Brave fight is put up but Locksheath Pumas' Hampshire Plate hopes blown to pieces by Alton
Locksheath Pumas had their Hampshire Plate ambitions shattered by a 33-7 semi-final defeat at Alton.
The Hampshire One promotion hopefuls were forced to field a much-changed side against their Hampshire Premier hosts.
All the players that came in acquitted themselves well and contributed to a good performance.
Winger Mike Thomson and wing forward Alex Buck wing forward impressed on their senior debuts.
Paul Price, Tom O'Grady, Ben Angell, Matt Hill and Harry Graham also put in great shifts.
It was all square after the opening half-hour with both sides looking to attack at every opportunity.
Even following a yellow card to Charlie Ford for an illegal tackle, Locksheath defended well.
The Pumas' lineout was working well and they had a fair amount of possession.
But following a second yellow card, this time to Pumas hooker John Pearson, Alton opened the score with a converted try on the wing.
With the extra man, Alton ran in a second try on the same wing and opened up a 21-0 half-time advantage.
The Pumas continued to show great spirit and good defence after the restart.
They fought to the last and following a good passage of play pushed deep into the Alton 22.
From a resulting scrum, the pack pushed Alton back and number eight Jonathon Elsmore picked up to feed Nick Destefano. In turn, he fed Matt Hill to crash through to score a well deserved try which Nick Destefano converted.
Pumas head coach Liam Moggeridge said: ‘I am really proud of the lads.
‘Considering Alton are top contenders in the Hampshire Premier, we competed really well.
‘Their finishing was the difference and this was a great example for us to analyse further if we wish to compete in that league next season.
‘On another day we could have come away with a different result and this is something for us to aim for as we look to close out our season.’