ANDOVER Town welcomed mid-table Totton & Eling to Portway hoping to continue the good form which they showed in the midweek defeat away at Newport IOW.

Both teams started brightly with both Andover full backs getting forward whenever possible and attacking with intent.

An early chance fell to Totton’s number 9 Yeadon who fired in a fierce shot which skimmed the crossbar.

Andover increasingly took control and were playing well with good movement especially through midfield.

So it was bitterly disappointing and against the flow when keeper Devon Twigg sadly dropped an innocuous cross in the 31st minute which fell right at the feet of Totton’s number 9 Harry Yeadon who gleefully slid the ball into an empty net. (0-1)

However Andover continued to press forward and were causing problems for the Totton defence but in the 45th minute the visitors almost got the second goal with a shot which thudded against the bar. 

The second half started with a similar pattern of end-to-end play and with both teams pushing forward with conviction.

Almost straight away Jake Parton fastened onto a loose ball on the edge of the area, beat a couple of defenders and fired in a low shot to make the score 1-1.

So it looked like the match could go either way as the half progressed.

The pace picked up considerably and both teams had good chances but in the 80th minute a defensive mistake let in Harry Yeadon to get his second to make it 2-1 to Totton.

Andover threw everything into it for the last 10 minutes but despite their valiant efforts were unable to get the equaliser. 

Sadly another defeat for Town but the score did not accurately reflect how a much improved Andover played with no reward.

There is another mid week match on Tuesday, March 19 with the Test Valley derby away at Romsey Town. Kick off is at 7.45pm. This is the fixture which Andover won 3-2 back in the October which was made void because Town allegedly fielded an ineligible player, a decision by the league which was hotly disputed.