ANDOVER Mens First recorded an important victory last Saturday, beating Yateley 7-2 at a rain soaked John Hanson pitch.

The home side knew they needed to take the three points, with Yateley sitting just one point behind them in the league.

Andover pressed Yateley hard from the off leaving them struggling to get the ball out of their half.

It didn’t take long for the pressure to get to Yateley, allowing some quick passes in the D to set Olly Bridge up to open the scoring with a well finished reverse stick shot.

After taking the lead so early on the home side gathered momentum as Liam O’Sullivan and Dan Allen also scored inside the first 20 minutes.

Yateley managed a reply shortly after but Tom Burnham didn’t leave them long to celebrate as he made it 4-1 before the half time whistle.

A very positive team talk ensued from such a dominant first half and team morale was high as Andover went into the second half in search of more goals.

Jamie Hacker was next to find one but Yateley hadn’t given up yet.

A scramble from a deflected short corner ended up with the ball finding its way into the Andover goal.

It wasn’t enough to unsettle the host side though and a quick bit of passing in the midfield from Jack Trott and Sam Goacher got the ball through to Dan Allen in the D.

With just the keeper to beat he kept his composure and slotted the ball into the corner to claim his second of the day.

The scoreline finished 7-2 as Andover claimed the three points.

They travel away to Romsey next week as they look to progress up towards the middle of the table before the Christmas break.

Meanwhile the Ladies First team built on last week’s victory, beating Richmond Ladies 2-0 away in London.

Despite the wet weather Andover began brightly, winning several penalty corners.

It was from one of these that Lizzie Vincent struck the ball firmly, deflecting into the bottom corner of the goal.

Andover continued to press, with Rhea Li and Vincent attacking down the flanks.

Andover’s second goal came from a well worked move when Vincent picked the ball up on the left and attacked the byline.

An excellent pass led to Emily Lawson striking the ball home.

The second half was tough for Andover with only 11 players and Li struggling with an injury.

However, they dug deep and held out for a win with excellent defensive play by Sarah Wiseman.