Romsey Town picked up their first points in Sydenhams Division One for almost half a year, in turn getting new manager Andy Samuels’s tenure off to a positive start against table-toppers Tadley Calleva.

The club have had a turbulent couple of weeks since the departure of head coach James Phillips, but they began to put that turmoil behind them with a 2-2 draw at the Bypass Ground, which lifted them off the bottom of the Wessex second tier for the first time since mid-December.

Adam Alliston and Ben Wickers were on target for Tadley, who have been beaten just twice in 18 outings this term, taking the lead twice.

But Town levelled through Oliver Bailey on 28 minutes before Kadeem Price netted from the penalty spot with ten minutes left.

The visitors had retaken the lead with 20 minutes to play but in an eye-catching finish, including eight minutes of stoppage time, both teams pushed for the win.

“I’m so pleased with the lads,” said new boss Samuels, who took charge last week. “We set them (the team) up differently, gave them a game plan, removed the weight of pressure and told them to go out and enjoy their football.

“As a result they’ve showed today that they can compete with the best team in the league currently and we hope that’ll give them huge confidence and belief going into our remaining games.

“It was a very satisfying performance and result but it’s only the start of what we need to do. We’re looking to bring in a couple more new faces this week to give the lads a boost and to freshen things up.

“The lads today were excellent but that is now the standard we expect next week at Pewsey Vale and for the remainder of the campaign.” Samuels has already added to his side with the signing of Mitchell Parker, who has arrived on a deal from Eastleigh.

Romsey travel to mid-table Pewsey Vale tomorrow in their next crunch match (3pm) at The Recreation Ground.