Petersfield Veterans 3 Chichester Friars 3: A WEAKENED Petersfield Veterans’ side earned a draw in a keenly-fought game which the away side dominated for long periods.

Petersfield’s defence of Cornelius, Rowland and MacIntyre were under pressure from the start, with possession continually being lost by the midfield.

After five minutes the pressure told, when an unmarked cross from the left took a touch off the diving keeper into the path of the Chichester centre forward, who couldn’t miss the open goal. Five minutes later, a second followed in similar vein, through a neat first time touch past the despairing keeper, following another unchallenged run.

The home side responded by bolstering their midfield, and Pruden went close with a couple of characteristic boomerang shots before Hulme drew a penalty corner. A slick move saw White’s dive drill the ball into the back of the Chichester net to reduce the deficit to one goal at half time.

Chichester drew further ahead through a sharp attack down the right and another unchallenged finish from the left into the roof of the net.

Petersfield quickly responded, with Hulme’s drag-flick hitting the back of the net. With 14 minutes to go, the short corner team of Bilsland and Hulme drew the home side level with an identical routine.

The rest of the game was played out largely in midfield, apart from two forays into the Petersfield D, which Rowland and Cornelius did well to repel.