VENTNOR 15, PETERSFIELD 22

PETERSFIELD have promotion in sight after their victory at Ventnor on Saturday.

With four matches remaining, second-placed ’Field hold an 11-point lead in Hampshire 1 over nearest rivals Fordingbridge, who have a game in hand.

A win on the Isle of Wight seems a decent result for Petersfield, who were again forced to make several changes, but coach James Alder was not exactly ecstatic.

“Today was frustrating due to the team not getting a foothold in the game. We needed to adapt better during the match to play the free-flowing style we have developed this season.”

In lovely weather on the Isle, an open game would have been a joy to watch, but the handling on both sides was poor and a scrappy contest ensued.

A Fergus Kenny penalty gave Ventnor the lead, but Josh Hastlett replied in kind, and it was Haslett who scored the first try and added the conversion.

A yellow card for Justinas Urbonas reduced the islanders to 14 men, but they fought back with a try from skipper Andrew Gough after a chip-and-chase and Petersfield held a slender 10-8 advantage at half-time.

Haslett, certainly man of the match, stretched Petersfield’s lead with a breakaway try early in the second half, again converted by himself, but Ventnor responded quickly and Sam Lines offloaded for replacement Grant Richardson to score with his first touch.

Tom Franks then scored an important try to clinch victory for Petersfield.

After their long day, Petersfield deserve credit for winning ‘ugly’, but they need to improve before their next league outing – home to Fareham Heathens on March 4.