WHEN Graham Kemp was laying down the law to his players before Tuesday's 5-0 win over Downton, he had forgotten he was about to reach a significant personal milestone.

Unbeknown to the Lymington & New Milton player-manager, it was to be his 500th game in a Linnets shirt.

The central defender makes it 501 at home to Andover tonight in a match that will provide yet another thrilling twist to one of the most open Jewson Wessex League title chases in years.

Linnets own hopes are still flickering despite a 2-0 set-back at league leaders Totton last week.

The manner of that defeat so disappointed Kemp that he turned up on Tuesday with a 15-minute speech prepared.

He preached about better discipline and about the need to break out of the trophy-laden Derek Binns era and find a winning identity of their own.

Under Kemp's predecessor Binns, the Linnets (formerly AFC Lymington) were the dominant force in the Wessex League, winning three successive titles from 1997-99.

But Kemp said: "In the last three years all we've won is the Russell Cotes Cup and I've told the players that they can't go on living off other people's glories.

"At the end of the day, this set of players hasn't won anything yet.

"There are seven or eight off them who don't have Wessex League winners' medals."

Kemp's speech did not fall on deaf ears.

His fifth-placed Linnets responded with a 5-0 demolition job on Downton.

And a win over reigning champions Andover tonight (7.30) would open up real possibilities of a top-two finish.

Kemp said: "Derek was an institution, but the club has changed from top to bottom since he went.

"Our results this season have shown that we're not that far off a championship-winning side again."

Mark Smith is an injury doubt tonight and experienced midfielder Jimmy Sheppard is still suspended.

John Bailey had the final say as Brockenhurst edged AFC Newbury 3-2 in the Jewson Wessex League at Grigg Lane last night.

The former AFC Bournemouth midfielder popped in the rebound after Chris Marwood's 54th-minute header had rebounded off the bar.

Four minutes earlier, Bailey's foul had presented Newbury with a penalty equaliser from Dominic Green after Brock's Jimmy Anderson and Marwood had overturned a fifth-minute Matt McDonnell opener.