Andover New Street beat Lymington 5-2 away from home

It was a much changed Street side with Ross Cook, Liam Hibberd, Shaun Dallimore, and Joe Chamberlain missing and Shane Lock, not fully fit, on the bench. There were also first starts for new boys James Mayo and Ethan Gee.

Street made the better start, kicking down the slope with a Leyton Tulk cross blocked and the visiting defence under pressure but it was Lymington who had the first chance with Jake Bockhart lifting the ball over the bar from close range. Immediately Street moved to the other end and Malachi Dotse's pace took him clear of the defence and a cool finish gave his side the lead after just six minutes. Another Dotse run was ended by a challenge that earned the defender a yellow card and after Mayo had confidently dealt with a corner in a crowded area, a Lewis Williams run was stopped at the expense of a corner before Street doubled their lead on 18 minutes. Luke Dempsey’s long ball over the top was superbly controlled by Dotse and he slotted the ball past keeper Dale Hind to double the lead. Street continued to have most of the possession although Lymington were dangerous on the break and indeed reduced the deficit on 37 minutes, Kaden Traynor heading home from a corner. Within a further couple of minutes, Street restored the two-goal cushion as Dotse’s powerful header from a Mikey Davis free kick rebounded off the bar and Scott Hassall turned the loose ball over the line. The final action of the half sadly saw Jamie Blackburn limp off with Lock taking his place. (half time 3-1)

The second half had barely started when Lymington reduced the deficit again, Jake Bockhart firing past Mayo with the home defence still in halftime mode. Williams, whose pace was a problem for the visitors all afternoon, won a corner on his own and then combined with Dotse with the keeper scrambling the ball clear, but it was a corner that led to Street extending their lead. Lock swung the kick in from the left, it was half-cleared for Leyton Tulk to meet the ball on the half-volley and find the roof of the net. Williams, who deserved a goal, broke clear again only for his shot across the keeper to come back into play off the inside of the far post. As the substitutions came into effect New Street made it a nap hand when Lock picked the ball up in midfield, strode forward and found the bottom corner with his left foot, The Lock finish seen many times in the past. That was game over and three valuable points for Street after their long break. Lymington deserve credit for their effort and never letting their heads drop but the result was more than fair. (full time 5-2)

Manager Jamie Colman said: "Overall I am really pleased with the result which is the main thing, but the performance really did match it. The energy and pace we had on the pitch was frightening. If I am honest, I was just looking for a result, having not played a league game for three weeks. I wasn’t too worried about how the points came, I just wanted them. With the ball, I thought we were excellent. We had a few missing and Locky only fit enough for the bench. It was a slightly different side but the decision to play Mikey Davis at full-back was one I had been thinking about for quite a while. He offers real pace and a chance to be really attacking down that side and the interchange with Lewis Williams was excellent with Lewis having another great game in a New Street shirt.

"Going forward I am not sure how many teams would have coped with our pace. We looked threatening every time we attacked. Going back to Lewis, he has everyone on the edge of their seats when he gets the ball and he did everything but score. Good also to see Leyton Tulk back, fit and well. It was like having a new signing and he was superb on the day with a goal as well. Really good to have Malachi back with us after a couple of weeks with the Eastleigh First Team. You could see he looked hungry and deserved his two goals. He was fantastic. Overall pleased with the keeper and the back four. They were solid.  The two new lads have settled in really well. The midfield were excellent and the forward players were scary. I was not pleased at all with the two goals conceded – we need to be better in transition and be switched on more."

But I cannot have it all my own way – I’ll take the 5-2 and the three points. Once again the supporters got their money's worth. Great support as ever !!