ROMSEY Town have it all to do to make the Sydenhams Division One top three after letting five points slip from their grasp this week.

Having squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at lowly Whitchurch United last Saturday, the Bypass boys lost a key battle 1-0 at home to third-placed Tadley Calleva on Tuesday as they were forced to play an hour with ten men.

Pearce Farren was shown a straight red for a hefty first-half challenge having previously been booked in the aftermath of an equally bad tackle by a Tadley player on Kieran Hancock which saw the offender go unpunished.

Despite that setback, Romsey did remarkably well to frustrate Tadley and nullify their threat while creating decent chances for Brett Stanley and Tom Donaldson.

But the visitors, who had seen Brett Denham’s header hit the bar in the first half, made the decisive breakthrough when Connor Thorne broke through on 58 minutes and chipped Town keeper Jordan Westbrook from 20 yards.

While disappointed with the result, manager Andy Samuels couldn’t fault Romsey’s efforts against Tadley.

The Whitchurch game, on the other hand, highlighted why Town will probably wind up just outside the promotion frame.

They looked to have had the three points wrapped up at Longmeadow when yet another brilliant Stanley free kick and an Andy Turner finish from Jack Odam’s assist put them in the driving seat.

But, much to Samuels' dismay, they were pegged back by a soft penalty and a break from the halfway line.

“I’m more disappointed with throwing away a two-goal lead at Whitchurch than losing to Tadley,” confessed Samuels, who had seen his side pegged back to 1-1 by Downton the previous week.

“If we hadn’t dropped those four points, we would have been level on points with Tadley going into Tuesday’s game and, even though we lost, we’d still have had the game in hand over them and it would have been in our own hands.

“Now we’re having to rely on Tadley or (second-placed) Andover New Street to have a blip while making sure we win our last five games.

“Maybe we’ll come up a bit short this season, but I’m always the optimist and never say never. Until someone tells me it’s mathematically impossible we’ll keep believing.

"Crazier things have happened. We won’t give up until the last ball is kicked.”

Even if Romsey do miss the promotion boat, there’s no denying the huge strides the team have made since Samuels was appointed three years ago.

“When I first took over we’d had one win in 17 and were bottom of the league with three points," he recalled.

"The transformation has been unbelievable and, whatever happens, it’s been a brilliant season.

“There’s been no budget whatsoever, but we’ve built a side of talented footballers.

"Even if we don't finish top-three, I've set the boys the target of being the fourth best team in the league."

Romsey now face a hectic schedule of four games in eight days.

They head to Alton on Saturday before hosting Laverstock & Ford at the Bypass Ground on Monday (7.45pm).

A trip to Hythe & Dibden follows on Wednesday and before Town return to home soil to face Ringwood on April 21.