Andover Town2–0○Romsey Town

Bright sunshine greeted both teams for the Test Valley derby against local rivals Romsey Town. Romsey have had a solid season and were keen at Portway to cement their position in the top 10 of the league. Andover were looking for a fast start and certainly got that in the 6th minute when in a terrific penalty area scramble Tom Pattison eventually forced the ball into the net. Andover started quite strongly and in the 17th minute a great shot from the edge of the penalty area by Tom Pattison produced an outstanding save from the Romsey keeper, Jordi Valero. This was to be the first of many fine saves from Valero which kept the score at 1-0 for much of the game. In the 26th minute a challenge on Pattison on the edge of the area resulted in what looked like a serious leg injury which led to a long delay as the player received treatment. From the free kick by Holmes the shot was tipped over the bar by the impressive Valero. The first half then proceeded at a fairly sedentary pace which was not at all pretty on the eye with both sides struggling to put together good passing movements. In the 40th minute Andover's Jamie Ritchie was very lucky to escape a deserved yellow card after a blatant shirt pull on an opponent. The first half ended after a quiet period of play and Town slightly shaded Romsey in the half.

In the 54th minute David Jerrard picked up a leg injury and was replaced by Josh Bertie. Shortly afterwards Ryan Griffiths was felled right on the edge of the area giving Town a great opportunity to score from Bertie normally the lethal free kick specialist. The shot was well stopped by the Romsey wall and the ballooned to safety. On 66 minutes Ben Emans was replaced by Lewis Williams who seems to be a fine young prospect. In the 70th minute another excellent save by Valero at the near post stopped a certain goal from a shot 6 yards out from midfielder Ritchie. The old cliche that a 1-0 lead is never enough was increasingly evident in the last 15 minutes and a breakaway from Romsey almost produced the equalizer. After 86 minutes a great run into the penalty area by Jake Watson drew the foul and the resulting penalty. The normally reliable Bertie stepped up and produced another fine save from Valero and also a good save form the rebound.

As the less then exciting match grew to an end Brendan Holmes cut inside on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed a fierce shot which was again saved initially by Valero but Ryan Griffiths pounced on the rebound to give Andover a 2-0 lead. This was definitely a game of attrition from both teams which was not thrilling to watch and the next two games against league leaders Bemerton and third placed Andover New Street will need better performances from Town. The next fixture is away on Tuesday evening at bang in form Andover New Street and will be a stern test for Andover Town. This match will be interesting as 8 of Andover Town's ex- players are now plying their trade at Andover New Street.

Incidentally a note for the statisticians. This was Andover Town's 200th victory in all league and cup matches since they started playing in 2013.