning, try. I thought our overall performance deserved more from the game, but this will be great experience for the five under-19 players in the team.

“The future looks very positive with players coming through, however, we need them to get up to speed quickly and, as a team, put in place the improvements we need to ensure we collect our first win.”