JO Tessem rolled back the years to plunder a first-half hat-trick tonight and give Totton & Eling fresh hope of escaping the dreaded Sydenhams Premier drop zone.

Tessem recently turned 43, but the former Saints and Norway midfielder/striker showed the hunger of a man half his age as Totton turned on the midweek magic once again to bury Bournemouth Poppies 3-0 at Miller Park.

“It’s the best I’ve seen Jo play for a long, long time,” smiled Millers chairman/co-manager Andy Tipp.

“We came out of the blocks really quickly and he scored after only two minutes.”

Steve Marwoood provided the throughball for Tessem to stab that early opener into the bottom corner.

Bournemouth responded with some good football but, against the run of play, the 6ft 3in Norwegian popped up again with a 40th-minute header.

Tessem completed his hat-trick just before the interval, this time tucking away Steve Jenkin’s cross.

“We rested Chris Marwood and Jo played as the No9 with Jenks on one side and young Connor Hoare on the other,” Tipp explained.

“He was there to hold the ball up and knock it off to them, but it didn’t work out like that!

“He looked really hungry tonight and it’s probably the best half of football I’ve seen him play for us.”

Although victory wasn’t quite enough to winch T&E out of bottom spot, they now trail Christchurch only on goal difference. But one blot on an otherwise perfect evening for the Millers was that fellow strugglers Fareham Town also pulled a win out of the bag.

Matt Parr’s men heaved themselves out of the bottom two by edging Blackfield & Langley 1-0 at Cams Alders.

Blackfield played much of the game with ten men having had Nick Tayler sent off and the Watersiders needed young goalkeeper Jack Nicholson to bail them out by saving Bradey Norton’s penalty.

But Callum Laycock scored Town’s all-important winner on the brink of half-time and Fareham rode their luck in the second half to hold on to three priceless points.

“You’d have put money on Blackfield beating Fareham, but we’ve at least put pressure on Christchurch (home to Andover Town tonight),” said Tipp.

“It’s not in our hands and all we can do is hope for the best.”