Rams target place in last eight

The Rams will be hoping to book their place in the quarter-finals of the county competition by seeing off the challenge of their Wessex division one opponents.

The last time Petersfield travelled to Hurn Bridge was at the tail end of last season, when they were given a guard of honour by their hosts after winning the Wessex premier division title.

However, it was a sad day for Christchurch as the 6-1 defeat they suffered saw them slip into the drop zone, leading to their eventual relegation

The home side will be keen to avenge that defeat and show the Southern League visitors that they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Petersfield eased their way past struggling Bashley 5-0 in the first round last Tuesday, and Rams boss Ian Saunders will be hoping his side avoid another potential banana skin.

‘Now that we have gone up to step four of the non-league system, we are one of the higher-ranked sides in most of the county competitions and there are plenty of teams we will face who will be keen to spring an upset against us.

‘Like the last round, I am just looking for my players to put in a professional performance so that we keep winning the games we should be and we book our place in the next round.

‘Games like this are never easy – Christchurch will be fired up and will fancy their chances of getting a result on their own patch.

‘We need to go there and make sure we prepare in the usual way and make sure we do things right – we will not be underestimating them.’

The winners of tonight’s game will face a trip to AFC Portchester in the next round.

Saunders added: ‘We will be taking this competition very seriously – if we play to our full potential this is a competition we have a chance of winning.’

– GRAEME MOIR