○Ringwood Town2–1Andover Town

Andover Town travelled to Ringwood hoping to come away with a result that would keep them from the bottom of the league. The day started with Andover clear of their opponents by two points but were unable to secure a draw which would have kept them the advantage. Both teams could have scored many more but Andover’s finishing left them short and Ringwood found Kieran McHardy on top form. This game was the first for Joao Paivia in Andover colours whilst the remainder of the defence were reorganised due to the absence of Mark Keogh and Dean Smith.

In the first few minutes Andover made two tricky defensive mistakes which called upon McHardy to provide final cover. However he was less able to stop a rebounded ball, from his own brilliant save, reaching Ben Harris, who was clearly delighted in putting his team one up within the first five minutes. Andover seemed to struggle at the beginning of the game with possession in midfield which left the home team with gaps through which they tested the back line-up. At one point Owen Trapnell was left to fend off a dangerous attack and was just able to apply enough pressure to mean the resultant shot was feeble and not on target. Shortly after Trapnell was at the other end of the pitch when a Brendan Holmes free kick found him in a forward position. His run was good but the cross was less impressive. After the initial 15 minutes of play Andover began to stretch their legs, Non more so than Lewis Wakeford who started to get the measure of his defenders and cause them concern down his wing. A pass from Holmes gave Wakeford an opportunity to demonstrate his skills and two defenders later he was passing to Liam Callaghan, who was unfortunately deemed to be off-side. Not long afterwards Andover won a free-kick just outside of the penalty area. Shaquille Gwengwe took the shot which beat the wall and hit the underside of the crossbar. The ball deflected out to Holmes who unfortunately didn't have the luxury of enough time to line up the shot so his attempt went out the ground. Only a matter of seconds later Nickoy Pinnock picked up the ball at the halfway line, ran at the opposing midfield and passed the ball to Callaghan. He found Shaquille Gwengwe who placed the ball in the back of the net like a magnet attracted to iron. Both teams had now settled down and the play was excitingly end-to-end. McHardy protected his goal from a header by Jordan Coleman which came from a floating ball into the penalty area. But would have had no chance if Joe Manley had been on target only a few minutes later. A well taken free kick for Ringwood skimmed passed the incoming forwards and Andover defenders, narrowly missing any viable contact, and went out for a goal kick. Just before halftime Andover pressure forced a couple of corners but their finishing just wasn’t sharp enough to give them the lead.

Half time - Andover Town 1 - 1 Ringwood Town

Trapnell was off the blocks early in the second half with a telling cross, which could have been a shot, but tested the Ringwood keeper Luke Silcox. Only minutes later he was clearing a ball off his own goal line. Andover continued to create chances but were constantly unable to convert them into goals. Gwengwe had the most opportunities however none of them gave him the clear shot he needed. Nevertheless he persisted even if there was only an outside chance of being on target. Ringwood didn't give up but McHardy dug deep into his repertoire and at one point even managed to save a winner with his knees. Pinnock managed to pass a number of balls through to the chasing forwards. But alas none of them were exacting enough to challenge the anticipating defenders. However he didn’t give up and in the 67th minute a corner which had missed the penalty box crowd came to him for a chance of his own. He managed to get the ball through all the outfield players but was just off target. As time was marching on and the game looked like a draw Trapnell tried a long shot which started on target but curled just wide. Almost immediately following Ringwood had another attempt at beating McHardy which was stopped but the deflected ball came to Manley who appeared to have too much space. The space gave him time and he put his team ahead with only a couple of minutes left. Not the result Andover were hoping for but they still played entertaining football with all the skill and courage the supporters like to see. Today’s game will have provided lessons to be learnt and valuable experience.