Diamonds win season opener
Diamonds win their first game against Div 1 opposition in their season opener in the Cup
After promotion to Division 1, Glyn Hacker's Andover Diamonds started the new season in style as they hosted a strong Salisbury side for the first game in the Division 1 Cup.
The match started with Salisbury enjoying the majority of possession. Andover however showed a steely defence, the same defence which only let in 9 goals last season. Andover gained confidence as Salisbury's possession couldn't penetrate the strong Andover defence and the midfield started to push Salisbury into their own half.
Andover took the lead after 7 minutes when a quick move down the right flank found Richard Hoo in the D who manoeuvred the ball and struck a speculative shot across the Salisbury keeper into the far corner. However, it took Salisbury just 3 minutes to equalise when they scored from a scrappy penalty corner.
The home side regained the lead on 13 minutes from a penalty corner when Richard Romer-Lee tapped in after the keeper had saved the initial strike. The lead was increased mid way through the half with Hoo doubling his tally for the match when he deflected a Gary Holmes pass into the roof of the net.
Salisbury tried to come back into the game, but they couldn't break down the the solid defensive pairing of Guy Panszcyk and Robert Oostendorp. Just before half time, another quick break on the right wing created a fantastic cross for Alan Shaw to slot in past a stranded keeper and see the Diamonds take a 4-1 lead at half time.
At the start of the second half Salisbury came out stronger, trying to play a quicker tempo, higher up the pitch. 7 minutes in, after a period of sustained pressure, Salisbury pulled a goal back. This gave them confidence and as the half continued, Salisbury dominated possession with Andover finding it difficult release the pressure. Andover held strong as Salisbury couldn't convert their dominance into goals.
With 10 minutes to go, Andover won a penalty corner and Mike Boyne swept in a well crafted move to extend the lead. As the physicality of the match took its toll on the Andover players, Salisbury were unable to convert any of their chances and the match finished with a hard fought 5-2 win for Andover.
Next week sees Glyn Hacker taking his Andover Diamonds to Petersfield to take on the reigning Division 1 champions in the second match of the cup competition.