Andover Town 3–0 Brockenhurst

Andover Town’s first game of 2018 saw them entertain Brockenhurst at the Portway on a cold January afternoon. The last encounter of these two teams ended in an Andover win at Brockenhurst last November. At no time did this match look like it was going to end in an away win and change the pattern of results. Brockenhurst had a fair share of the play but they were unable to finish any of their attempts and any that penetrated the Andover defence were efficiently saved by the home team goal keeper Luke Cairney. The result was 3-0 and even the failure of Andover to convert a penalty didn’t threaten the win.

Andover had the best of starts with a fantastic run by Mike Gosney leading to an equally good pass to Zach Glasspool who was left with no defender to beat. Zach Glasspool doesn’t miss opportunities like that and within three minutes the home team were ahead. Only a few minutes later Jason Silver found himself benefitting from some poor Brockenhurst defending and Andover were in the perfect position to go two up, unfortunately Silver’s attempt was put over for a corner by captain Burt. Brockenhurst put a few good moves together which should have presented Andover with a lot more problems. A well taken free kick by Mark Barker found the head of Will Tickle who should have put them level, however, the header went just out, so the score stayed the same. Approximately halfway through the first half it appeared Andover had scored their second goal as Gosney celebrated what looked like a cracking shot from close to the goal line. However, the whistle had blown as the referee deemed the ball had gone out during the build-up. Within a few minutes after the disallowed goal Alex Dockree had beaten a number of away defenders to give himself a clear shot which he put over and Ben Cook had taken advantage of an Edward Kitcher goal keeping error to launch a shot which was blocked. The game had spells of extremely fast flowing football and very shortly after Cook’s attempt Jude Nwachukwu had a half chance for Brockenhurst which was deflected to give them their first corner of the match. As the air began to chill Silver’s cross narrowly missed contact with Glasspool’s head, the ball ended up back with Silver who knocked it over for a goal kick. The Silver-Glasspool combination continued to thrill as Glasspool won the ball from a Brockenhurst defender and turned to pass to Silver in front of goal in a manoeuvre which would have looked good in higher leagues, unfortunately Silver couldn’t finish the extraordinary move but the pressure remained and Andover continued to look strong. Approaching half time Brockenhurst turned up the heat and although the build-ups were good the accuracy in front of goal wasn’t. The best chance probably came for Barker who in the last minute of the first half found himself with only Cairney to beat, the shot was strong but the save better.

Half time – Andover Town 1-0 Brockenhurst

Brockenhurst started the second half in the same mood they finished the first and Barker looked dangerous forcing Cairney to make another couple of good saves. George Hallahan was brought on for Andover replacing Glasspool early in the half and within sixty seconds of being on the pitch he had his first attempt from an assist by Liam Hibberd. In the ninth minute of the second half Andover had a corner which lead to a number of touches in front of goal and Gosney hitting a shot which was put out for another corner. This second corner wasn’t wasted and this time Mike Gosney found himself in an unmarked position at the side of the goal, there was no second chance needed to put it away for the home team’s second goal. Even though the home crowd should have been confident in the play at this time there was a sigh of relief when Barker was substituted for Noel McCarthy-Gardiner. Barker had been Brockenhurst’s greatest weapon and the best threat to penetrating the Andover defence. It looked like Andover were going to get a third when a Cairney goal kick found Hallahan on side deep into the Brockenhurst half with only Kitcher to beat. Instead it came back to Silver who once again missed an opportunity as he hit it straight at the grateful Kitcher in the visitor’s goal. Reece Rusher was brought on for Andover to replace Ben Cook in a like for like change, with both players being greatly appreciated by the home crowd. Following a run of three corners for the home team the final one resulted in Gosney being fouled by Moore in the area and a penalty being awarded. Gosney stepped up to take but his shot hit the post and the ball came back to Hallahan who hit it wide. Shortly after the missed penalty the same two players were involved in an extremely slick move. Gosney ran down the side line and passed to George Hallahan for an easy finish. The duo made it look easy. Andover were 3-0 up. As the end of the game approached both teams had half-hearted attempts. McCarty-Gardiner put a ball out for a goal kick and at the other end Gosney did the same. In the ninety-third minute Rusher was booked giving Brockenhurst a free kick close to goal, which was a good effort, but not quite enough, the story of their game. Andover ended with a well-deserved result which never looked in doubt.