Andover Town1–0○Laverstock & Ford

Andover Town made it two wins in a row with a hard fought victory over Salisbury based rivals, Laverstock & Ford. Although an unsavoury incident in stoppage time marred the outcome. Heading in to the game on the back of a top rate performance against league leaders Hythe & Dibden, Andover made two changes. College academy player Pride Kayima missed out due to a hamstring injury, replaced by Ben Emans whilst Connor Cullingford returned to the starting line up in place of Ethan O’Kelly.

This game provided Town with an opportunity to demonstrate they are capable of putting a number of performances together and winning consistently and straight from the start they were the treat with the upper hand. Dominating possession, Andover carved out several half chances before Zac Hine tested the goalkeeper from range with a free kick. not long after, Owen Trapnell shot from distance only to see his shot smash against the bar. Increasingly, Andover’s chances were becoming more noticeable. Tom Pattison and Josh Bertie both guilty of missing chances when through on goal. However, with 30 minutes played, Andover got the goal they deserved, Josh Bertie racing on to a ball over the top, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. Whilst Laverstock gradually gained more possession, their only real threat came from set pieces and their height advantage. Andover guilty of giving away several needless free kicks in dangerous positions although results defending and assured goalkeeping by Dave Tasker meant nothing came of these.

Half time - Andover Town 1-0 Laverstock & Ford

The sense on the terraces was one of unease given the volume of chances missed by Town and the feeling that they may be made to pay in the second half. Laverstock were much improved and looked sharper and more dangerous when in possession. However, it was Andover who almost doubled their lead after a few minutes of the restart. Great work by Harrison Hale on the right presented Emans with a glorious chance only for the ball to narrowly go wide of the post. After this, Andover had to dig in and attempt to weather the storm whilst hoping that the front four of Pattison, Emans, Bertie and Hine could capitalise on the break. Although dominant in possession, Laverstock never looked like scoring with man of the match, Adam Pattison, helping repel the away teams advances. With the game drifting in to extra time, the incident that would mar the game occurred. After clearing a Laverstock corner, Kieran Diaz-Benitez was head butted off the ball resulting in a nasty injury and a straight red card for the away side. What followed was four more red cards, two for each side with Laverstock players dismissed for punching whilst Dave Tasker for Andover was unfortunate to receive his marching orders when it appeared all he was trying to do was to prevent the situation from getting any worse. Gary Thorne was the other Andover player sent off. Not long after, and with the last effort of the game, Owen Trapnell, now the stand in keeper for Andover, pulled off a mighty save when the ball seemed destined for the top corner. The referee duly blew the full time whistle with home supporters relieved at the result and both teams reflecting on an incident that was unnecessary and contrary to how the rest of the game was played.