In his pre-match comments, Gosport & Fareham captain Simon Burns professed that the game at Andover's Goodship Ground was not going to be an easy prospect - but that they wanted to rack up some points against the league strugglers.

What he cannot have expected was that not only would they not have racked up the points he wanted, but that they would not rack up ANY points at all as they were shocked 10-0 by an impassioned Andover, cheered on by the lubricated Christmas pre-match luncheon patrons.

A hotly-disputed penalty try in the second half was the difference between the sides as Keith Mitchell's charges dogged out the result, while a much-changed Gosport side could find no way through, despite having the advantage of the considerable slope after the break.

"It was all down to hard work, guts and determination," beamed Mitchell. "We knew we had a chance of beating them when we played down there a month ago and did not secure any first phase possession, just giving the ball to them.

"I did not want to say much pre-match, but I always fancied it and can look back at the training work we did after that game as one of the main reasons that we have turned it round."

Gosport secretary Iain Rackham was dumbstruck.

"This is really hard to take, but Andover has always been a bogey ground for us in all my time at the club.

"But I don't think anyone could understand what that penalty try was given for. The referee said that he told two players to retire from a maul, but they still had just short of ten yards to go. It was very strange."

A desperately drab game it was, in miserable conditions, but Portsmouth got their season back on track with a 12-3 win over Sevenoaks, even though they had to contend with the Kent side's killing tactics which were continually going unnoticed.

Despite that, they were happy with the win, especially after sickness denied them Russell Forster and Andy Phillips from their starting line up on the morning of the game.

Rac Ramshaw, burrowing at the base of a ruck, gave them the lead, while Jim Hyde added a second after the break to secure the points.

"These are the sorts of games that we would have normally lost this season," felt coach Ian Chandler.

One coach who was far from happy was Winchester's Mike Marchant, who was left angry and disappointed following their crucial 33-8 reverse at Harlow, which leaves them still second bottom going into the Christmas break - their match against Haywards Heath next week having been postponed.

"Absolutely terrible," he fumed, "the desire and want were all left at Winchester as we did not take it with us to Harlow.

"About 20 minutes from the end, we were still in the game but some nave play conceded possession and after that we capitulated. There is very little a coach can do when the team do not do want they say they are going to in the game plan."

Marchant, whilst not wanting to enact a kneejerk reaction, is looking to make some serious changes in the New Year. "The fantasy season is over, the fiction is finished ... it is time for some reality and it is NOW we need to get down to it."