Andover Town1–0○Petersfield Town

Andover Town took all three points against Petersfield Town in a game that was won before the clock had registered 60 seconds. The first half provided the home supporters with the most cheer as there were numerous attempts on goal and it looked as if it could be a convincing Andover win. However the second half produced predominantly containing play as Petersfield stepped up a gear to try and steal some of the points.

An injury just before the game saw Ahmed Isse start in place of the programmed Adam Pattison. A sudden change could have been unsettling for the Andover defence however it was a defender, Owen Trapnell, who scored the only goal, before the first minute had elapsed. A well placed corner found Trapnell in the centre of the penalty area, where he controlled the ball and took a half-volley to provide the home-side with the immediate advantage. Trapnell continued the game at this high level working well with the ever energetic Zac Hine to create a number of chances. Only shortly afterwards a corner by Hine challenged Matt Petts in the Petersfield goal and required him to execute a save on the inward curling ball. Petersfield were awarded a free kick on the outside of the penalty area and it was taken as a shot by Cameron Smith. His attempt beat the wall but Dave Tasker managed to push the ball out for a corner. The half continued with Andover making by far the most chances. Another time Josh Bertie picked up the ball on the halfway line and beat his defenders to run at the Petersfield goal, the crowd were shouting for him to shoot...and he did. The ball looked comfortably too high and Petts was beaten, but the ball dipped at the last minute and hit the top of the crossbar, another couple of feet and it would have been in. Hine tried to get a well deserved goal when he found himself close to the net with only one Petersfield defender and the keeper to beat. The initial shot was stopped by Petts but he fumbled and it looked as if Hine would get his chance. But the ball stayed out. Another unfruitful attempt was engineered by Ben Emans as he ran the full length of the pitch only to pass over to Rueben Smith who was just unable to get a toe to the ball. Brendan Holmes had his usual dependable game and in a short period of Petersfield attacking play cleared from a free kick taken by Kris Stephens and then headed the ball to safety from the resultant corner.

Half time: Andover Town 1 - 0 Petersfield Town

The second forty-five minutes did not provide Andover the opportunities they had experienced in abundance in the first half. They were more reliant on midfield and defence to protect their lead rather than making chances to put the win out of reach of the visitors. Howard Nhemachena had a remarkable game fending off Petersfield’s attempts to execute slow build-up chances and Gary Thorne provided a solid backstop to the forward’s breakaways. Bertie had a couple of chances to add to his impressive goal tally for the season but none of them fell just right and Petts was able to either interpret the final shot or watch as they went just wide. With about ten minutes to go the tempo of the game increased following an incident which saw both sides receiving cautions. Tasker executed a sliding save from Harry Tremlett which ended in a potentially dangerous situation for both players as Tremlett had been running at full pace towards goal. They should both be commended for their control, as neither received an injury. As the game progressed into added time both sides had a last attempt to change the score line. HIne was provided a shot from a throw-in but his attempt appeared to be a mis-kick and it went wide. At the other end Tasker needed to come out to punch a ball clear and then whilst out of position the ball came back only to be deflected out by one of the many Andover defenders in front of goal. On balance the result seems fair but the home supporters probably enjoyed the first half better than the second. However protecting the lead for nearly ninety minutes shows maturity and commitment, especially as the opponents were higher in the league. It’s not always possible to put the game out of reach of your opponent early in the game and even the best goal scorers do not deliver every time. So successfully protecting a fragile lead is a very good skill to have.

Reporter’s ‘Man of the Match’ Owen Trapnell