Hampton & Richmond Borough boss Alan Devonshire reckons his side could have done more than halt a three match losing streak with a draw at the weekend - but he was relieved they did.

The Beavers had been leading 1-0 through a Barrie Matthews penalty at Havant & Waterlooville on Saturday following a collision between Lawrence Yaku and Hawkes keeper Aaron Howe that could have seen the latter dismissed as the last line of defence.

The hosts went on to equalise with ten minutes remaining and deny Hampton the chance of their first win in September, having started the month on the back of a five-match unbeaten run.

A man of the match display from keeper Matt Lovett - including a penalty save - meant Devonshire’s men kept up their recent good form at Westleigh Park.

But nonetheless the Beveree chief, who admitted confidence in the squad had been low going into the game, felt a little short changed.

“It was very important to end that run. We had to dig in. Matt played well, but there were a number of good performances,” he said.

“When you lose three on the trot is does affect you, but at the end of the day it is my job to keep confidence high so it was a relief to avoid a defeat.

“Their keeper should have been sent off because he was the last man when he brought Lawrence Yaku down. We probably would have gone on to win the game if that had happened.

“We’ve won our last two at Havant, so it was still a good result and we need to kick on from here.”

The result secured Hampton’s first point in three weeks as injuries to Francis Quarm, Michael Charles and Graham Harper continue to frustrate Devonshire.

“We defended well at the weekend, but that was probably the first time that back three has played together this season and hopefully they can continue,” he added.

Saturday’s draw gives the squad a boost going in to this weekend’s FA Cup second qualifying round trip to Blue Square South rivals Braintree Town - who Hampton drew 2-2 with in the league earlier in the season.

“It is a big competition and every team in our league fancies their chances of getting to the first round proper. One of us is going out in this round though,” said Devonshire.

“Our away record was the best in the league last year and it is good again this season, so we’ll just go there looking to at least build on that.”

Hampton’s next three fixtures: Sept 26 Braintree Town (FAC, a), Oct 3 Weymouth (h), 10 FA Cup (tbc).