Alton 1–0 Andover Town

On a day which saw a number of games postponed due to the weather Andover Town travelled to Alton to play on their all-weather pitch. It was extremely cold which may have contributed to the warm up injury change in the Andover defence as Howard Nhemachena covered for Ahmed Isse and Pride Kayima came off the bench into midfield. Alton proved to be too organised and strong for the Andover forwards as both Zac Hine and Ben Emans found themselves with up to three defenders at times which meant they were unable to feed balls into Joshua Bertie for scoring. Luke Greenway made his first start for Andover having been brought on last week for his debut appearance.

Alton were first on the attack and shortly after the start made a claim for a penalty, but the referee did not hesitate to contradict the players request. Hine took his first run on the fast to pitch to take advantage of a rebound from an Alton corner. But the ball travelled just that little bit faster than normal and he was unable to put in a finish. Not long afterwards he had a shot on goal which went straight towards keeper Justin Courtnage. The first corner for Andover nearly resulted in the lead from an own goal as a Bertie’s corner forced the Alton defence to clear in an uncharacteristically disorganised way. David Tasker was tested on a number of occasions and made some quite fantastic saves to prevent Alton from scoring very early in the game. One particularly good block came as a shot from Phil Moore forced Tasker to make a one handed save which Alton were unable to take advantage of as it travelled out for a corner. At this time the game continued to be an even match. A Brendan Holmes free kick allowed Hine a back header which went just wide and Greenway had a shot on goal which Courtnage made no fuss in taking. In the nineteenth minute Tasker was judged as having fouled in the penalty area as he made a shoulder challenge and cleared the ball. Moore took the spot kick and fired it low and to the middle as Tasker dived to his left. Alton had gone one up and from that point set out to defend their lead. Apart from a shot from Harrison Hale which went just over the crossbar the rest of the first half consisted of mainly tests for the Andover defence. Both Nhemachena and Gary Thorne were constantly involved in Alton breakaways, Nhemachena using his speed and Thorne with his ability to clear the ball cleanly without a foul.

Half time - Alton 1-0 Andover Town

The second half didn’t provide Andover with any more good chances than the first. Even though all three substitute were used it was difficult to see specifically where the introduction of individuals would help. Bertie tried to inject a new dimension to the game when a pass from Holmes gave him the opportunity to run across the pitch and shoot for glory. But the Alton defence seemed able to predict the attack and by the time Bertie was able to see the goal for a shot the position wasn’t great and the keeper Courtnage was again the recipient. Luke Perkins made a run at the constantly challenged Andover defence and was able to beat all until Owen Trapnell cleared off the line. Following a foul on Bertie the free kick was taken by Hine. It was expected he would make it a telling pass but instead he went for goal and the fencing behind the net took a battering. It wasn’t from lack of trying that Andover failed to score. It may have been the pitch surface which was the differential between the two teams but Alton were able to stifle every attempt to push forward as they tighten up their defence to protect their lead. As the afternoon progressed, providing the fans in the stand with a most glorious sunset, both teams had a couple of chances to change the result however neither capitalised on their opportunities. It was a tough game today, with the opponents playing a very considered game. It must have been a frustrating match for the players, as everything they threw at Alton came to nothing. However these games happen and there was some effective defending and goal keeping to protect the Andover net. What was apparent today was the strength of the whole squad. The players on the bench were all of first team quality which gives the coaching staff a strong foundation for future games.

Reporter’s ‘Man of the Match’ .... Howard Nhemachena