AFTER overnight rain, the pitch at Wicor Rec was only passed fit 45 minutes before the scheduled kickoff.

Copious amounts of sand on the affected area and use of the heavy roller satisfied the match referee and the match finally started 15 minutes late.

Neil Benson made two changes from the team that started the previous week with Opi Aromona and Craig Blakeman coming in for Bradley Benson and Claudio Herbert who both dropped to the bench.

Areas of the pitch not covered by the sand remained greasy and both sides took time to adjust to the conditions.

There was little goalmouth action before Andover took the lead with 15 minutes played as Portchester goalkeeper Lloyd Thomas failed to deal with a back pass and Michael Dixon slid the ball into the unguarded net.

The home side than started to play like a side who had scored 18 goals in their previous five outings.

Andover defended well but just past the half hour gave away a corner and as the kick came in unmarked Craig Hardy timed his run to perfection to plant a firm header beyond the reach of Jake Wellesley-David But three minutes later Andover restored their lead when Dixon fired home after beating two defenders on the edge of the box.

The roller made a further appearance during the interval before Andover started the second period strongly.

Joe Woodward’s header grazed the crossbar and then Lewis Benson’s fine run deserved a score but the final effort by Dixon found the side netting.

The home side then made two substitutions and the complexion of the game changed as they claimed the majority of the possession and Town struggled to get out of their own half.

As well as they defended a goal seemed inevitable but two finally arrived within the space of two minutes.

Alex Baldacchino scored his side’s second and then Jamie Musselwhite fired though a crowded area to give Portchester the lead for the first time.

Ten minutes were left when Wellesley-David kept Andover in the game with a fine save to deny Musselwhite a second and with time running out all Andover’s hard work was rewarded when Herbert, who earlier had replaced Woodward, found space on the edge of the box to clinch a point drilling a shot across the goalkeeper into the net.