By Jon Harland
Hemel Hempstead were 2-1 victors in the Tudor Derby at Beveree Stadium as Hampton & Richmond were unable to make it two wins on the bounce.
Josh Keeya gave Beavers the lead, but goals from Kyle Ajayi and Philip Chinedu secured the Tudors a hard fought win.
The home side dropped one place to 15th in the National League South, while the visitors, now unbeaten in their last five on the road, climbed to 12th.
The Beavers started brightly with some fluid passing, as Zanda Saziba won a free kick on the edge of the box.
Archy Taylor swung in the set piece to Lachlan Byrd who headed across goal, but the Hemel Hempstead goalkeeper caught Mauro Vilhete’s effort.
Tudors got their first chance through Oliver Lynch after 10 minutes, but the Luton loanee sliced his shot wide of the near post.
Vilhete was presented with another half-chance six minutes later, heading Ibrahim Jalloh’s cross just over the crossbar.
Lynch then bundled his way through some challenges and managed a shot, only for Byrd to make a crucial block.
Former Beaver Brandon Barzey fired a vicious attempt at Merrick, who tipped the ball over the bar at full stretch after the half hour mark.
Hampton & Richmond took the lead moments before half-time in a fiercely contested half, thanks to Keeya beat Bradley House to Jalloh’s lofted cross, and his looping header found the back of the net.
Merrick made an impressive double save shortly after the interval, before Ajayi beat the Chelsea loanee on the half volley to level the game in the 48th minute.
The Beavers’ shot stopper executed another double save seven minutes later as the visitors, rejuvenated after the break, piled on the pressure.
After an hour, Vilhete pulled off a delightful roulette to evade a defender, but his shot flashed just wide of the goal.
Merrick kept his side in the game with a couple more outstanding stops, but Hemel Hempstead eventually took the lead in the final five minutes.
The Tudors whipped in a corner from the right hand side and Chinedu towered above his marker to head his side into the lead.
Hampton & Richmond pushed for an equaliser but the visitors saw the game out to take all three points back to Hertfordshire.
Alan Julian’s side can be encouraged by their performance despite defeat, and are just three points off 10th with 10 games still to play.
The Beavers are back in action on Tuesday as they travel to Enfield for a 19:45 kick off.