A 3-2 defeat at Camberley & Farnborough – which coincided with Fareham III notching a third straight win – has increased Romsey’s worries in the Hampshire/Surrey Regional Division 2 relegation zone.

It was a familiar story as, for a third game running, Romsey came away from a tight fixture with disappointingly little to show for their efforts, though they can take encouragement from their competitive performance.

The first half was played mostly in the midfield and Romsey were unfortunate to be denied the lead with the umpire whistling to award a penalty corner just before Jack Forrest-Charde, pictured right, hit a fine strike that found the goal.

Instead, it was Camberley who took the lead from a penalty corner with a nicely taken deflection at the back post – an advantage they doubled before the break when an aerial ball opened up the Romsey defence and the move was well finished with a ball fired across the area and deflected over the diving keeper.

Camberley had managed to charge down most of the visitors’ penalty corner efforts in the opening half, but after half-time Romsey had some luck as a deflection from a defender's stick saw the ball loop up on to the crossbar and go in off the unfortunate keeper.

Romsey’s equaliser was pure skill, however, as rising mixed netball star Joe Welch made a burst forward in the midfield before finding striker Lewis Birch in the area, who fired a trademark rising reverse stick shot into the net. The game was well balanced and might have gone either way but Camberley won it when the ball was deflected into the air where Loz Scott, the Romsey goalkeeper, was blinded by the low setting sun, allowing a forward at the back post to knock in the decisive goal.

The result leaves Romsey second from bottom, three points ahead of Southampton University, who lost 1-0 to Reigate Priory, but one point behind the Bank of England, who went down 4-3 in a bruising encounter with Wimborne Wayfarers.

Fareham III, whose first win came against Wimborne, have pulled clear of the immediate danger zone on the back of three straight wins.

They left it late before beating Sunbury & Walton Heath 2-0 and were down to ten men when Nic Cope and Peter Symonds College student Cameron Duncan scored to clinch the points.