○Sholing2–0Andover Town

Andover Town played their last league game of the season at the Universal Stadium against Sholing who are currently third in the table. Andover had secured their promotion place last Saturday and if this match had been the decider their tenacity may have meant it would have ended with a different result. The away side demonstrated some classy midfield play however they did not manage to create successful scoring opportunities needed to maximise their chance of finishing the season as league leaders. Reece Rusher did his best to try and set up opportunities for the forwards and his recent play must be making the choice between him and Jason Silver very difficult for the Manager in the upcoming cup games. Adam Costello continues to impress as he is proving to be tough defender for the opposition to overcome.

Zach Glasspool opened the Andover goal attempts when a Michael Gosney cross found him in a potentially successful position, but he wasn’t able to add to his impressive goal tally this season. The first ten minutes saw some further attacking play by both sides. Immanuel Soetan only managed to find the hands of Ryan Gosney in the Sholing goal when a masterly exchange of passes by Cook and Rusher gave him the opportunity to put one in the net. Costello was unable to take full advantage of well placed corner by Michael Gosney due to the robustness of the home side defence. At the other end of the pitch Jake Hoole had an attempt which wasn’t immediately clear whether its purpose was a cross or a shot, but it was clear that it only just missed the goal post. Dan Mason only missed scoring when an efficient Sholing move ended with him being flagged for off side and the chance was lost. As the Sholing fan’s singing gained decibels the home side started to take more control of midfield and in the 16th minute Byron Mason found space in the Andover defence and put his side in the lead with the first goal of the game. Undeterred Andover continued to work hard and at this time it was a close call as to whom was getting the best run of play. In fact Sholing didn’t win their first corner until the 22nd minute. But when Alex Sawyer took the corner it was clear that set play could present the away side with a few problems as the kick was extremely well placed and Sholing were unlucky not to score at this time. Then about half way through the first half Sholing won a free kick which was taken very quickly. This had clearly been practiced many times as Lee Wort seemed to come from nowhere in plenty of space to beat Luke Cairney in almost a pedestrian manner. The remainder of the first half was played out with very little to thrill the Andover fans apart from some spectacular saves from Cairney, which continued after the break.

Half time Sholing 2-0 Andover Town

The first few minutes of the second half saw Andover winning two corners and a free kick which offered the away support the promise of a goal as Gosney stepped up to take. Unfortunately his sibling in goal denied him the glory as he seemed to mind read the Andover striker and place himself in exactly the right position. The match continued in similar vein to the majority of previous play. Andover were winning the midfield battles but unable to finish any of the chances created. Cairney continued to prevent a greater goal deficit with more remarkable saves. Two particular instances came in the same move when an amazing Sholing cross to TJ Cuthbertson gave him a fantastic shot at Andover’s net. Cairney not only saved the original attempt but as the deflected ball came back to another home side player he was then called upon at close range. As the half progressed Andover started to apply more pressure upfront and in the 69th minute it looked like they had pulled one back. Costello found himself as the provider of a cross from the corner flag which found Glasspool in the penalty area. He passed on to Rusher who took his chance. Gosney in goal saved the shot although it had looked like Andover had done just enough to score. Liam Hibberd was unfortunate not to score later on when his shot hit Soetan and went out for a goal kick. The ball must have hurt as Hibberd shot was a fully intended attempt. As the game was drawing to a close, an a typical Andover defensive mistake gave Wort a goal scoring opportunity as the mistake left him with only Cairney to beat. However, Costello and Dempsey chased down the Sholing player and were able to prevent him having an unchallenged shot, hence it went wide. Only a couple of minutes later Sholing should have scored when Cairney was drawn out of position but the Andover defenders rallied together to clear the danger. Even as the whistle was practically in the referees mouth ready to blow for full time Cairney executed another breathtaking stop to keep the score as it was. Although Andover’s last league game of the season wasn't a win they didn’t need it to be to secure promotion. It has been an extremely exciting season of football to watch with a deserved outcome for the whole squad.