They Play at: - The Corinium Stadium, Kingshill Road, Cirencester, GL7 1HS

They are known as: - "The Centurions".

How to get there: - Leave the Town bypass at the Burford roundabout heading for Stow. Turn right at the junction and first left in to Kingsmill Road. The ground is some 500 yards on the right.

Last Season: - They finished in 21st place in the Southern League Premier Division with 32 points and were relegated to the South and West Division.

This Season: - They are currently in eighteenth place with 16 points from 18 matches. At home they have beaten Taunton, Thatcham, Winchester and Windsor, drawn with Gosport and Cinderford and lost to Truro, Burnham and Totton.

Average Home attendance last season: - 182 with the highest 340 for the visit of near neighbours Gloucester.

This Season: - To date it is 135.

Players to watch: - Matt Williams and Scott Griffin have six league goals apiece. Both Paul Hunt and Adam Heath were at the Club at the start of the season but have since moved on.

We have been there before: - We went to the present ground in 2003 when we lost 3-2 in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup. The team on that day was:- Hopkins: Kennedy, Damen, Barker and Pratley: Hughes, Andrews, Rae and Nurse: Rusher and Bennett with Mariner, Richards, Hutchins, Sullivan and Webb on the bench. The goals were scored by Bennett and Rae.

We did visit their previous ground in the Southern League in 1998 winning by four goals to one - a rare victory in that season - and memory, and memory alone, suggests Paul Odey scored a hat trick.

Memories: - Play being held up for virtually half an hour in the FA Cup match after the Air Ambulance was required to transport a Cirencester player to Hospital. Happily there was no serious injury but a far from pleasant occurrence.

In Charge: - Mr A.Shilston from the Forest of Dean and possibly his first game involving Andover FC.

Midweek games around this time:

• 2005-06. 13th December. Wessex League Cup. Moneyfields at home. Won 1-0 with a goal from Danny Taylor.

• 2006-07. 19th December. North Hants Senior Cup. Over Wallop at home. Won 9-0. De'Ath (3) Chahal (2) Chudy (2) (as a substitute), Stow and an own goal. And it was COLD!!

FA Trophy Result. Uxbridge knock out AFC Wimbledon to go through to the second round

FA Trophy    Southern League Cup    FA Vase    Hants Senior Cup    

Russell Cotes Cup    North Hants Senior Cup   BGB Youth Challenge Cup

Also any donations of prizes would also be gratefully received (unwanted Christmas presents like the cardy your great aunt knitted for you!!) as it increases everyone's chances of winning a prize.

Therefore at present Ben Buckland and Brynley Mckie are at Hayling, Owen Elias at Moneyfields, Craig Martin at Whitchurch and Steve Boston at Selsey - all on dual registration and therefore available to ourselves if and when required. Gary Connolly has found it difficult to balance work commitments with the time and travel involved and is at present taking a break but his registration is retained.

Neil Champion is suffering from a prolapsed disc in his back and is having to rest completely to allow the medication to take effect and we hope it will not be too long before he is back with us.

Finally all at the Club wish Steve Boston a speedy recovery from the nasty injury suffered last Saturday.

Andover returned to Petersfield, and a much smartened up Love Lane, after a gap of nearly a decade and moved comfortably in to the last eight of the Hampshire Senior Cup, a competition in which they have not excelled over the past couple of seasons. Such games are usually referred to as a "banana skin", and have proved so in the past, but last night the banana had not even been peeled as the Lions showed a sharpness in front of goal which will bode well if taken into future league games. Petersfield are two levels below Andover so no one should get carried away but it was a largely decisive performance and, given the other winners on the night, could set up an intriguing quarter final tie.

On a night which proved not so cold as feared, a good number of Lions fans, some of whom had explored the Petersfield one way system at some length, saw a much changed side take the field with James Roden and Nic Eastham cup-tied, Stuart Gates unavailable, Paul Jones unwell and Gary Connolly and Owen Elias no longer in the ranks. This meant a first full start for Sean Murphy and the reappearance of Brynley McKie with places on the bench for Phil Andrews and young Alex Campbell. The home side made the brighter start possibly kicking down the hill, though the ground does give the appearance of sloping every which way, with Dave Hook claiming a corner in a crowded six yard box. Alex Ward sent McKie away on the right and the resulting corner from Rory Williams saw Matt Jones nearly claim his first goal for the club as his header was fumbled away at the foot of the post. Sewell carried the ball forward for the home side but the shot was well wide and a frantic scramble in the Petersfield goalmouth ended with a defender booting the ball high and wide of his own post into the confines of the nearby Churchers College. A poor goal kick allowed Jarvis space with the cross resulting in another corner and when Hook was forced to the touchline to clear at the other end Clark's attempt on goal from distance lacked both strength and direction. Rory Williams was bombing up and down the left wing at will and when, with ten minutes gone, a cross was only cleared to the edge of the area goalkeeper Patilla could not hold McKie's shot and Kyle Swayne bundled the ball over the line to give the Lions the lead. Patilla then dealt much better with a rather powerful back pass before a flurry from the home side saw Hook save from both Sewell and Keogh in quick succession and another attack was halted by the now almost customary "late" offside flag. As the half approached its midway point Lions scored what was to be the first of three goals in eight minutes, a spell that that effectively killed the game. Jarvis won a corner and after Patilla had strangely opted to deal with Turvey's kick with his feet the visitors saw two shots blocked before Jarvis finally drove the ball home. Hook left his area to stop Sewell, Patilla again strangely opted to use his feet to kick away a Williams free kick and after Sewell had made little of being allowed to continue from a suspiciously looking offside position Lions made it three. Williams again started the move, Kyle provided the cross from the left and Turvey left Patilla sprawling with a low shot inside the post. If the previous home attack looked suspiciously offside the next attack was blatantly so with Keogh allowed to run on with some ten yards start on the rest of the field. Fortunately the attack came to nothing but had the rules of Racing been applied a Stewards Enquiry would have been a certainty! Williams was forward again and when Fennemore took over and laid the ball into Jarvis's path the finish was clinical from some fifteen yards. This was to be the full back's last involvement as he limped off, hopefully not to affect Saturday, with Alex Campbell coming on to join Bobby Swayne and Jones as a back three with Murphy moving forward in to a five man midfield. A McKie cross was too close to the keeper and a Petersfield cross suffered the same fate at the other end but it was the home side that came back strongly as the half time whistle neared. Jones headed clear after Hook had mistimed a punch and the keeper reacted smartly and bravely after an under-hit back pass looked dangerous before the last action of the half saw Jarvis and Kyle Swayne combine only for the latter's shot to drift wide of the post.

The second half started with Petersfield making a substitution after about forty seconds - quite what Sewell achieved during that brief spell on the field is difficult to imagine - and after Keogh was too high, substitute Wray showed a neat turn of speed but the cross was rather misdirected. McKie was clattered, not for the first time, without any reaction from the referee whist Fennemore and Ward saw yellow cards in quick succession for challenges no better or worse. Both cautions came after discourse between the referee and his assistant - it has to be judged as a matter of regret that the assistant did not value application of the offside law as highly as the judgement of physical contact. Jamie Barron came on for Murphy, McKie was clattered again - lecture, no yellow card - and Fennemore shrugged off a rather wild challenge but the shot was too high. With Alex Ward dominating the midfield the Lions were coming forward almost at will and after Phil Andrews had replaced Fennemore the score became five with twenty minutes left. Jarvis sent McKie away down the right and his shot from a narrow angle flew past Patilla and high in to the net. A rare home attack saw the diminutive Wray hurl himself at a left wing cross with Hook saving at point blank range before Jarvis became booking number three after not retreating from a free kick though in many eyes the ball appeared to be kicked at him. Goal number six came with twelve minutes left and was probably the pick of the bunch. Bobby Swayne won the ball wide on the right and literally threaded the ball into McKie's path and the cross, superbly delivered at pace from the bye line and swinging away from the keeper, was headed powerfully in to the net at the far post by Phil Andrews. Campbell, now minus the Berbatov like gloves he had worn before the break, suffered a lecture and Kyle tested Patilla twice in quick succession after neat control by Andrews and another McKie cross before the striker picked up the fourth caution of the evening. There was little argument over this and although Tiffin's reaction was similar to Steve Boston's at Thatcham - Boston was sent off on that occasion, Tiffin did not enjoy as much as a word from the Official. With time running out and the temperature dropping there was just time to make it seven and a hat trick for Jarvis as he beat Patilla from close range after a neat one two with Kyle and it was job done. This incidentally was the first Lions hat trick since Lee Chudy scored three against Hayes in the FA Trophy early last season.

This was a game that Andover, given their higher status, had to win and the pleasing point is that they not only won but won well though all credit to a Petersfield side that never gave up. To score as many as seven goals is never easy and hopefully the confidence shown in front of goal last night can be carried forward. The only disappointing side of the evening was the yellow cards with the referee seeming a little one sided as regards same. Petersfield's attitude was never nasty or cynical but some of the challenges, especially on McKie, were over exuberant to say the least and the lack of action was surprising. Now there is every chance of a "plum" tie in the quarter finals but in the immediate interim league points remain the prime importance.

Hook: Murphy, Bobby Swayne, Matt Jones and Williams: McKie, Fennemore. Ward and Turvey: Jarvis and Kyle Swayne.

May, Campbell, Barron and Andrews.

Match Report by John Gorman

Match reports may not be copied or adapted without the permission of Andover Football Club

Also, the U18s have two home games this month in the BGB Youth Cup. They are at home to Gosport Borough on Wednesday 17th December and AFC Totton on Tuesday 23rd December. KO for both games is 7.45pm and admission is £3. So please try to get along and cheer the lads on.

Len Abrahams (Assistant Webmaster), Dec 09, 16:50

The report on Tuesday's match with Uxbridge started with the phrase " for Saturday read Tuesday" and there is an almost valid case for now saying for "Tuesday read Saturday" for, as against Uxbridge, we took too long to get in to the game at Didcot and left ourselves too much of a mountain to climb. One happily noticeable difference however was the absence of any dismissals and indeed the absence of any cautions for either side in the entire ninety minutes. On the minus side of the day other results went against us and the league position is not of the best but again in the second half we showed we can compete with the best. To do it for ninety minutes in league competition as we do in Cup clashes is really the required step now.

On a perfect playing surface and happily without the howling gale that marred our earlier visit Lions showed three changes from Tuesday's defeat with Lewis Fennemore and Stuart Gates giving way to Kyle Swayne and Ashley Jarvis whilst Gary Connolly's increasing work commitments, which will rule him out for the immediate and near future at least, saw Owen Elias don the number two shirt. There was a place on the bench for new boy James Roden and the starting formation, in the new Transplus sponsored away kit, showed just three across the back and five in midfield. An early effort from Mortimer-Jones was easily fielded by Dave Hook and the home side's next attack was pulled back for a free kick when they would have been happier with advantage being played before the tall Bartley fired a low cross along the edge of the six yard box without contact from defender or attacker alike. Mike Turvey made ground on the right but again play was pulled back for a free kick, after an innocuous challenge on Jamie Barron, when the advantage would have been beneficial to both the Lions and the game. Didcot were enjoying much more of the early pressure and made it pay after only nine minutes though there were suggestions of offside both in the build up and the final execution. The home side played the ball very quickly out of defence with King getting away on the right, looking suspiciously alone, and then playing the ball across the box in the face of the advancing Hook for Roach, all on his own, to roll the ball into the open net. Most people on the ground must have immediately thought "offside", the referee among them as he hurried to consult his assistant, but after a brief conversation the goal was allowed to stand. The explanation afterwards was that Roach, whilst beyond the defence, was also behind the ball when the final pass was made. Hook claimed a cross from Roach and home goalkeeper Watkins beat Nic Eastham to a through ball before a long Williams run ended in a forest of home defenders and after Matt Jones had been penalised for a tackle in which he clearly won the ball the Lions survived two scares in as many minutes. Full back Heapy's run ended with a cross that was deflected in to Roach's path but the experienced striker snatched at the shot and was well wide, and when the Lions gave the ball away in midfield, a too often occurrence, Bartley was denied by Hook's legs. The visitors then put together a move involving four or five players but again the final pass was wanting and a Williams cross was too close to Watkins. After defender Brown had received lengthy treatment following an awkward looking fall the home side went forward again with Powell's long run stopped by a determined Bobby Swayne tackle and King making an awful mess of a cross after Roach had skilfully made the space. The Lions have shown themselves prone of late to get caught by quick breaks as defence is turned in to attack and when it happened after thirty two minutes they were suddenly two down. Alex Ward and Turvey combined to send Williams down the left and the cross was bundled behind for a corner but when King galloped away with the loose ball from the kick the defence was short of numbers and though the initial shot was blocked the rebound again fell in to Roach's path and this time the much travelled striker made no mistake. Another quick break was stopped by a Kyle Swayne challenge as the midfielder come striker found himself as almost the last defender and Bartley wasted another break by holding on to the ball with colleagues in better positions. Turvey saw a header deflected wide at one end and Williams made a saving header at the other before another Heapy cross set up Jack with the shot being superbly turned away by Hook. Lions then made something of a pigs ear of a free kick in the middle of the field but a Williams challenge on Sampson averted any danger and with the same player providing a cross that was just too strong for Eastham the half ended without Watkins being forced into any save of note and the home side deservedly ahead.

Lions were the quicker out of the blocks on the restart with a goalbound shot from Kyle Swayne headed away, a Wllliams run gaining a corner and a superb pass from Elias sending Kyle away again only for Watkins to beat all comers to the cross. Matt Jones stopped Bartley after more clever play by Roach but the visiting efforts were halted when Didcot added a third with only five minutes played. Jack picked the ball up on the left flank and as everybody seemingly froze Roach moved into space, collected the pass and beat Hook with what was a superb finish. Hook then held a long range effort from substitute Howell and neat work by Barron led to another shot by Kyle being charged down before Mick brought some fresh legs into play with Fennemore and Roden coming on for Turvey and Barron. Watkins was outside his area to deny Eastham' s pursuit of a long clearance and the next attack ended with a rather delayed offside flag halting Jarvis before King, not for the first time, wasted a good opportunity for the home side with a pass that was way ahead of Bartley. A strong challenge by Roden sent the Lions forward again and after both Elias and Williams had seen shots blocked, the pressure bore fruit. Kyle Swayne found space to carry the ball forward on the right, Fennemore continued the move and with Jarvis pulling defenders to the left Eastham swept the ball past Watkins. Matt Jones tidied up neatly after the defence had momentarily waited for an offside flag that never came and with Ward now holding the centre of midfield the tall Fennemore kept the Lions moving forward. Gates came on for Kyle Swayne, the latter having coped more than adequately with the wide right role, and with his first touch sent Jarvis clear only for Watkins to block the shot and the rebound going wide as the striker struggled to adjust his balance. King almost embarrassed his keeper with a more than risky back pass and although Hook was again down at Bartley's feet it was still the Lions enjoying more of the possession with the home crowd, as is their wont, getting restive at the seeming change in the game's progress. Neat footwork from Eastham gave Fennemore a shooting chance but the effort was blocked and clever play between Bobby Swayne - a real captain's performance from the Lions skipper - and Roden saw a Jarvis shot deflected past the post. Didcot replaced both Bartley and Roach in quick succession, seemingly now more concerned with the defensive side of things, and when Ward and Gates won a corner Fennemore's header was wide. Watkins failed to gather a cross under pressure from Eastham, but as is too often the way nowadays, was rewarded with a free kick for dropping the ball but his handling was secure when he then plucked a Swayne cross off Jarvis's head .The referee then declined to play a sure-fire advantage again - at least he was consistent - and Williams saw a shot held at the second attempt by Watkins who had earned his money in the second half after his restful opening forty five minutes. That however was to be the last action and the Lions, who in truth had given themselves too much to do, could not make their second half comeback bear any fruit.

The result will be disappointing as is any defeat is but Didcot are a good side in good form at present and their Management was full of praise for the Lions football in the second half and "could not understand why we were so low in the table". Small consolation on the day but it is a long way from a lost cause at the present time. The three players at the back adapted to the formation well and when, as Mick put it, "the midfield was sorted out as regards defence and attack", Didcot were put under real pressure with them being three goals ahead not really playing any part in the change in the game. Now we have to perhaps learn to "play the second half first" and not keep giving ourselves a handicap.

Hook: Bobby Swayne, Matt Jones and Elias: Kyle Swayne, Barron, Ward,Turvey and Williams: Jarvis and Eastham.

May, Murphy, Fennemore, Roden and Gates.

Match Report by John Gorman

Photos courtesy of Adrian Stones

Match reports may not be copied or adapted without the permission of Andover Football Club

Cathy Devereux was delighted with the attendance and hopes to see many of them come back to watch our forthcoming home fixtures. "It was great to see so many new faces at the Portway on Tuesday and their enthusiastic support was much appreciated despite the cold weather and the score line!!"

Len Abrahams (Assistant Webmaster), Dec 07, 17:55

On behalf of the club many thanks to all who came along to the game last Saturday, we hope you enjoyed it despite the result and look forward to welcoming you back to the Portway Stadium soon.

Att: 110

This was to a large extent a case of for Tuesday read Saturday. Andover again dominated the opening exchanges without turning their superiority into goals and then to a certain extent shot themselves in the foot as for the second game running the forty fifth minute proved pivotal to the game. But this time they had no one but themselves to blame - the referee was left with little option - and the Lions again faced the second half with a deficit in numbers when, despite a battling performance, the uphill struggle was again too much. But as on Saturday had the Lions taken their chances in the first half there would have been at least some cushion against the subsequent events.

On another cold evening, with the crowd happier larger than seven days previously, ( the helicopters look like becoming regular supporters), Andover showed three changes from Saturday with Jamie Barron, Stuart Gates and Nic Eastham coming in to the starting line up and Owen Elias, Kyle Swayne and Ashley Jarvis dropping to the bench and an attack in the opening seconds saw Gates too high from a Barron pass, though the Assistant's subsequent offside flag would have nullified any successful attempt on goal. The speedy striker, back in full action for the first time since the victory over Farnborough, saw an effort saved by McCarthy in the visiting goal after Gary Connolly and Lewis Fennemore had created the opening before then losing control at the vital moment after seizing on a Mike Turvey cross. The home pressure continued with Uxbridge finding difficulty in getting forward and when Gates got his head to another Turvey cross McCarthy had to move very quickly to make the save. Fennemore needed treatment after a goalmouth scramble and as Uxbridge struggled to get a toehold in the game Kevin Warner turned sharply in the box but the snap shot was wide of David Hook's right hand post. Visiting skipper Mark Nicholls was increasing his verbal contribution to the game minute by minute and after being given offside was subjected to a long lecture from referee Bull although it is pushing things somewhat to suggest he listened in the required meek and mild manner. When play restarted the Lions initial impetus seemed to have slowed and as Uxbridge pushed their way forward Hook narrowly beat Nicholls to a through ball but on the halfway mark the little-revered Uxbridge midfielder showed the better side of his skills. There seemed little danger as the ball was played forward on the edge of the area but the control and turn was instant with the low shot going across Hook and in to the corner of the net. Lions response was to conjure up the best move of the game to date when Barron sent Gates away on the right and Eastham's header hit the inside of the post at such an angle that it seemed it had to go in to the net, but geometry was yet again proved not to be absolute as the ball somehow came back in to play. Fennemore was wide from the edge of the area and when the same player got his head to a Barron cross McCarthy's handling was none too sure as he fumbled the ball round the post. Two successive corners came to nothing and when Davies felled Gates just outside the box, collecting a yellow card for his efforts, Connolly's free kick was too high. One of the mini-highlights of the evening followed when Nicholls, ostentatiously standing with the ball at his feet and surveying and berating all around him had the ball pinched off his feet by Turvey rather in the manner of a kiddie pinching a sweet. Nicholls's comments on the proceedings are not for publication! Gates was then booked for a challenge and as play seemingly took place for ages in front of the home dug out he reacted to a challenge upon himself and the dismissal was inevitable. There may well have been an element of retaliation but unfortunately that is not considered an excuse in the eyes of the law and the Lions were again looking at playing for forty five minutes with ten men. There was just time for Nicholls to be cautioned for airing his views on the proceedings before the half time whistle with Mick then presumably having to re-write his team talk on the way to the dressing rooms. 

One assumes the home side's orders at the break were to "keep it tight" in the early minutes of the second half and let the play settle down but sadly Uxbridge had other ideas and within ten minutes the game was out of reach. After only three minutes the ball was worked down the right and the low cross turned past Hook by Dyer at the near post. Barron saw a cross too close to the keeper and after Turvey had neatly controlled a Hook clearance and forced McCarthy into a save the deficit was suddenly three. The goalkeeper's instant clearance found space on the Lions left and Nicholls was on the right side of the offside flag to go on and cleverly beat Hook. Whilst he did cry "leave it" it was aimed at his colleague to ensure his goal was not "pinched" from him and there was no Lions defender close enough to make it an offence. Fennemore was caught offside as the Lions tried to come back and Nicholls departed the scene after seventeen minutes, giving way to Tunnell who had surprisingly started on the bench. The Uxbridge management obviously felt their skipper had done his job but there must also have been doubts in their minds as to the possibility of his lasting the full ninety minutes without collecting another yellow card. Lions took the opportunity to make a substitution themselves with Jarvis replacing Gary Connolly and taking on a lone role up front. This necessitated a switch to three at the back and before they had adjusted to the change Tilbury beat the defence and the offside flag down the left but his finish was wide in the face of the rapidly advancing Hook. Jarvis and Fennemore combined to give Turvey a shooting chance but McCarthy was equal to the effort and more control from the white booted wide man caused some confusion in the visiting penalty area but no clear shooting chance. The Lions defence was dependant, purposely or otherwise, on the offside flag and the Uxbridge front line's desperation grew more voluble by the minute. Bobby Swayne did well to cut out a dangerous cross from Tilbury with the header from the resulting corner being high and wide and the Lions began to take the upper hand as the game drew towards its close with the pace of Jarvis and Turvey, backed by Rory Williams, causing problems to the visiting defence. A cross field ball from Matt Jones sent Turvey away again and McCarthy was down to his left to turn Jarvis's shot round the post before Lions played their last cards in sending Elias and Sean Murphy on in place of Barron and Fennemore. McCarthy again saved from Jarvis after a clever linkup between Murphy and Eastham and the same player curled a shot across the goalkeeper and past the far post but whilst not all too little it was all too late. Turvey appeared on the right flank and Eastham glanced his cross past the far post but there was not even to be the consolation of a late goal and the Lions had again seen league points taken from them at home.

As mentioned in the opening paragraph whilst the reduction to ten men was an obvious handicap the main problem was the Lions inability to turn pressure in to goals. On Saturday they dominated the whole opening half and last night it was midway through the half before Uxbridge got in to the game. This puts pressure on the defence (more so when you are a man short) and despite Herculean efforts again from Matt and Bobby and the safe hands of Hook we were punished for any mistakes - and at present we do not punish the same mistakes at the other end. The growing number of red cards is not helping the Club yet we are far from a "dirty" side and in fact do suffer from being {fairly) outmuscled at times yet the speed of such as Gates, Jarvis and Turvey is a lethal weapon - if we can get it to fire properly.

Hook: Connolly, Matt Jones, Bobby Swayne and Williams: Barron, Fennemore, Ward and Turvey: Gates and Eastham.

May, Elias, Murphy, Jarvis and Kyle Swayne.

Match Report by John Gorman

Match reports may not be copied or adapted without the permission of Andover Football Club

Att: 218

There is a long held theory that when you are down you are down and everything, especially luck, goes against you. In many cases this is probably no more than an excuse but yesterday at the Portway it did seem to have a fair share of relevance as for the second week running a refereeing decision played a major part in the game. But to this watcher there was a distinct difference between the two events. Against Newport it is fair to say that whilst the Lions were exerting some pressure when the visitors second goal was allowed, the probability, with respect to all concerned, is that the Welsh side would ultimately proved too strong on the day. Yesterday Andover had totally dominated Paulton for forty four minutes and fifty nine seconds, admittedly without scoring, when a decision made from behind the play and without any guidance from the far better placed Assistant, cost Lions a player and without any doubt the match. Refereeing is a hard job and it has to be said that the standard of the Officials in the Southern League is good, but the dismissal of a player is the ultimate decision and has to be one hundred per cent correct. Yesterday the punishment far outweighed the crime and many will be convinced that there was in fact no premeditated crime. What it also showed is that the assumption widely held in Footballing Officialdom that Referees and assistants work as a team is too often proved wrong - the latter simply do not, in many respects, want to get involved.

After some pre-match entertainment involving two of our more esteemed supporters trying to dislodge a ball from the heights of a tree - the outcome of one of Bashley's clearances on Tuesday - with the ball finally being retrieved under the astute guidance of the ball boys, Andover commenced with the same starting line up as Tuesday, led out by a host of proud red-shirted mascots, though both Nic Eastham and Stuart Gates returned to the bench. Buoyed no doubt by the League Cup win the Lions started strongly with Ashley Jarvis seeing a shot saved following a Rory Williams free kick and Bobby Swayne heading over after Williams and Fennemore had created space for the cross. Another surging run from Williams maintained the pressure and when Jarvis rolled the ball into Connolly's path on the edge of the D, visiting keeper Phillips made the first of many fine saves by clawing the ball away from under the angle of post and bar. Matt Jones made a fine tackle on the lanky Burborough but play was mainly in the other half with both Jarvis and Alex Ward seeing shots blocked after another Williams cross had caused some confusion in the visiting defence. A Connolly free kick and a Matt Jones header that was too high caused an outbreak of language among the visiting defenders that would have won commendation from Jonathan Ross and after Bobby Swayne had neatly tidied up one attack Dave Hook had what can best be described as "half an air shot" before recovering to quickly claim the ball. Ward, winning most of the midfield aerial challenges, sent Fennemore away but Phillips was down low to save the ensuing shot and topped that seconds later with a point blank stop from a Jarvis header. Connolly, not the tallest in the six yard area, cleverly headed an inswinging right wing cross to safety and neat play from Jarvis allowed a Fennemore cross that was held by the keeper before one of those decisions that always seems to go the wrong way. In this case Andover were the "wronged" party but it could just as easily have been at the other end. The defender chased a ball back towards his own goal line, desperately trying to shepherd the ball to safety, with Jarvis in pursuit and the moment there was contact the free kick went against the attacker despite the defender being some yards from playing distance of the ball. Quite simply a free kick for the defending side is the easier option. Hook then made his first real save of the half from a Burborough shot and with the half time whistle there were no doubt thoughts among the red shirts of a half well controlled but without the final touch - until that decision. This writer's view was from behind the Assistant in front of the dressing rooms and it appeared defender and attacker alike were chasing a through ball virtually side by side when they went down in a heap. There seemed no suggestion whatsoever that the forward had "dived", it was simply a collision of arms and legs though it was inside the area. Again from my viewpoint the referee was seeing the incident from behind from where he presumably felt that Jones was not level with the forward and therefore the challenge was from behind. A sideways on view, as experienced by the Assistant, suggested otherwise but he chose not to interfere, penalty, red card and all the good work of the first half overturned in an instant.

Lions commenced the second half with Owen Elias partnering Bobby at the back and Jarvis a lone figure up front and it was Hook first in to the action saving from Burborough but it was the Lions who made the first meaningful impression on the half with an equaliser after only four minutes. A Connolly free kick was only partially cleared and when Jarvis floated the ball towards the far post the tall Fennemore outjumped everybody to plant his header high in to the roof of the net. The same player then provided a dangerous low cross with former Salisbury defender Beswetherick just beating Jarvis to the ball and sending his clearance high over his own bar in the general direction of the Skate Park. A weak finish by Jefferies ended a Paulton attack before Jarvis carried the ball deep into opposition territory but Ward's shot was the wrong side of the post. Beswetherick, perhaps with mind still on the last clearance, was lectured for a childish outburst over nothing in particular and when Connolly sent Jarvis away down the right his lob drifted across Phillips and past the far post. The referee was then in lengthy lecture mode again after Hook had scrambled a header away and there seemed some confusion between the officials as to what had actually happened but in the end they chose to disagree with the Paulton version of events. The Somerset side were now coming more into the game with the skilful Ben Cleverly, virtually unseen in the first half, now directing operations with the policy of keeping one player wide on each flank and stretching the Lions under-manned resources. Phillips again showed his talent by somehow getting down to a Williams shot he saw at the last moment before the Paulton finally made their numerical superiority pay. A long ball found Claridge in acres of space on the right, the cross was deep and with the defence momentarily disorganised French stole in unmarked at the far post to beat Hook. Stuart Gates made his first appearance for some time, coming on to replace the hard working Kyle Swayne, only to see the visitors immediately increase their lead. The home defence cleared a free kick but when it was quickly played forward again French timed his run to beat any offside flag and went on to claim his second of the afternoon. Fennemore was too high after another cross from the indefatigable Williams and Nic Eastham came on for Connolly with the substitution again being immediately followed by a goal. As before there was space for the cross, delivered by substitute Pendry, and Jefferies finish at the far post was emphatic. The Lions to their credit showed no signs of conceding and Gates forced another save by Phillips from a narrow angle after Mike Turvey had made a lot of ground down the left flank. Jamie Barron replaced Fennemore, another more than satisfactory performance from the Lions new boy, and Phillips produced one of the best saves seen at the Portway for some time  by hurling himself to his left to push away a curling Turvey effort that had goal written all over it. We have grown used to some superb Hook saves over the last season and a half, in fact almost take them for granted, and this was up amongst the best of those. Gates was then bundled over in the area with some considerable force with a penalty the upshot though the difference in the referee's reaction was noticeable to say the least. Not even a word of reproach to the culprit! Barron confidently sent the spot kick high in to the net to reduce the deficit to two with six minutes left but any hopes of a Roy of the Rovers style comeback was thwarted when Dan Cleverly's shot from a left wing cross was deflected past Hook. Still Lions kept coming and with the ninety minutes up a Williams free kick from the right beat everybody to finish inside the far post to make it eight goals for the afternoon but it was by now too late to alter the result.

Lions will feel hard done by, and probably rightly so, and perhaps the only downside to their performance on the day was not capitalising on their first half superiority. A two goal lead, certainly deserved on the run of play, would have made the second half slightly less difficult. The welcome visitors from Anton Junior School who had enjoyed their penalty competitions at half time selected Mike Turvey as the LOCAL Man of the Match and no doubt the all weather area at the School in the next few weeks will see a few Turvey style runs - hope they can fall over properly! Perhaps the best summing up of the match comes from the match report on the Paulton website. They scored five goals away from home yet nominated their goalkeeper as their man of the match!

Hook: Connolly, Matt Jones, Bobby Swayne and Williams: Fennemore, Ward, Elias and Turvey: Kyle Swayne and Jarvis.

May, Murphy, Barron, Gates and Eastham.

Match Report by John Gorman

Photos courtesy of Adrian Stones

Match reports may not be copied or adapted without the permission of Andover Football Club

Len Abrahams (Assistant Webmaster), Nov 25, 20:17

In the games played this season, the panel have judged the best goal scored so far as the one by Gary Connolly at Bridgewater. That will remain as "Goal of the Season" until the judges see what they feel is a better one and this procedure will carry on until the end of the season. You will be kept informed as to their decisions.

On behalf of all Lions fans, I would like to express our thanks to Robin and Graham for their generosity.