STARTING life for the first time in the Hampshire Premier League, Town faced Paulsgrove on a warm, sunny afternoon at Portway.

A crushing blow struck even before the season started when skipper Owen Trapnell ruptured his Achilles tendon in last week’s pre-season against Lymington, which will keep him out of action for at least six months.

Andover fielded several new signings and started on the front foot, determined to begin the season strongly. It was strange to see the game starting without official linesmen which, apparently, is the norm in this league.

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Both teams opened brightly with crisp interpassing and frequent end-to-end play. But in the 17th minute, Paulsgrove scored when a deep cross from the right was met by Number 7 Jake Peppall who powerfully headed home to make the score 1-0. Andover’s Number 7, Ryan Morgans, was featuring more and more as the half progressed and on the 24th minute, he hit a terrific volley from inside the box.

It looked to be a certain goal until it hit the keeper from point-blank range, who somehow scrambled the ball away. Town continued to press and got their reward in the 37th minute when Ryan Morgans turned in a cross from the left to level the score at 1-1. This was the score at halftime, and Andover regretted the several good missed chances they had towards the end of the first half.

The second half began with another superb chance in the 47th minute when Morgans again compelled a fine save from the Paulsgrove keeper. Town increasingly dominated as the half progressed, but they were undone by a calamitous keeper error in the 64th minute. An attempt to play the ball short to the edge of the area was nicked by the Paulsgrove Number 9 who calmly stroked it into an empty net to make the score 2-1.

Town retaliated swiftly, and in the 67th minute, a fantastic cross by Morgans was met on the full in the 6-yard box by J J Budden and it was slammed into the net to equalise, making the scoreline 2-2. With 20 minutes left, Andover were looking strong, and it was no shock when they scored again in the 78th minute. Ryan Morgans capped off an outstanding performance when he turned sharply in the box and slid the ball home to bring the score to 3-2. Town managed the second half well, maintaining good control of the ball. The final score was 3-2 in the home team's favour.

It's always great to commence the season with a win and it's too early to assess the strength of the opposite team, but as the old cliché goes: 'a win is a win'. The next match is on Tuesday, 6th August with a 7.45pm kickoff at Portway against Bishop Waltham Dynamos.