WINCHESTER City hit back from a goal down to edge a tight Southern One South & West contest 2-1 in difficult, wet conditions at the Denplan City Ground.

With the rain pouring down and the wind whipping up, it wasn’t a day to suit Winchester’s passing game.

And there was an early sign of the potential hazards that lay ahead when the ball slithered out of City ’keeper Brendan Norris’s grasp, forcing him to gather at the second attempt.

Shortwood, with the wind at their backs, had the first chance on 13 minutes when Joe Wright’s deep cross from the left drifted across to the back post where Adam Price lashed the ball into the side netting.

Undeterred, Winchester kept trying to play and, on 18 minutes, a fluent move, with a couple of back-heels thrown in for good measure, resulted in Warren Bentley picking out Zach Glasspool, but the No9 could only head tamely at keeper Tom King.

Invariably, though, City moves were breaking down and they had more defending to do from a 24th-minute Ross Stanley corner which defender Matt Bennett headed behind at the back stick.

Stanley was the next the threaten, skipping inside and zipping an 18-yard shot across the slippery surface and wide.

That turned out to be the last warning for City, who fell behind with 32 minutes gone.

This time STANLEY, played in by Wright, got his range spot on as he thumped the ball past Norrios from 20 yards.

Having booked Glasspool moments earlier, referee Jason Connelly failed to punish Shortwood’s Sam Rawlings for a foul that left Jamie Barron requiring treatment.

But when Barron caught Nick Hancock with his next tackle, the tenacious midfielder was shown a yellow card.

On 45 minutes City’s Matt Benham was penalised for a high boot just outside his own area, but the Winchester wall did its job repelling another Stanley strike.

Half time: Winchester City 0 Shortwood United 1

There was more determination about the home side after the break and they took less than five minutes to equalise.

Barron delivered a corner from the left and, as the ball bounced loose inside the six-yard box, ex-Saints youngster BENHAM pounced to thump it home.

Stanley soon had the ball in the net again for the Gloucestershire visitors, but his celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.

Winchester responded with the best move of the game as Benham found Glasspool, who instantly sent Bentley on his way.

The deadly marksman looked certain to score, but King reacted brilliantly to divert his shot away from the bottom corner.

Just after the hour it was Barron’s turn to have a ‘goal’ scrubbed out for offside and then, having had a shot deflected out for a corner, Glasspool forced another good save from King with a flicked header.

With City’s threat growing by the minute, Barron was impeded wide on the left and smashed a glorious free kick against the angle of bar and post before Taz Roberts headed the follow-up wide.

The game could still have gone either way and it needed a strong hand by Norris to paw away Stanley’s inswinging corning.

Five minutes later, it was City who took the lead.

There was an element of luck about it as ROBERTS cross from the right by-line. The wind appeared to play its part as the ball floated over the keeper and squeezed under the bar for what transpired to be the 82nd-minute winner.

The closest Shortwood came to equalising was with the very last kick of the game, but young Canadian keeper Norris got down well at his near post to deny Marley Thomas.

Result: Winchester City 2 Shortwood Utd 1.