VELOCITY WESSEX LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
SATURDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER 2023
VERWOOD TOWN 5 ANDOVER TOWN 2

A sweltering hot day saw a good result but with a topsy turvy finish.

It took only four minutes for McHale to get himself on the score sheet thanks to a McWilliams assist. 1-0.

Another four minutes elapsed and Carswell became provider to a McWilliams first of the season. 2-0

We continued pressing with Andover reliant on counters. One or two reached our box but with Phillips and a strong back four on song not too many attacks proved dangerous.

Half way through the half an Andover attack was broken up by Danvers and Smith. A ball back to Phillips and a long ball wide for Haensel put us just outside Andovers box. Haensel’s cross was half cleared. Carswell followed in and his low cross was met by McHale to give him his first brace of the season. 3-0.

Andover rallied but one attack Pope sorted by putting the ball into Ringwood car park and Broad put another attack to bed robbing the ball off toes and sending Shepherd free to beat the keeper but put the ball just wide of the upright.

Water breaks and a few knocks stretched the half to a 49 minute strike from Ollie Lowes skipping past the keeper, 4-0.

Half Time 4-0.

McHale suffered an injury at the restart and was replaced by Kerr. 5 minutes later Carswell came off making way for Kimber.

Danvers broke through on the left and fired in a daisy cutter for Shepherd to try an angled volley. The keeper did well to palm it away from the 6 yard box.

Then came an inexplicable spell of poor quality letting Andover back into the game. 7 minutes and Andover strolled through a static defence slipping the ball past Phillips to get a goal back

We scrambled defensively giving Andover every opportunity to reduce the score line further.

We looked like the thin red line but survived Andover’s newly found attacking flair.

No niceties … Kimber put one loose ball over the hedge and Pope hit another into Three legged Cross.

Andover persisted and were rewarded on 18 minutes when we left a gap through the middle allowing a player to stroll into our box and steer the ball past Phillips to make it 4-2.

Squeaky Bum time. Andover’s pressure was intense but we rallied and got ourselves back in the game.

It was a fighting finish with Broad breaking up an Andover attack and opening up Andover’s defence with a sparkling run and through ball for Shepherd to brush off his marker and slide the ball past an advancing keeper to finish the scoring and secure three points.

Result 5-2.