PERFORMANCE director Richard Sharp was left frustrated as Bournemouth’s hopes of sealing victory at National Two South rivals Sutton & Epsom were left in the dark.

The relegation scrap at Cuddington Court came to a premature end on Saturday, as power failure at the Surrey club’s ground called a halt to proceedings after just 63 minutes.

Shortly before the first of two interruptions, Sutton & Epsom prop Theo Skoumbourdis had crossed from short range to put his team in the lead.

Initially the problem looked to have been fixed but after the lights went out again the referee called time. Deeming the match complete, he declared the home team 20-15 winners.

“Momentum was with us,” said Sharp.

“It was our five-metre attacking scrum when the lights went out. I was in absolutely no doubt that we were going to win that game.”

The decision to abandon the match was straightforward as the pitch and stands were suddenly plunged into darkness.

But Bournemouth will feel aggrieved that the score at the time of the stoppage should stand as the final result.

And Sharp believes the tactical changes that were underway during the business end of the contest would have seen the Chapel Gate side nudge in front in the final quarter.

“Our light, mobile, fit pack was certainly tiring out their squad,” he said.

“We were just bringing on Sammy Hardcastle and our two replacement props to speed up the game.

“We obviously just feel like we can’t catch a break at the moment, with several heartbreaking results, near-misses and close calls - and then this.”

The opening half had been closely contested, with Lions opening up a 6-0 lead inside 10 minutes thanks to two penalties from the flawless boot of scrum-half Grant Hancox.

A try for hometown full-back Sam Hurley on 15 minutes was followed by an exchange of penalties that saw Bournemouth stretch out to a 15-10 lead.

But as has been the case too many times this campaign, a lapse in concentration for the visitors allowed replacement lock Izaiah Moore-Aiono over for a try to level the scores on the stroke of half-time.

The only action on the scoreboard in a tense and curtailed second period was the try from Skoumbourdis, which turned out to be the winner.

Lions on Saturday host Old Redcliffians who sit in 12th, four places and nine points above them in the table.

“The performances have grown week on week and we are really excited about Old Reds coming to Chapel Gate,” said Sharp.

“I am confident we will get our next win.”