Rams hoping comedy remains pitchside

Comedian Hugh Dennis will be calling in at Petersfield’s home before their division one central clash against fellow strugglers Northwood (3pm).

The star of BBC shows Mock The Week and Outnumbered will be helping to celebrate the club’s support for the Dementia Friendly Petersfield scheme.

The Rams agreed to have the initiative’s logo on their new shirts for this season – Petersfield choose a charitable group to support each campaign.

Chairman Graeme Moir explained: ‘We are looking forward to welcoming Hugh to Love Lane – he will be there between 1.30pm and 2.30pm to meet our fans and supporters of the Dementia Friendly Petersfield group.

‘The scheme helps businesses in the town centre to understand dementia better and help people living with the condition to enjoy a better experience when they visit those businesses.

‘As a club, we support a number of charities every season and we are proud to display the logo on our shirts of a scheme which is making a real difference to our town.’

Once the ceremonies are out of the way the serious matter of a crucial Southern League match will have everyone’s attention.

Northwood have eight points from their opening eight matches and currently sit in 15th place in the league table.

The Rams will be looking to build on the excellent point they picked up at Marlow last Saturday, while quickly forgetting about their defeat at AFC Portchester in midweek.

Moir added: ‘This is a really crucial game for us.

‘We have played a lot of the top sides so far and now we have some games coming up against sides down near the bottom of the table.

‘The Portchester result is what it is really – they are a strong side and got the result they deserved on the night.

‘From my perspective, we weren’t going to win the Hampshire Senior Cup this season so in the context of our season, we just have to suck results like that up, move on and make sure we get things right for the bread and butter of the league.

‘Three points against Northwood would put a different complexion on things and be more evidence that we can more than hold our own at this level.

‘And it would also continue to restore some more confidence and belief in the squad.’