Andover Town 7–0 Amesbury Town

Four players making their home debut for Andover Town - Jack Hopwood, Nathan Primus, Alfie Moulding and Martin Burkhill.

"This was a fixture in the 2020/21 Salisbury Hospitals Cup which the organisers are trying to shoehorn in to the start of this season. So it was attractive because it was a competitive game rather than a friendly, but on the day to describe it as competitive was rather over stating the case. Andover Town were three up in seventeen minutes and six up at the break by when the game over point had long since passed. And this against a side who will be a division above them when the League season starts in a week or so’s time.

On an afternoon which enjoyed much better weather than had been forecast it took rhe home side less than two minutes to open the scoring, Skipper Brendan Holmes found Malachi Jackson in the area, the ball broke loose and LUKE ADAMS slotted it past goalkeeper Ollie Marriott. Within ten minutes the score was doubled as Adams cleverly flicked the ball over the defence and JORDAN SMITH beat the advancing keeper, Amesbury were making little impression on the game and conceded a third within another five minutes, LUKE ADAMS sent Ben Emans away on the left and was in position to turn the ensuing low cross past the exposed Marriott. Adams looked fractionally offside at the start of the move and had it been the Premiership VAR would have had a field day. but happily in grass roots football common sense prevails. Amesbury won a free kick from which Scott Hassell’s header was too high before the visiting defence made no attempt to deal with a through ball and were rescued by Marriott quickly leaving his area to clear. Goal number four came on the thirty minute mark as the defence, under no pressure, gave the ball away and JORDAN SMITH hammered the ball home from some twenty five yards. The right hand side of the Amesbury defence had no answer to the running and skill of Emans and another break provided a shooting chance for Holmes with Marriott parrying the effort only for JORDAN SMITH to complete his hat trick by heading home the loose ball. This time there was a mini VAR as the referee debated matters with his assistant but the goal stood and Andover had a nap hand. With the whistle in the referee’s hand for half time the irrepressible Emans broke clear again, his powerful shot was parried by Marriott and MALACHI JOHNSONconverted the loose ball with the defenders nowhere.

As is often the case a half time scoreline of six nil did not guarantee further goals and so it proved. Amesbury, no doubr chastened by a half time team talk, made two or three substitutions and showed considerably more effort whilst the home side no doubt sub-consciously eased off – added to which for some unaccountable reason Andover largely ignored Emans on their left flank. James Dolman, one of the visiting replacements, made a good run but the cross was high and wide and Amesbury won two corners in quick succession before play switched to the other end and a Holmes thunderbolt went over the bar off the keeper who knew little about it The visiting side’s increased effort included a number of dubious challenges and Hassell can consider himself unfortunate to be the only player to collect a yellow card. BEN EMANS finally made his mark on the game again, firstly with a run and low cross that seemed to travel along the goal line and then with another run that was stopped by a desparate challenge from behind with the tall winger converting the resultant penalty. In between those efforts Amesbury saw a shot saved by the keeper’s legs at the other end, their first real attempt on goal and that in the 84th minute.

Andover were strong at the back, Holmes and George Higgins dominated the midfield, the front two scored goals and Emans was surely Man of the Match, while a draw at home to Laverstock and Ford on Tuesday should see them in to the last four of the Competition. Amesbury have to put the game behind them and improve considerably otherwise they face a long and hard season.

Conversation suggested that the last time Andover scored six in the first half was in a long ago local Cuptie with Kings Somborne that ended 12-0."