ALDERSHOT & FARNHAM II 0, ALTON 3

ALTON, already the Hampshire 3 champions, beat local rivals Aldershot & Farnham?II to record their 19th win of the season.

Now, Alton’s final task is to defeat Fareham V at Amery Hill this Saturday and remain unbeaten through the 22-game season.

A&F had proved tough nuts to crack in the earlier fixture and the Alton defence had to be on their game right from the start.

The home side won a flurry of early short corners and pressed the champions hard, forcing several saves from Lawrence Jones and a save off the line by Jonny Dane.

However, Jason Smith, Pete Howland and Richard Spicer were competing strongly in the middle and it was Alton who got the breakthrough, in-form striker Stuart Gagen squeezing the ball home for the only goal of the half.

On the restart, Alton pushed hard for a killer second goal. After barely two minutes, right-back Dan Trim fired the ball into the circle for Kevin Scowcroft to deflect against the backboard.

Again, a determined A&F poured men forward and again fine defensive work kept them at bay, with skipper Nigel Downing stopping a shot on the line.

As A&F began to tire, Alton countered with a hard-won short corner and Luke Bottomley placed the ball perfectly for Gagen to score his second goal and put the seal on yet another victory.