Havant still searching for first league points
HAVANT men’s early season struggles continued as they suffered a fourth successive National Division 1 South defeat.
The latest came as they were beaten 2-0 on the road at Brighton & Hove to leave them propping up the table.
Things don't get any easier either, with a visit from table-toppers Teddington - still with an 100 per cent record - to come this weekend.
It was a familiar story for Havant who had lots of good possession but are just struggling to find that cutting edge at the moment.
Jack Jones would punish them, drifting into the circle and firing past Maciej Pacanowski on 24 minutes.
Havant's task became tougher on 47 minutes as Brighton doubled their lead through Ali Higginson, who was on hand to fire home a rebound.
The visitors created some good chances in the closing stages but they failed to find a way through and still remain pointless after four league matches.
■ Havant Ladies' rise up the South Division 3B standings was halted after they fell to defeat in a five-goal thriller with Southampton.
A fine win over Winchester last time out had filled them with confidence but it wasn't quite enough to prevent them from suffering a 3-2 loss last weekend.
Veteran and player/coach Sue Merry fired high into the Havant net to leave them reeling inside the first five minutes.
But they were soon back on terms as Elisabeth Allen finished off a move after 10 minutes. They thought they’d taken the lead before the break but had a goal disallowed.
As in the first half, there was little between the teams in and end-to-end second period.
Former Havant player Zoe Stride was on hand to restore Southampton's advantage minutes after the restart.
Louise Taylor's well-placed shot levelled it up once again on 51 minutes but Southampton would snatch the win.
They grabbed the decisive fifth goal of the game in the final 10 minutes.