Seiden grabs first goal of season as Moneyfields overcome foggy conditions to claim Wessex League win at Alresford

In a rare Friday evening fixture, Moneys triumphed 3-1 at Arlebury Park in a fixture that was close to being abandoned due to the weather.

But for Christchurch scoring a stoppage-time leveller last Tuesday, Moneys would have collected maximum points from their last four away trips.

Those two dropped points would have put them sixth in the Premier Division; as it is, they trail Fareham on goal difference.

‘It was touch and go (whether the game would be called off), both before and during,’ Moneys boss Glenn Turnbull told The News.

‘The referee said that if he couldn’t see his linesmen at any point he’d had to suspend the game.

‘The fog was rolling in and out, and the journey back (to Portsmouth) was pretty hairy - going through the back roads through Petersfield and Denmead.’

Seiden, who netted 13 times for Moneys last season, opened his account for 2022/23 on his 12th start by converting a Josh Hazell cross.

He was playing in the central position of a three behind lone striker Steve Hutchings.

SEE MORE: US Portsmouth v AFC Portchester Wessex League picture gallery

Alresford levelled before the interval, but second-half goals from Charlie Bell, operating on the right of the three, and sub Chad Cornwell sealed victory.

‘We missed loads and loads of chances,’ said Turnbull. ‘Charlie Bell could have had a hat-trick in the first half.

‘Hutch (Hutchings) had a goal ruled out for offside, that’s the way his luck is going at the moment.

‘I couldn’t see Charlie’s goal because of the fog, I had to ask who’d scored it!’

It was Alresford’s 10th successive league defeat, after lifting the curtain on the campaign with a shock 2-1 victory at Shaftesbury.

Moneys, meanwhile, have taken 10 points out of 12 following a run of six defeats in seven fixtures - but four of those losses were in cup ties (FA Cup, Wessex League Cup, Hampshire Senior Cup and FA Vase).

‘The cup results have masked things a bit,’ said Turnbull. ‘They’ve probably portrayed a worse run than it was. That’s what created more problems in some people’s eyes.

‘Those extra two points at Christchurch would have put us sixth, that doesn’t sound like a disaster to me. It puts it in perspective a little bit.

‘I know there’s a view that if we want to achieve what we want to achieve we should be beating the likes of Alresord, with respect.

‘It would have been nice to have picked up 12 points from 12, but I’m happy with 10. I’m happy with our league results, we’ve won over 50 per cent of the games.’

Moneys are next in action at Hampshire Premier League club Paulsgrove in a Russell Cotes Cup tie next Saturday.

This midweek brings a raft of Russell Cotes ties, but Grove can’t host then due to a lack of floodlights. And they can’t switch it, due to the John Jenkins Stadium development at Dover Road still ongoing.

‘