Petersfield Town slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Brockenhurst in the Wessex League Premier Division.

A much-improved Petersfield pushed Brockenhurst all the way but ultimately fell to defeat in front of a crowd of 163 at Love Lane.

Despite conceding after two minutes the Rams were perhaps the better side for the rest of the match, but were lacking the final finish.

New signings Harry Osman and Jean-Pierre Alexander made their debuts in the second half off the bench and added quality in the final third as Petersfield begin to settle as a club.

It was a poor start for the Rams, though, as Noel McCarthy-Gardiner opened the scoring after just two minutes. An inviting low cross was tapped in by the striker, who was left unmarked in the middle of the box.

It was an even first half and Max Bray was inches away from an equaliser after 15 minutes when his fierce effort came off the outside of the near post. Harry Close had a good chance for the Rams but fired wide.

Freddie Firman replaced Chris Clark in goal for the Rams and made some excellent saves, which included palming a close-range effort over the bar with an outstretched hand and a superb reaction save at the back post.

Minutes before the break Will Essai had the ball in the middle and played a superbly-weighted pass for Alfie Stringer, who got goal-side but tapped his effort just wide of the post.

The second half saw fewer chances, but Louie McCafferty made an excellent diving block to deny Brockenhurst in the box.

The last big chance of the game fell to the Rams. Osman did well on the edge of the box, but his shot across goal was narrowly missed by the outstretched leg of Iggy Cake.

By Michael Christou