TOTTON & Eling will have fellow strugglers Christchurch and Fareham Town looking nervously over their shoulders after a quite remarkable victory at Miller Park earlier tonight.

The Sydenhams Premier basement boys thrashed Horndean 5-0 with a Chris Marwood hat-trick and a brace from new signing Mark Osman.

The Millers led 4-0 at the break with co-manager/chairman Andy Tipp joking: “I thought someone was going to wake me up in a minute!

“Seriously though, this has been coming. We were unlucky not to get a point at Bemerton on Saturday, but we didn’t take our chances.

“Tonight, though, our finishing was sublime. I didn’t think Horndean played that badly first half, but every time we shot, we scored.

“Chris and Osey played well together and we had Steve Jenkin back too. It’s the strongest side we’ve had out for a long time and we really got at them.”

The Millers are now just three points behind third-to-bottom Christchurch with a game in hand and two more home matches to come against Hamworthy United on Saturday and Bournemouth Poppies next Tuesday.

Petersfield Town took a significant step towards the SWL title with a 1-0 win home win over Graham Kemp’s new charges Bemerton Heath.

Robbie Tambling pouched the Rams’ 65th-minute winner to open a four-point gap on chasing Winchester City with a game in hand.

Kick-off was delayed by 25 minutes due to a hiccup with the new floodlight system at Love Lane.

Blackfield & Langley survived a late scare in a 3-2 win at Andover Town. The Watersiders led through Dan Cann and Dan Munday (2) before Town hit back twice in the dying embers.

Folland Sports’ hopes of returning to eighth were sunk 3-0 at Newport IoW – their third straight league defeat.

There was late agony for Hythe & Dibden in Sydenhams One as Declan McGregor’s 88th-minute strike floored them 1-0 at Downton.

Alresford Town missed out on the Aldershot Senior Cup final, beaten 4-2 by Craig Davis’s Fleet Town (Rob Carr 3, Pat Cox).

Ex-Eastleigh striker Ben Wright fired fourth-placed Havant & Waterlooville into an early lead at Concord Rangers, but it was all in vain in a 3-2 Conference South defeat.

Poole Town remain a point behind Southern Premier leaders Corby after winning 2-0 at Arlesey through ex-AFC Totton defender Jamie Whisken and AFC Bournemouth loanee Mason Walsh.