Hampstead & Westminster returned empty-handed from their 400-mile round trip to Manchester, fighting back from two goals down against Brooklands in the men’s Premier Division but conceding a decisive strike in a 3-2 defeat.

The newly-promoted hosts capitalised on some sloppy Hampstead defending to open the scoring within the opening two minutes, and a clinical short corner followed shortly after, leaving the visitors 2-0 down inside 10 minutes.

Hampstead got one goal back when captain Toby Roche converted a penalty corner, and Will Naylor emulated that feat.

They continued to build pressure against the home side but a quick breakaway from Brooklands resulted in a corner and a well-executed routine produced a winning goal.

H&W, who dropped to seventh place, face a challenging double- header this weekend. They entertain Reading on Saturday before travelling across north London to face Southgate as they battle to stay in the Premier Division.