HAVANT & Waterlooville aim to make Trophy favourites Tamworth pay for their over-confidence in Saturday's semi-final second leg.

The Lambs must come south with only the thin cushion of a 43rd-minute Scott Rickards goal, yet manager Darron Gee reckons his side will revel in the wide open spaces of Westleigh Park (2pm), knowing the Hawks need to score to keep their Villa Park dream alive.

Professing himself delighted with the 1-0 scoreline, Gee said: "We knew they'd come to frustrate us and they did. But now they'll have to stretch themselves and play with more than one up front. It'll open up the game for us."

Hawks, though, would beg to differ. Riled by his opposite number's dismissive attitude, co-manager Mick Jenkins insisted: "If they want to write us off they can, but there's a lot more to come from us yet. That pitch was a disgrace and it was hard to play our normal passing game but, realistically, we've got to be happy with 1-0. The tie is still very much alive."

H&W's Woolston-based marksman James Taylor, who ploughed a lone furrow up front on a hard, dry and crusty surface, agreed: "It was hard to get the ball down and play, but the pitch will be a lot better at our place.

"I don't know yet if we'll go with more than one up front. We may stick with the same formation. There's no need to panic. We've got plenty of time left to score.

"I reckon we've got a fair chance of making the final. I've had a feeling all along that we're going to do it."

Despite the absence of skipper and defensive linchpin Gareth Hall with a knee injury, the Hawks defended solidly against a classy Tamworth side who have already claimed four Conference scalps - Farnborough, Margate, Nuneaton and Stevenage - en route to the last four.

There were times in the first half when it looked as if Saturday's second leg would be a mere formality as the Lambs launched wave after wave of attack urged on by a fiercely passionate 2,165 crowd.

But, with Christian Hanson rock-like in his resistance, the Hawks overcame a shaky start to fight a brave rearguard action and take the pressure off 'keeper Aaron Kerr.

Hanson got his head there just in the nick of time to stop Mark Hallam connecting with Scott Rickards' dangerous eighth-minute cross and then Steve Evans put a flying header just over.

Mark Cooper, son of Saints' European scout Terry, went close with a glancing header from a corner and Rickards flashed a shot just over shortly before giving Tamworth the lead.

For once the Hawks were caught off-guard defensively as skipper Timmy Hambley conceded a needless free-kick which Cooper - playing his first game back after a long-term calf injury - slammed into the wall.

But the ball found its way out to Brian McGorry on the right and he lofted it back into the danger zone where ex-Leicester City defender Steve Walsh headed down for Rickards to thump home.

"It was a bad time to lose a goal and I don't know who was supposed to be picking Rickards up," said Jenkins. "But I can't be too disappointed. The boys at the back were solid and Aaron didn't have too many saves to make over the 90 minutes."

Indeed, it was Kerr's opposite number, Darren Acton, who pulled off the save of the match.

It came 23 minutes into a much-improved second-half by the Hawks when he somehow clawed over a magnificent 25-yard shot on the turn from former Nottingham Forest midfielder Bobby Howe.

It wasn't the first time the Hawks had put the Lambs on the back foot.

In the 54th minute McGorry's timely interception prevented Taylor getting on the end of Brett Poate's low, drilled free-kick from the right and, from Poate's resulting corner, Acton had to get down sharply to stop a 30-yard thunderbolt from West End-based midfielder Neil Davis, who must sit out the second leg suspended.

Tamworth hit the bar with a bending shot from Evans ten minutes later and, on 78 minutes, the Hawks survived another scare when Rickards dragged a golden opportunity wide.

As the tie ticked into stoppage time Hanson crowned a stubborn performance with a brave double block from Mark Hallam and Nick Colley to ensure his side kept within touching distance of the runaway Dr Martens Premier Division leaders.

Hawks' joint manager Liam Daish is a good judge of defensive qualities from his Republic of Ireland, Birmingham and Coventry days and said: "Our two young centre-halves (Hanson and Alec Masson) stuck their heads on things and defended well against a good, hard-working Tamworth side.

"The crowd here are superb and a lot of teams might have crumbled under that pressure. But we didn't, we hung on and worked our socks off."

Promising fireworks at Westleigh Park on Saturday, he said: "You don't get to a national semi-final too often and we're going to give it a right good crack. If we're going to go out, we'll do it with all guns blazing."