Petersfield's storming second-half comeback falls short in a sensational local derby at Anstey Park.

Ignore the scoreline. This was desperately, gut-wrenchingly tight - a  local derby with a quite bizarre finale that will live long in the memory.

Alton second row Bruce Oliphant will not forget it in a hurry, that's for sure.

Leading 24-18 and with the 80 minutes up, Alton won a scrum under their posts, set up the ruck and when the ball somehow came to Oliphant all he had to was kick the ball dead to secure the win.

However, when his attempt to hoof the ball over the dead-ball line cannoned off his own posts and back into play, 'Field regained possession and Alton were forced to scramble desperately in defence.

But redemption was immediate for Oliphant. As 'Field pressed hard for the Alton line, he snaffled a loose ball, hurtled 50 metres downfield and sent Matt O'Connor scooting over for a dramatic length-of-the-field try. It was a fitting end to a quite sensational contest but desperately tough on 'Field, who had somehow dragged themselves back into a game that at half time appeared to be not so much out of reach but in a different time-zone.

Relentlessly frenetic from the outset, what the game lacked in structure was more than made up for in edge-of-the-seat drama and passion. It was perfect fare for a 200-strong Anstey Park crowd on a balmy spring day.

The game was laced with controversy, too. Alton had four players sent to the bin and only managed to keep 15 on the park for two-thirds of the game. Indeed, referee Richard James might well have shown O'Connor a straight red in the first half, after he tackled opposite number Jay Bremner in the air.

O'Connor's challenge was over-enthusiastic rather than malicious and his contrition and Bremner's sporting reaction quite probably saved him. It was a sensible call from James - fierce as the contest was, this was not a red card sort of game.

That 'Field should have had even a whiff of victory was remarkable in itself after a throughly miserable opening half. They were overpowered in the set-pieces and turned the ball over with monotonous regularity.

By half time Alton led 24-6 and had already bagged a fourth-try bonus point, an advantage founded on the supremacy of their forwards and a straightforward game-plan based on using their big men to make the hard carries. It was simple and brutally effective.

Adam Baker, Shane Watts, Gareth Richards and Will Ford were at their marauding best in that opening half, although it was at the set-piece that Alton's superiority was most evident.

'Field conceded a fourth-minute penalty try after being shunted back horribly at a defensive five-metre scrum and thereafter it was a case of damage limitation for the visitors.

Baker then scored twice in five minutes. His first came from a pushover while the was a cute try that stemmed from Richards' cleverly delayed offload to Ford and Ford's inside pass.  

When Jimmy Gay burrowed over from a driving maul four minutes before half time, the Alton support - swelled by the pre-match lunch - were in raptures.

'Field's only points in that torrid opening 40 minutes were two Andy Barnes penalties and apart from breaks from him and half-back partner James Martin they barely registered as an attacking force.

The second half started as the first had ended, with Alton on the attack, and had they not fluffed two gilt-edged try-scoring opportunities thanks to careless handling and a little over-exuberance, 'Field would more than likely have taken a hammering.

But Alton v Petersfield matches habitually defy logic. 'Field roared back in the second half thanks to a renewed sense of self-belief and Alton's lack of discipline. Alton started hit the panic button on occasions, too.

It also helped that the visitors were starting to win some ball - the introduction of replacement Nick Todd after half time gave the 'Field scrummage more solidity and with Field's excellent half-back duo of Martin and Barnes starting to pull the strings, the visitors at last found a foothold in the game.

Martin was quite simply outstanding for 'Field and, alongside Alton's Will Ford, the best player on the park. He made a mischief of himself at Alton's set-pieces and breakdowns while in attack he regularly managed to pick his way through heavy traffic. Barnes too showed flashes of his talent with some barrelling charges.

But Alton's defence was excellent and it took 'Field until the 66th minute to make the breakthrough, after Alton had been reduced to 13 following yellows for Baker and Winston Carter.

Bremner's lovely arcing break from halfway set up good field position in front of Alton's posts and from the ensuing scrum, Martin's show-and-go wrong-footed the defence and he bought himself enough space to find the try-line. Game on.

However, 'Field had to wait until four minutes from the end before they managed to get within striking range, Martin again popping up at the back of a ruck and dotting down close to the posts. Barnes' conversion turned up the heat on Alton but despite hammering away in the dying moments, 'Field could not not force the decisive score.

As far as relegation issues are concerned, 'Field must beat Ellingham and Ringwood at Penns Place on 9 April to guarantee London 3 safety. Fordingbridge's 40-20 defeat at Camberley means that 'Field still have a six-point buffer between them and the relegation zone.

Alton could also have a major say in 'Field's future. They travel to Fordingbridge, also on 9 April, and victory will ensure a top-six finish and keep 'Field up, regardless of what happens at Penns Place.

Alton: Law, O'Connor, Gill, Hemmens, Spencer (van Rensburg 76); Richards, Arundel; Watts, Parratt, Gay (c); Ford, Oliphant; Greenhalgh (Gerlach 56), Carter (Watkins 76), Baker.

Tries: penalty try (4), Baker (16, 22), Watts (36), O'Connor (80+3);
Conversions: Arundel (2).
Yellow cards: O'Connor (26), Baker (60), Carter (65), Hemmens (80+1).

Petersfield: B Martin; Saunders, Eldridge, Holden, Bremner; Barnes, J Martin; Butcher (Todd 24 - 32, 41), B Marshall, Godber; Brookes, Winter (Stanley 62); Crane, Nicholls, Palmer (c).

Tries: J Martin (66, 76);
Conversion: Barnes;
Penalties: Barnes (14, 24).

H-T: 24-6.
Referee: Richard James (Hampshire Society).

Other London 3SW results:

Camberley 40 - 20 Fordingbridge;
Ellingham & Ringwood 8 - 36 Sandown & Shanklin;
London South Africa 27 - 29 Winchester;
Old Alleynians 18 - 33 Teddington;
Old Wellingtonians 58 - 26 Old Wimbledonians.