Clanfield bid to stun Hampshire Premier League champions Colden Common for second time this year at Westleigh Park

It was on January 22 of this year that Common suffered a 4-1 Premier Division loss against Clanfield at Westleigh Park.

After that, they won 10 and drew two of their remaining 12 fixtures to pip Denmead to the title by just a point.

Common have started this season with a 0-0 draw against Andover New Street Swifts and a 6-2 thumping of Moneyfields Reserves.

Dan Penfold struck a hat-trick for Clanfield when they beat Common almost eight months ago. But he misses Tuesday’s reunion due to serving the final game of a suspension.

The striker was handed a three-game ban for being sent off after the final whistle against Lyndhurst last April. His appeal fell on deaf ears.

Clanfield will also be without midfielder Jake Knight, who limped off with an ankle injury in the first half of Saturday’s 5-3 win over Liphook at Westleigh Park.

It was one of just three top flight games to go ahead, with the others being postponed to the heatwave conditions.

Clan boss Lee Blakely said it would have been ‘ridiculous’ to call his side’s fixture off, even in such sweltering conditions.

‘Everyone coped well,’ he reported. ‘I think everyone was glad that the game went ahead.

‘The referee said he would stop the game every 15 minutes for a drinks break if the players needed it, but we only had one midway through each half.’

In a see-saw encounter, Adam Smalley and Fred Penfold twice fired Clanfield into a first half lead.

The visitors hit back to lead 3-2 before Ollie Long bagged an equaliser. Goals from subs Brandon Newman and Bailey Foster sealed a first win of 2022/23 - Clan having drawn 0-0 with QK Southampton in their curtain-raiser.

‘It’s not about the performances in August, it’s about building momentum and getting results,’ said Blakely.

‘Scoring early on (against Liphook) gave us a bit of false confidence, we took our foot off the gas.’

Common didn’t play at the weekend as scheduled opponents Denmead chose not to play amid reports of temperatures hitting the mid-30s.

Striker Sam Adams has returned to the defending champions after hitting 32 goals in just 26 starts in 2019/20. He has already made an impact, firing a hat-trick against Moneyfields.