○Folland Sports0–2Andover Town

Andover Town travelled down to Hamble to take on League leaders Folland Sports who like Town are unbeaten in the league so far this season. The kick off was greeted by warm autumn sunshine and the pitch looked in excellent condition with a surface which was tailor made for a close encounter between two of the division’s in form teams. Town gave a debut to Corey Taylor-Kelly who started at centre back in the middle of a back three.

If Andover were looking for a fast start they certainly got one in the 5th minute when this season’s newcomer Matty Morris fastened on to a loose ball on the right edge of the penalty area and coolly slotted home beating keeper Nathaniel Taylor at the far post. This was the start of an impressive performance from Morris who showed a fair turn of speed throughout and troubled the Folland defence on several occasions. Andover had started the half well and another break from Morris in the 12th minute almost brought a second goal when he fired in a fierce cross shot after cutting in from the right wing. The opposition increasingly grew into the game and the first twenty minutes provided exciting end to end play from both teams. It was clear to see why Folland were league leaders with an impressive attack which was on some occasions not matched by their defence. As the half progressed there were a couple of good chances for Ryan Griffiths and David Jerrard which were not capitalised on and it seemed pretty obvious that Andover needed to convert one of their chances to give them a bit of a leeway. In this game and with the potent home side’s attack in the age old cliche one goal never felt to be enough. In the 38th minute a goal looked certain when the Folland striker arrowed a header fiercely towards goal for Steinborn-Busse to pull off an outstanding point blank save to ensure that Town ended the half with their slender 1-0 lead intact.

Both teams started the second half brightly but in the 51st minute Andover doubled their lead when Griffiths was pulled down in the penalty area and David Jerrard expertly converted the spot kick. Although leading 2-0 Town had to continue to be on their guard as the opposition continued to press forward. There followed a plethora of substitutions from both sides and in a ten minute spell the home side used all their five substitutes. When so many positional changes are made the flow in the game seems to be inevitably disrupted. The home team continued to press hard as the half progressed and Andover were increasingly mounting a rear guard action with Folland’s having much more possession without ever seriously threatening a goal. In the final few minutes Town were holding on relatively comfortably.

So a satisfying performance from Andover saw them close out the game with a 2-0 score line which was a very good result against a team who will remain close to the top of the league as the season progresses. Next Saturday sees an F.A. Vase tie away in a local derby at Laverstock & Ford who have started their Premier League campaign quite well.