Another grey day early in the season so decided to visit Andover New Street's ground - the weather must have reminded me of the previous game I'd seen them play (a 6.2 defeat at Laverstock last season).
After last Sunday's visit to the O2 Arena for the NHL game between Anaheim Mighty Ducks and LA Kings, it was nice to get back to a new non-league ground. Andover New Street had won their midweek game at Shaftesbury, only their second win of the season, so there was a bit of optimism around the ground when I arrived. Had a read of the programme (included in the admission price of £3) and watched some highlights from the Man Utd v Wigan game before having a look around the ground. There was a small stand that wasn't being used next to the main clubhouse. On the other side, a sight that reminded me of my younger days at Victoria Park, a small playground with slides and swings.
While the referee dealt with the kickoff, the assistant referee on the near side joked that I should do the offsides for him. While I didn't stay in that location for long due to the sun making a brief appearance over the other side of the ground, the Petersfield Town bench's comments about him later in the game made me wonder if it was a genuine request!
Petersfield dominated the first half with the majority of possession and one goal disallowed for offside. Andover were helped by some dubious offside decisions but were playing with a lot of determination to try and keep a second clean sheet in a week.
It was a surprise when Andover took the lead just before half-time. Petersfield pushed up for a corner and when it was cleared with a big kick up field, they only had one defender back to cover. An Andover striker chased the ball down and beat the defender to it, then chipped the advancing keeper from 35 yards out.
The second half followed a similar pattern, although Andover were looking more dangerous on the counter-attack. Petersfield's players were getting frustrated as time went on and more chances were missed but they managed to equalise after 65 minutes. I thought that the player should have hit the ball earlier and the chance had gone but he managed to shoot from the edge of the 6 yard box across the keeper and into the corner of the net.
Petersfield continued to miss good chances with shots flying over the bar from all angles. With 85 minute gone, it looked like the game was going to end up a draw and the Petersfield subs warming up were complaining that this was down to their manager and his poor tactics - althought it was quite likely to have been motivated by their non-selection / appearance on the pitch!
Luckily for the manager, his team's fortunes changed with 5 minutes to go. The Petersfield no 2 had been making good runs from the back thoughout the game and found himself in the penalty area when his legs were taken in a tackle. The referee did not hesitate to point at the spot and when the penalty was finally taken, it was hit down the middle with enough pace to squeeze under the keeper, despite him guessing where the ball would end up.
The small crowd continued to encourage Andover to get something from the game and they almost did in the final minute. A long, high ball was punted into the box and one of their strikers managed to plant a firm header past the keeper to the delight of the home fans. The delight was short lived as the inconsistent referee waved his arms around to signify a push and so the goal was disallowed.
Looking at the league table later, it showed that neither Andover New Street or Petersfield Town have drawn a league game this season. While this game had come pretty close, Petersfield would have been hard done by if they hadn't won all 3 points today.
No comments:
Post a Comment