Andover Town4–2○Hamworthy Recreation

Really hot sunshine greeted league newcomers Hamworthy Recreation as they stepped out onto what was sure to be a bone hard Portway surface following the current semi-drought conditions. In a whirlwind start Andover scored twice and Hamworthy once within the first ten minutes. First after 5 minutes Jordan Smith fastened onto a loose ball on the edge of the area and fired in a fierce low shot which rocketed into the bottom left of the net and shortly afterwards in the 7th minute skipper Brendan Holmes scored with an excellent cross shot having made a superb overlapping run down the right wing. The game had barely got going again after the two goals when Hamworthy pulled one back on 10 minutes scored by Carl Edwards who found space in the penalty area and coolly slotted home. The crowd certainly felt that this game was going to be a goal fest and in truth neither defence looked assured in the first quarter. Sadly on 15 minutes scorer Jordan Smith pulled up with what looked like a severe groin strain and hobbled off to be replaced by substitute Lewis Williams. Williams made an immediate impact using his speed to fashion several openings with impressive wing play. In the 25th minute Michael Owen was unlucky not to score when the goalkeeper fumbled a high ball on the edge of the area and under pressure from the keeper and a defender Owen pushed the ball just wide of the post.Hamworthy grew into the game more as the half progressed but David Gerrard had a goal disallowed in the 35th minute with the linesman flagging for what looked like a very close offside decision. VAR would have definitely allowed that goal to stand. Shortly afterwards Ben Emans broke down the right flank, cut inside and hit a terrific shot from the right edge of the area which flew into the net giving the keeper no chance at all. So Andover ended the half with a comfortable 3-1 lead and they had looked impressive particularly going forward.

The second half started with the pace understandably slowing because of the intense heat. Surprisingly the referee did not stop the game for a water break which would have been very welcome. It seemed pretty certain that there would be more goals in the game since neither defence looked to be in command and in the 50th minute David Gerrard met a left wing cross with an excellent header which was acrobatically tipped over the bar by the Hamworthy keeper. But shortly afterwards in the 51st minute David Jerrard scored converting a good cross from the left. Following the pattern of this game Hamworthy broke again in the 55th minute and scored to make the score 4-2. It would not at this stage have been a good bet that the score would remain at 4-2 since both defences looked pretty shaky at times. Lewis Williams was impressing as the half progressed with several strong runs down the left wing where his speed constantly troubled the Hamworthy right back. A cross from Emans in the 82nd minute was headed over by substitute Martin Burkhill when it seemed easier to score. That ended the scoring after an exciting game which the score line accurately reflected. Hamworthy played well in their first game at this level and they should be safe enough in this division by the end of he season. The players will now definitely hope for cooler conditions for the next match.