WINCHESTER III 3, ALTON 3

ALTON gave up a three-goal lead in this Hampshire 2 match and had to settle for a point against Winchester 3rd XI.

The visitors, undefeated in four games, flew out of the blocks and immediately had the city side on the back foot.

With less than two minutes gone, Richard Spicer made a storming run straight for the circle and with Winchester failing to get in a challenge, he buried the ball in the bottom corner.

A shell-shocked Winchester then conceded a penalty flick, but Scott Reading was denied by the keeper’s strong left hand.

Tom Green, Sam Juncker and Alec Hudson all went close for Alton and the relentless pressure paid off when, from a short corner, Dan Trim scored with a drag-flick into the top corner.

Winchester slowly began to find their shape and clearly had some talented players as Lawrence Jones was forced to make some important saves.

But Alton appeared to have the points in the bag when Reading made up for his earlier miss with a straight strike from another short corner.

However, Alton allowed their marking to slip and Winchester pulled back a timely goal just before half-time.

After their superb start, Alton looked off the pace in the second half and came under intense pressure. In less than two minutes, Winchester punished a bad defensive lapse and reduced the lead to 3-2.

Now it was Alton who looked shell-shocked and the momentum was all with the home side.

Alton defended bravely for a lengthy period, but Winchester were not to be denied and equalised from a short corner.

The last ten minutes were hard work for both sides as chances came and went at either end. Jones earned his man-of-the-match accolade with another double save, while young striker Green fired wide just before the final whistle.

Alton host local rivals Petersfield this Saturday, hoping to keep their unbeaten run going into the new year.