Hamworthy United 1–4 Andover Town

This Saturday, in sub zero temperatures, Andover Town travelled to Hamworthy for a top of the league battle. The all weather pitch at the home sides venue provided the ground for one of Andover’s most amazing wins of the season. At half time the away side would have probably been content with taking one point from the game, but by the time the final whistle blew they had achieved a dramatic win putting them 14 points ahead of todays opponents. One of the contributors to Andover’s strengths this season has been the quality of the total squad which must have made Manager Glenn Burnett’s decisions on starting formats very difficult. On many occasions players brought on as substitutes during the game have had a positive influence on the result and today was certainly no different.

Andover started well with a number of chances in the first few minutes. Up front they had a change to the recent line-up with Jason Silver as centre forward and Reece Rusher and Mike Gosney on the two wings. Early on it was apparent there was going to be no shortage of passes in to Silver and apart from Rusher and Gosney both Ben Cook and Adam Costello contributed to the flurry of attacking play at the start of the match. Andy Knights in the Hamworthy goal was called upon to defend his team from these early attempts. Then in the twelfth minute a cheeky back heel from Mike Gosney found Jason Silver with space to move but a long way out, his shot seemed to hover as it glided in to just under the top right hand corner of the crossbar. It was class goal, and put a smile on the faces of the away supporters. Shortly afterwards Hamworthy’s Jamie Filkins could have made the score even as he was left with a open goal in front of him, however just as he was about to strike the whistle blew for off-side. Minutes later Silver picked up the ball in the midfield and made a run down the centre of the pitch. The resultant shot on goal was similar to his scoring shot but this time it went just wide. Andover’s forwards were working well together and another run by Silver led to a pass in for Cook in the penalty area, in a clever move he left it for Reece Rusher who was in a better position to score but the shot was blocked by a Hamworthy player in an impressive display of defending. There followed a period of play where both sides were looking impressive. Play by defenders and forwards was equally of note and the level of skill reflected the position the two teams currently hold in the league. Eddie Hodge and Jamie Beasley both caused the Andover defence a few problems with Costello having another excellent game both clearing attempts on goal and creating attacking opportunities at the other end. Hamworthy picked up the pressure and in the 38th minute they had their reward when Dan Cann put one in the net that Luke Cairney had no chance of stopping. Rusher had a great shot on goal just before the half time whistle, unfortunately it was just tipped out for a corner kick.

Half time - Hamworthy United 1-1 Andover Town

The second half started very much like the first half finished with both sides making chances and equally, having to defend their own goal. There were a couple more attempts by Silver as the Andover midfield continued to feed him with opportunities. But as expected the Hamworthy defence and goal keeper were up to the challenge and denied him a second goal. Cairney was also stretched, particularly by Hodge, who on one occasion made his way through the Andover defence but couldn’t beat Luke Cairney the away team keeper. Just before Reece Rusher was substituted to bring on the recently match-fit Immanuel Soetan, he had two cracking attempts at a match winner. The first was deflected back to his feet the second put out for a corner kick. Andover made a double substitution bringing on Soetan and Glasspool for Rusher and Cook in the 70th minute. Only four minutes later Immanuel Soetan had his first touch of the ball as he collected a pass, controlled it and launched an incredible strike at goal which gave Andover their second goal. Not bad for a player that hasn’t had a game for several months due to injury. Knights in the home goal didn’t stand a chance. Hamworthy retaliated with a shot from Billy Walker which hit the cross bar. However, Andover brought the ball back down the other end where Silver made a good run but subsequently had his shot blocked. Unfortunately for Hamworthy it came back to the feet of Immanuel Soetan and he made no mistake again. The feeling of the game had completely changed. No longer were Andover sitting on a perfectly good result of an away draw, they were leading with the run of play. Then only two minutes laterImmanuel Soetan made it a hat trick. That made it 3 goals in 6 minutes and 'what a return to the squad' !!. The remainder of the game played out like it wasn’t just the crowd who were stunned by the turnaround of the result. The game ended with Andover just one short of 100 league goals this season and an impressive lead at the top of the table. It was a good performance by every squad member today and a result to look back on with pride.