ANDOVER Town ended their November blues on Saturday with a 2-0 home win over a strong Team Solent side, writes Patrick Barlow.

An early goal from Adam Grange and a late strike from Zach Glasspool earned Town the victory, their first in over a month.

However it was Lloyd Thomas who impressed the Portway faithful with a great goalkeeping performance to claim his first clean sheet for the club.

After losing to bottom-placed Verwood Town a week previous, Andover opted to name a largely unchanged side.

Connor Cocklin and Ross Gregory were the only changes, being replaced by Craig Blakeman and McCaulie Stubbs respectively.

However, unlike last week Town broke the deadlock very early on from an in-swinging corner from winger Grange.

The low ball into the penalty area curled past the Solent defenders and into the bottom corner to give Town the initial momentum in attack.

It wasn’t long before Andover were knocking on the Team Solent door once more as Rudi Plummer nearly doubled the home side’s advantage.

Plummer was unable to capitalise, having stolen the ball off Solent centre-back Pip Nolan, blasting his shot wide from close range.

Thomas did well to stop Solent from levelling midway through the first half.

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(Action from Andover Town’s 2-0 home win over Team Solent. Pictures by Andy Brooks)

An excellent short range double save stopped Jim Orvis and Silvano Obeng from equalising, with the Town keeper palming the ball away from the Andover goal on both occasions.

Despite attacks in both directions, neither side could add a goal before the break.

Town fired out of the blocks after half-time and created a three-ontwo situation on the edge of the penalty area.

However Plummer was stopped by the Solent defence, who caught up to clear the ball away.

Solent were denied once again by the brilliance of Thomas, as he saved a crucial penalty to maintain his clean sheet.

Matt Sheedy was fouled in the penalty area, but Thomas saved Tyrell Mitford’s shot aimed at the bottom left corner, expertly tipping the ball wide.

Town’s new signing Harrison Fay came off the bench to have an immediate impact, as his speed and skill crafted a great chance for Andover.

The former Winchester man nearly converted in the middle of the second half as he cannoned the ball off the inside of the post.

However the ball bounced to safety.

Fay also played a pivotal role as Town doubled their lead late in the match.

The winger’s exquisite cross fell perfectly for striker Glasspool, who collected the ball from close range and slotted it into the bottom corner to seal a crucial win for Town.

Andover now sit 17th in the Wessex Premier League having taken 21 points from their opening 19 games.

Glenn Burnett’s side will look to continue their winning ways when they face Bournemouth on Saturday.