Alton Town 0, New Milton 2

ALTON entertained second-to-bottom New Milton Town on Saturday and turned in a performance that was the polar opposite of last Tuesday’s excellent North Hampshire Senior Cup win against Tadley Calleva.

With illness and suspension robbing them of three of their regular back four, it gave the Brewers the chance to try something different, but this had no bearing on a lacklustre performance.

The result was something of a turn up for the books given the visitors’ long run of Wessex League Division One defeats but it was, on the day, a fully deserved win.

New Milton were quick, committed and defended well but could have regretted one or two missed chances in the second half.

In pale, watery sunshine – the rain in the north of the county had stopped before mid-morning – the game started slowly, and although it was end to end it was generally scrappy.

The first sniff of a goal came from New Milton’s Adam Burke, who made ground down the left and sent in a low cross which bounced off Matt Graham, hit goalkeeper Lewis Boughton on the head and rebounded to safety.

It was merely a let off for the Brewers as chance number two brought the opening goal on 12 minutes when Jake Carswell latched onto a through ball, evaded two challenges, and slotted the ball past the advancing Boughton.

And the visitors continued to have the better of the play, with a fierce shot from Carswell beaten away at full stretch by Boughton while two attacks foundered because of Erickson Mukambi’s tendency to be caught offside.

New Milton goalkeeper James Mayo’s first real action saw him smother a cross at the foot of his near post, and after the ball had been given away in midfield Alton’s Taylor Watts fired wide from the edge of the area.

At the other end, Boughton had to rush out of his area to deny Carswell and with time running out in the first half Watts and Matt Bunyan carved out a superb opening but Watts scuffed his shot past the post from six yards.

Alton were quickly into their stride after the break with Bunyan just too high with a header and a couple of crosses coming to nothing, while Mayo, who fumbled a header round the post for a corner, was forced to atone for his error with a point-blank save from Bunyan’s header.

A scramble in the Alton area saw a close-range shot blocked by Boughton while at the other end Bunyan failed to make contact with a Liam Knight cross.

The home side made all of their substitutions in quick succession in the pursuit of an equaliser but wasted possession with a series of poor crosses from both flanks.

Another Bunyan effort did at least bring another good save from Mayo and Carswell, who was a willing runner and a threat all afternoon, provided a perfect low cross that Mukambi scooped over the bar from close range as New Milton looked to double their lead.

But it proved to be nothing more than a temporary reprieve for the Brewers who conceded a penalty and were reduced to ten men with five minutes to go as Mukambi thrust his way into the Alton penalty area and went down among a tangle of legs, winning a penalty before the referee sent off defender Ryan Thomas for dissent and booked Alton goalkeeper Boughton.

Mukambi was unfazed and found the bottom corner with his spot to kick to make it 2-0 and things went from bad to worse for Alton as Boughton was given his marching orders for continuing his protestations.

On Saturday, Alton Town travel to face Verwood Town in Wessex League Division One at Potterne Park (kick-off 3pm).