Hampton & Richmond Borough skipper Dean Wells has admitted striker Dave Tarpey’s equaliser at relegation rivals Weston-Super-Mare on Tuesday came as a massive relief.

Tarpey struck direct from a free-kick in the 74th minute to level matters and stop the hosts gaining ground on the Beavers at the foot of the Blue Square South table.

Boss Alan Devonshire’s men are six points and two places above the drop zone with games in hand, but are nonetheless wary of looking over their shoulders at the prospect of a relegation scrap.

And Wells, whose side has collected eight points from their last five outings, was only too pleased to get more points on the board - even if it was only the one.

“It was very important we got something out of the game on Tuesday. If Weston had won it would have given them hope of getting themselves out of trouble and dragging us in,” he said.

“Dave’s goal came as a massive relief mainly because we’d already missed three very good chances to level things earlier in the game.

“We could have gone on and won it, but getting another point on the board is just as important.

“Our games in hand are against teams chasing the play-offs so they are not going to be easy.

“The more points we can get in the bag the better.”

Hampton enjoy a break this weekend before hosting Havant & Waterlooville on Tuesday night at the Beveree looking to build on their improved form of recent weeks.

“It has not been a great season, but we have started to get the rub of the green in some games and that has been shown in recent results,” added Wells.

“It was men against boys at times when we lost to Newport recently, but confidence is still high and we have shown how strong the togetherness in the squad is.

“All we can do is keep taking our chances and hopefully results will look after themselves.”

Hampton’s next three games: Mar 2 Havant & Waterlooville (h), 6 Worcester City (a), 9 Dorchester Town (h).