What a comeback from the overwhelming defeat last Saturday away to Romsey

This was a well-constructed, great team performance led and co-ordinated by Club Captain Adam Baker, making one of his very occasional appearances on the park!  The team communicated well, talking to each other throughout the game.

Up the hill in the first half with a strong wind behind them and much mud beneath their feet, Alton looked a totally different side from previous outings, moving confidently and with purpose.  The first score came on eight minutes when Alton were awarded three penalties in quick succession and a quck heel from a scrum on the 5 metre line coupled with a controlled shove left Baker the simple act of touching down.  Simon Ford converted.

Fawley responded but a knock-on stopped their backs move. Alton scrum-half, Mark Crowther, took advantage of the wind from the scrum on half way, to gain touch back on Fawley's 5 metre line. Although Fawley cleared their lines on this occasion they gave away a penalty 30 metres out, which Ford converted with aplomb to take the score after twenty minutes to 10 - 0.

Yet another penalty saw Alton back in sight of the line with a throw-in. Flanker, Tom Smethurst, took a clean catch and his fellow forwards drove him over but unfortunately, the fickle wind prevented a successful outcome from the attempted conversion. There followed another dominant driven maul by the Alton pack which freed hooker, Charlie Hibbert, to scamper a mere fifteen metres to cross the line, giving Ford the simplest of tasks to take the half-time score to 22 - 0.

Now playing into the strong wind Alton continued to show their confidence, with the highlight of the first ten minutes of the half being a fifty metre break by centre, David Shepherd. Encouraged by this, Alton's backs began to run and pass as a unit; eventually Matt Spencer, on as a replacement, broke through to score Alton's fourth and bonus try under the posts, which Ford duly converted; 29 - 0.

Fawley, realising that the wind was now in their favour pressed into Alton territory.  Alton defended manfully but unfortunately two of their forwards were sin binned within two minutes of each other for offences at rucks on their own line. Fawley made good use of their two man advantage and ran in two well worked converted tries during this period. Once Alton were restored to a full complement of players, they resumed control to finish the game as well deserved winners.

This was the first return match of the season and Alton were delighted to have avenged the 33 - 8 defeat at Fawley back in September. Man of the match, Adam Baker thanked "the other seventeen players for the heart and spirit they showed in a great team performance."

Referee - David Forrest (HRURS).

Alton do not have a league match until next year, when they play Southampton away on Saturday 16^th January 2016 at Southampton.