Andover Town1–1○Bemerton Heath Harlequins

On a warm and sunny afternoon with the pitch looking in great condition Andover Town greeted league leaders Bemerton and they were expecting another tough challenge as they continued to push for a play off place. Encouraged by the gritty performance at New Street on Tuesday evening Andover fielded a near full strength side with Josh Bertie starting for the first time since returning to the club.

A very controversial start when after 3 minutes what looked like a definite handball by a Bemerton defender in the penalty area was waved away by the referee and the linesman did not intervene. A bright start to the first half by both teams saw a snapshot in the 15th minute by the Bemerton striker Tyrell Mitford fizzing just over the bar. The first of what was going to be many bookings came in the 25th minute when Owen Trapnell looked to be harshly carded for a robust challenge. A couple of minutes late a nice though ball from Holmes brought about a good shot from Griffiths and a good save by Patrick Crease the Bemerton keeper. Both teams looked very evenly balanced as the half progressed. After 40 minutes Griffith found a lot of space in the penalty area and it looked like a certain goal until the ball grazed the left post and went out of play. A closely fought first half ended with Town just about shading it.

As the second half started it seemed that Town were still in the changing room as in the 48th minute a shot from inside the penalty area by Bemerton's Harry Beckley eluded Steinborn-Busse and settled into the back of the net. In the 55th minute Tom Pattison was replaced by Wayne Robinson making his debut for Andover who looked lively going forward right from the off and he created a good chance for skipper Holmes whose shot was cleared off the line by an orange shirted defender. Several substitutions from both side followed and Andover looked increasingly threatening as they pushed for the equalizer in the final quarter of the match. In the 70th minute there was another convincing penalty claim for Andover when Ryan Griffiths was unceremoniously bundled over in the penalty area by Kane O'Keefe. Andover continued to push forward and it was no surprise when in the 80th minute Michael Owen flicked on to substitute Robinson who cushioned the ball and Griffiths volleyed home from close range. 1-1 with 10 minutes to go and Bemerton increasingly having to defend strongly. Despite a flashing drive by Owen in the 81st minute Andover failed to capitalize on their superiority as full time approached. In the 85th minute Griffith was again pushed to the ground in the penalty area by George Bennett who got a second yellow and was sent off.

So the game ended with a hard fought draw which was a fair result with both sides battling it out throughout. With New Street surprisingly losing at home to 3rd place Newport (IoW) a point suited both teams. The next match at Portway is on Tuesday evening in a rearranged match against Verwood Town, kick off at 7.45pm.