Battle-scarred Vets triumph

This week Andover Diamonds hosted Portsmouth & Southsea in a hard fought match at John Hanson school. Following a great win the week before the home team went into the game full of confidence and looking forward to continuing their winning streak.

Portsmouth however, proved to be tough opposition and pressed Andover early on creating a number of chances. The Diamonds midfield worked tirelessly and, as the half wore on, started to dominate leading to a number of short corners being won. It was from one of these that Mark Josling made space at the top of the D and, just before before being clattered by a defender, fired an accurate cross to Mike Boyne who calmly slotted the ball home.

The second half played out much like the first with Andover having the majority of the possession but Portsmouth continuing to cause problems. Andover’s defence held firm and Steve Payne in goal dealt with anything that came his way. This allowed the forwards the freedom to press on and with the pressure building a slick passing move down the left wing beat the defence and the resulting cross picked out John Priestley-Cooper in front of goal. With work still to be done the Andover man cleverly beat the last defender before flicking the ball hard into the net. The Diamonds continued to press but were unable to convert any further chances and the game finished in a well deserved 2-0 victory.