Hamble ASSC 1 Andover 3

CFL sponsored Andover started their Christmas celebrations early last Saturday when they completed their first JWL double of the season on a bitterly cold afternoon- and taking their goal tally in the league to 50 for the season.

Again the Lions were a goal down at the break but dominated the second and have now lost just once in eight visits to Follands Park.

With Dave Asker suffering from a head injury sustained at Blackfield on Thursday night and Sean Dyke not fully fit, Lions boss Ken Cunningham Brown was forced to re-organised his troops. Glen Damen and Danny Mattingly slotted into midfield while Matt Crossley joined Danny Barker in the heart of the defence. With Vince Rusher serving the last match of his seven day suspension, Paul Odey and Andy Forbes continued their front running partnership and Dyke was able to sit on the bench.

The Lions had the majority of possession in the first half but Hamble, with new player- manager Neil Prosser pulling the strings, defended in depth and restricted the options open to the Lions.

Spencer Walsh and Damen worked their socks off in the middle of the pitch but with Mattingley having an off day the Lions did not have the width to get in behind the home defence.

Neither side was helped by some inconsistent refereeing and Alan Kennedy was unlucky to receive a yellow card for an incident that was little more than handbags at five paces after being the victim of a number of bone crunching tackles that went unpunished.

Hamble broke the deadlock after 25 minutes with a goal from a free kick on the edge of the area that the Lions failed to clear and the unmarked Toby Willis gave Keiron Drake no chance with the shot.

The Lions were restricted to a couple of half chances from Odey and Forbes before the beak but in the second half the skilful Dyke replacing Mattingly and almost immediately changed the whole complexion of the game as he created chance after chance with his pace down the Lions' right flank.

Ironically, Dyke did not feature in the Lions equaliser. A long ball out of defence from player-coach Crossley caught the Hamble defence in two minds and Odey ran clear to produce a clinical finish.

Two minutes later Dyke bamboozled his marker and the Lions wee ahead as Damen nodded the resulting cross down to Forbes who made no mistake with his 31st goal of the season. In total control in the second half, the Lions had 21 attempts on goal. Incredibly, four went wide from within the six yard box and the Hamble 'keeper gave a superlative performance to prevent a cricket score.

Despite his efforts, a further score was on the cards and it duly arrived with six minutes left. Dyke was again the instigator as he held off two tackles before producing a perfect cross and Odey was perfectly placed to snap up his second goal of the game.

Andover (4-4-2): Drake; Freeman, Barker, Crossley, Bicknell; Mattingley, Damen, Walsh, Kennedy; Forbes, Odey. Subs: Dyke (for Mattingley 46 mins), Simpson (not used).