Andover Town 2–1 Fawley AFC

On this lovely sunny afternoon Andover Town played their game of the season and achieved their first points and win in the league. They showed maturity and experience way beyond their limited time together as a team as they fought back from a half time deficit and ended the game on a scoring spree. Choosing a ‘Man of the Match’ was difficult as every player was equally as instrumental in the win, including the squad members who did not get picked today but have all helped to build a spirit which showed as the determination needed to get this result.

The game started with little to chose between the two teams. Fawley had the first chances with an early free kick followed by a second attack as the ball came back into play after Dave Tasker’s initial save. Andover’s first shot on goal came from a free kick taken by Josh Bertie who had been fouled just outside the corner of the penalty area. Bertie took the shot well but a deflection put it straight into the hands of Tom Parker-Trott. Just a couple of minutes later Jordan Ragguette made a fast run down the far wing and played the ball into Cole Oates, unfortunately his positioning wasn’t great so he attempted a back-heel into goal, but it lacked enough force to cause any damage. Oates played an enthusiastic game chasing every chance of possession. It was unfortunate he needed to be substituted at half time as the run of play in the second half would have probably given him an opportunity to end up on the score sheet. Ragguette played his usual exceptional game as his speed and agility beat the Fawley defenders on a number of occasions. Sam Mills, who was playing in a midfield position this game, became the recipient of one of Ragguette’s crosses. He was unable to score but at least the chances were coming. In the fifteenth minute it looked like Andover had conceded a scruffy goal as Zac Willis finally put the ball in the back of the net following a messy goal front scrabble with Nathan Lunness and Mark Keogh. However the goal was disallowed as the officials ruled the ball had been assisted by Willis’s hand. Ragguette continued to present danger to the visitors and not only did he provide numerous opportunities he also took a few shots of his own. Owen Trapnell and Lunness presented as a formidable duo in defence working well together and providing Andover with a stability at the back not always demonstrated in previous games. In addition Mark Keogh brought experience and confidence difficult to engender in a new team with limited time together. The game was looking fairly even, until in the 39th minute, Fawley scored with Ollie Bradley who was presented with an open goal from what looked like an Andover misunderstanding. Solomon Mawo was close to equalising just before half time as he tried to lob the ball over Parker-Trott but ended up hitting it just too hard and it cleared the cross bar.

Half Time Andover Town 0-1 Fawley AFC

As previously mentioned Oates was substituted at half time and Shaquille Gwengwe was brought on for an almost like-for-like replacement. From the off Andover could clearly see an opportunity to gain some league points as the first half could have easily resulted in the score the other way around. Another great cross from Ragguette found Mills whose shot was equally as impressive but a deflection prevented it from nipping in the near post. Only a few minutes later Mawo and Ragguette were involved in a tussle for the ball with the Fawley defenders. The result was a free kick to the visitors but at this point they must have been feeling the pressure as Andover kept pushing forward. There followed a fairly quite period of play. Neither team managing to creat any useful chances. Willis found the side netting and Bertie created a shot on goal from a brave run down the centre of the pitch beating a number of defenders. As the game entered the last ten minutes Andover stepped up a gear. A Lunness long pass initially looked random, but ended up being an incredibly accurate cross to Mawo, who could not beat off his defenders but did win a corner. A few minutes later Ragguette was set on his way from an exceptional pass by Trapnell. The crowd started to cheer as he entered the penalty area, his subsequent shot was deflected back to Gwengwe, but the manoeuvre was halted as there was judged to be a foul by Andover. Ragguette was down injured but continued to the end of the game as all the substitutes had been used. Then, with only a couple of minutes left to play, one of the substitutes drove the crowd into a frenzy. A Bertie cross came to Shaquille Gwengwe who had several attempts in a goal mouth scuffle but came out the victor. With only seconds to go Andover were on for their first points of the season. But Shaquille Gwengwe wasn’t finished goal scoring for the day as a Brendan Holmes cross gave him an open shot on the Fawley goal. You would have thought Andover had won the league as the stand erupted into applause and screaming. The final whistle could not have come sooner. This result was very well deserved. Congratulations are due to the squad and their coaching staff for their hard work, perseverance and conviction to make this work. Well done!

Reporter’s ‘Man of the Match’ Shaquille Gwengwe