Petersfield Town attempting to complete a remarkable nap hand against Newport IoW in Wessex League play-off semi-final

They travel to the Isle of Wight to take on Newport for a place in the Wessex League Division 1 play-off final.

The teams have already met four times this season - and the Rams have won the lot!

Petersfield won two early-season cup encounters 2-0 on home soil - in the Hampshire Senior Cup and the Wessex League Cup.

Top scorer Archie Greenough and skipper Connor Hoare then scored in a 2-1 league victory at Smallbrook.

And a fourth victory was secured in mid-March when Greenough, Kieran Alcock and Cameron Smith were on target in a 3-0 success.

‘It’s tough one, it depends how you want to look at it,’ Petersfield co-boss Pat Suraci told The News.

‘Having beaten them four times, we feel confident we can do it again. But you also know you’ll do well to beat any team five times out of five.

‘They’re going to be highly motivated to get one back on us.

‘We’ll try and play our normal game, try and keep to our usual principles.

‘But it’s a different type of pressure, a different type of nerves. It’ll be about managing peoples’ emotions.’

Petersfield rang the changes for their last Division 1 game of the season at fellow play-off semi-finalists Hamworthy Recreation at the weekend.

The team’s three leading goalscorers - Greenough (22 goals), Alex Barsa (16) and Hoare (10) - were among those rested. Others included Paul Agbeseyi and Alcock.

Keeper Chris Wing was handed his first appearance of the season, but was forced off through injury at half-time. With no recognised shot-stopper on the bench, defender Ben Cooper had to go in goal. Two goals down at the interval, the Rams ended up losing 3-0.

Suraci admits Petersfield have exceeded expectations. ‘Given where the club had finished in the last few years, and given this was mine and Joe’s (Joe Lea, joint-boss) first season (managing) in men’s football, anything in the top half, from 10th upwards, would have been a successful season,’ he remarked.

This is the Rams’ first top half finish in a league since they won the Wessex Premier title - 12 months after claiming the Division 1 silverware - in 2014/15.

They will be back at Hamworthy next Saturday in the play-off final if they beat Newport once again and the Dorset club win at New Milton in Wednesday’s second semi-final.

The play-off games will go straight to penalties if the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes.

Petersfield have had some experience of shoot-outs this season, losing to Stoneham in the Russell Cotes Cup and beating Fareham in the Wessex League Cup semi-final.

The Rams face Baffins Milton Rovers in the League Cup final at AFC Portchester on Saturday, May 6.