First Win Still Eludes Frustrated Alton

That first league win is still proving to be as elusive as the Cheshire Cat after Alton succumbed to mid-table Southampton at Anstey Park and slipped to their sixth straight defeat in the process.

Their late fightback, stirring as it was, proved to be insufficient as Saints deservedly held on to claim their first win in four games.

Andy Davies' opportunist try helped Alton to a narrow 5-3 at the break but the visitors, who enjoyed the lion's share of possession and territory in the first half, dominated the third quarter and scored two tries to surge 17-5 ahead.

Alton hit back with a late try by James Gay but an increasingly edgy Saints held out, deservedly clinching the points and giving a boost to their own injury-hit squad.

As as has been the case this season, Alton saved their best rugby until it was really needed. Otherwise, it was a day on which they struggled for quality first- phase possession, most notably at the line-out; moreover, too many passes were misplaced, and their discipline was flawed.

But they're a determined lot, this Alton team and defensively, they are a tough nut to crack; in short, they are a proud bunch and a hard team to beat. They just need to start winning.

Faced by another bigger forward pack that assailed them relentlessly in the third and first quarters of the match, they defended stoically, but therein lies the nub of the problem: they were never in a position to dictate the game.

Alton had their performers: prop James Gay and ubiquitous flanker Winston Carter, in particular, covered huge yardage and were all over the opposition at the breakdowns like a cheap aftershave, but overall the Saints - with athletic number eight Adam Grogan to the fore - were the more controlled, unified entity throughout the game.

Alton made something of a shambolic start. They lost their first three line-outs and turned the ball over three times in the first ten minutes.

Bruce Oliphant was yellow-carded in the 20th minute for offering a few too many opinions to the referee, by which time Alton had conceded seven penalties, one of which stand-off Pierre Molyneux converted to give the Saints an early 3-0 lead.

It was all Saints and Molyneux nearly increased the lead when he made a clean break inside Alton's 22, but a try-saving tackle from full-back Stephen Johns kept him out.

But Molyneux endured an horrific moment on 28 minutes when he spilled a pass from his scrum-half Paul Brant over his own line and number eight Davies pounced to score and give Alton an unexpected lead.

Alton began to play and on the occasions they did ship the ball wide, they did carry the greater threat and pace but too often their passing was imprecise.

They nearly extended their lead shortly before half-time when punishing drives by Oliphant and Davies took Alton deep inside the Saints' 22. Quick ruck-ball created a two-man overlap on the right, but the decisive pass went behind Dan Forsyth and the centre was unable to gather the ball. Chance gone.

But Southampton made by far the stronger start to the second half and took the lead when Molyneux found redemption for his earlier error.

Saints' forwards pounded away deep inside the Alton 22 and appeared to have been thwarted by some tireless home defence, but Molyneux, seeing space behind the opposition backs, put in a grubber and gathered to score.

He converted too, and twelve minutes later Saints were well and truly in the box-seat, and Molyneux was again at the hub of things. His cross-kick fell for wing James Parkes, who did especially well to make the off-load out of James Ross' tackle and centre Adam Nelson was on hand to take the inside pass and score. Grogan then really put the boot in with a towering conversion from wide out right.

Alton narrowed the deficit with four minutes remaining when a rolling-maul from a line-out catch-and-drive allowed Carter to burrow over, but it proved to be too little, too late. Alton must return to the drawing-board for them next league game, a tricky trip to newly-promoted Fordingbridge.

Alton: Johns; Postles, Forsyth, Ott, Ross; Collins, Grace; Happel, Parratt (c), Gay; Oliphant (Hopkin 68), Greenhalgh; Carter, MacDonell, Davies.

Tries: Davies, Carter.

Southampton: Orrel; Parkes, Josh, Nelson, Sharpe; Molyneux, Brant; Coffin (c), Reid, Simmonds (Dewey); Simmonds, Long (Peter); Greenaway, Mauger, Grogan.

Tries: Molyneux, Nelson; Conversions: Molyneux, Grogan; Penalty: Molyneux. Match pix can be found here:

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