A slack and error ridden second-half performance saw initial Fareham promise evaporate into a disappointing 3-2 defeat by NOW: Pensions England Hockey Western Conference rivals Guildford at Henry Cort.

Fareham were a goal up in the opening minute and 2-1 ahead midway through the first half – but fell apart after the break.

“We went to sleep,” claimed head coach Ben Barnes.

“I was really disappointed. We let ourselves down.

“In the second half, Guildford were winning more of the 50-50s and seemed to have a bit more desire to play and support each other.

“We stopped running for each other. We stopped moving the ball on quickly so there were a lot of tackles they were able to get because we were pondering.

“We just gave the game to them by just being sleepy.

“There were some honest words said at the end of the game.”

The disappointing climax was far removed from the positive start Fareham made to a first half which was high in intensity and full of attacking play.

Fareham’s start was near perfect – Alex Boxall feeding the ball through to Josh Godfrey, who exchanged passes with Daniel Sampey before the Australian got his 12th goal of the season.

That lead ought to have been doubled as Danny Rawlins shot over the bar and Sampey hit a shot past the left-hand post.

Caught cold by that early strike, Guildford gained a foothold in the game and, after Fareham had lost possession – a never ending theme after the break – Chris Boot drilled in a ninth-minute equaliser.

Fareham’s first penalty corner brought its rewards as Jamie Rawlins rifled a powerful drag flick past former Great Britain goalkeeper Simon Mason.

That was probably as good as it got for Fareham, who spent the remaining first-half minutes defending short corners, with George Harris earning his corn.

It was the ‘same old’ after that as Fareham continued to squander possession and completely lost their way.

Once James Fergusson equalised, the writing was on the wall and William Blockley’s 41st minute winner gave Guildford the win they deserved.

Sampey did have two chances to save it, but each time Mason underlined his long standing reputation with fine saves.

Fareham are already certain to finish fourth, but Barnes is demanding a much improved performance when they visit Indian Gymkhana for their final match of the season on Sunday.

“There was some serious chat after the Guildford defeat about where they want to be next season and how we push on,” Barnes said.

“There’s been a lot of positives this year but if we’re going to do well next year, it starts now.

“We’ve got to make sure there’s a response at training this week.”