MANAGER Simon Browne thanked Shane Murphy after he had answered an SOS to solve Hamworthy United’s goalkeeping crisis.

Browne was left searching for a stopper after number one Simon Evans pulled out ahead of Saturday’s Wessex Premier clash with Romsey Town.

Youth-team goalkeeper Rob Voysey looked set to be thrown in at the deep end until Murphy stepped in.

The former Cherries trainee helped Hammers fight back from 1-0 down to claim a 1-1 draw at the County Ground thanks to Lee Chudy’s second-half penalty.

Boss Browne said: “Simon Evans rang on the morning of the game and he had flu. I had to make a few phone calls.

“Rob Voysey is our youth-team goalkeeper and I wasn’t really planning to play him yet, certainly against Romsey.

“I phoned Shane Murphy, who had been out for four months with a back injury.

“He stepped in and did really well. I was very grateful to him and I was well chuffed with what he did.”

Hammers: Murphy, Wyatt, White, Horlock, Haysom, Pidgley (Whitcher, h-t), Stacey, Robinson, Lanahan, Chudy (Basing, 85), Burbidge. Unused subs: Staines, Voysey (g/k).

• Christchurch tightened their grip on a top-five place as Dan Crutchley’s first-half goal earned a 1-0 win over Brading Town.

The defender headed home Mark Smith’s corner to seal the points at Hurn Bridge.

Priory manager Graham Kemp said: “We dominated from start to finish and missed an awful lot of chances, which made it a little bit nervous towards the end.

“The teams around us dropped points so the win cemented our place in the top five.”

Priory: Collins, Thompson, Legg, Crutchley, Costello, Burt, Smith, Griffin (Taylor, 75), Osborne (Kittle, 70), Cook, Burden (Fairbrother, 60). Unused subs: Harris, Lovell.

• Manager Glenn Burnett and his assistant John McFarlane were New Milton Town’s only substitutes as relegation-threatened Linnets were hammered 5-1 at high-flying Bemerton.

Recent recruit Rob Lofters-Desport made it two goals in two games by netting for depleted Linnets.

Linnets: Rowe, Morris, Donaldson (McFarlane, 80), Stuart, Barge, Case, Gilkes, Tanner, Graham, Moth, Lofters-Desport. Unused sub: Burnett.

• Ringwood goalkeeper Jon Page produced a number of saves to help his team claim a 0-0 draw at Tadley Calleva.

Ringwood handed a Wessex Division One debut to under-18s striker Carl Terry.

Ringwood: Page, S Hole, Osman, Yeats, Eley, Roberts (Hawkins, 83), Manning, Hardy (Elezi, 75), Brown, Terry, W Hole. Unused subs: Bailey, Morrell, Steele.