Lions destiny in their own hands

THE Jewson Wessex League (JWL) title race was blown wide open - literally - at a windswept Portway last Saturday after Gosport completed a league double over a jaded Andover.

A crucial game for both sides was ruined by a cold south- easterly wind blowing directly down the pitch but, with the two sides deadlocked at 1-1, Gosport got the vital break to snatch a second goal with 16 minutes left and then wrapped up the points with a third six minutes before time as the Lions gambled in an attempt to salvage a point.

It was the Lions seventh league defeat of the season but now Ken Cunningham Brown's side have it all to do in their quest to hold onto the JWL title they won so handsomely for the first time last year.

With only five points from their last four games, the title pendulum may appear to be swinging against the Lions but their destiny is still in their own hands with championship rivals Fleet Town, whom they still have to play both home and away in their remaining eight games, also slipping up 1-0 away at Wimborne.

It looks as though it could go right down to the wire.

After last weekend's games AFC Totton, with three games left to play, were still out in front with a six-point lead over Fleet Town, with Andover and Gosport a further two point behind but, although the Lions have games in hand and also a superior goal difference, having to play three games a week is finally taking its toll.

They have played over 60 games already this season - including 25 cup matches - and it could be said they the are victims of their own success with them also having reached three cup finals.

They have certainly gone off the boil in recent games and their fourth meeting of the season with Gosport was always expected to be a tight affair, with the Lions having beaten Gosport in the FA Vase after a replay but then lost narrowly away by the odd goal in the earlier league encounter.

Both sides played better against the elements in the latest contest. The Lions faced the wind in the first half and had the perfect start with Shaun Dyke racing clear on the left to fire them ahead after just five minutes for only his fourth league goal of the season.

The Lions, with more mobility in attack with Lloyd Webber partnering Andy Forbes up front, carved out the clearer chances in the first half with Forbes twice squandering openings in the opening quarter of an hour that not so long ago he would have buried.

The hard working Webber played a neat return pass with Forbes only to be denied by a brave block from Gosport's lanky 'keeper Mark Brown and on the stroke of half time Dave Asker broke impressively from midfield but as usual his finish did not match his approach with him hurriedly firing over as a posse of Gosport defenders gave chase.

The Lions should have been 3-1 up at half time with Gosport making the most of their extra man in midfield to carve out a 31st minute equaliser.

The ball ran kindly for striker Rob Priestley but he finished superbly when he coolly lobbed into an empty net from 25 yards after Kieron Drake was left stranded after the 'keeper had charged from his area to block a shot from Gosport's impressive frontman Neil Scammell.

Andover may have been hoping to use the elements in their favour in the second half but it proved a frustrating 45 minutes for the home side. The opening quarter produced a flurry of bookings with Webber the first to be shown the yellow card by Shaftsbury official Stuart Mason for kicking the ball away after being pulled up for offside and was followed by Gosport's Perry Holland and Stuart Hensman as well as a frustrated Forbes, all for late challenges.

Hensman's caution almost cost Gosport a goal with Matt Crossley venturing forward to power a header narrowly over the Gosport crossbar from Derek Simpson's inswinging free kick from the right.

Gosport, like Andover had in the first half, created the better chances however playing into the wind and Drake kept the home side in the game with a crucial block to deny Scammell when he burst clear and then beat out a close-range header from the striker after in got onto the end of a wicked free kick that the left-footed Holland had curled into the area from the right.

Dyke almost repeated his first-half strike when he shrugged off a strong challenge and got away on the right but this time put his shot narrowly wide of the far post.

Gosport brought on replacement striker Graham Lindsey for Priestley with 18 minutes left and he was only on the pitch for four minutes before he grabbed Gosport's all-important second goal - courtesy of a mistake by an out-of-sorts Paul Freeman.

Freeman and Dyke combined to win the ball off a grounded Holland on the right touchline but Freeman's suicidal pass back to his 'keeper was intercepted by the tall striker and he ran clear to stroke the ball past a stranded Drake into an empty net to settle the issue.

A Lions brought on Paul Odey for the crestfallen Freeman but the damage had been done and, as Andover poured forward, Gosport broke away to score their third goal with six minutes left, Scammell scampering clear through the middle and rounding Drake before slotting into the empty net.

Andover did finally beat the Gosport offisde trap when Webber raced away on the right but, with Odey waiting unmarked in the front of goal, the resulting cross was booted to safety by a recovering defender.

"The second goal was the kiss of death for us ," said KCB after the game, "but I thought we looked a bit jaded in the last half hour. We've had to play a lot of games lately but we're not out of things yet and our destiny is still in our own hands."

Andover (4-4-2): Drake; Freeman, Barker, Crossley, Bickenll; Asker, Walsh, Simpson, Dyke; Webber, Forbes. Subs: Odey (for Freeman 72 mins), Kennedy, Johnson (not used).