ALTON 4, SOUTHAMPTON II 0

ALTON put two successive defeats behind them with a convincing win over Hampshire 2 strugglers Southampton II at Amery Hill.

The sides looked evenly-matched early on, but Alton gradually began to dominate possession and a goal looked imminent as Southampton were forced back on defence.

It was skipper Nigel Downing who put his side in front, tucking the ball over the keeper’s shoulder after a scramble in the circle. And Downing soon added a second after an excellent team move.

Southampton, now well and truly boxed in, presented little threat and Alton soon made it three when Jason Smith was brought down in the circle and Tom Singleton calmly slotted the penalty flick to the keeper’s left.

Tom Green missed by inches on the far post just before the break, but Southampton were more of a threat on the restart and Forbes Hamilton and Scott Reading had some work to do in defence.

However, the tide turned again and Alton wrapped up the points with their fourth goal. Another flowing move caught Southampton out of position and Pete Harvey finished in style with a diving shot.

Alton travel to Dorset this week for an important match against Poole.