Here’s the match report from our young reporter Hamish Manson. From the game on Tuesday 25th August 2026.
The prematch atmosphere at Foxcotte Park was electric as two top teams were ready to duke it out in the first round of the Hampshire Cup, Andover New Street, vs Millbrook F.C. Fortune did not favor ‘the swifts’ as first choice keeper, Luke Cairney, was away at a training course so unable to play leaving goalkeeping coach, Sean O’Brien, as the only option in net. Having previously retired on three separate occasions, the coach was already carrying a knock coming into the match, not a great omen for what was to come.
As dusk settled across the ground, Millbrook got the game underway; having beaten New Street in their previous meeting the Swifts, captained by Greg Peel, were keen to exact their revenge. It was an even match for the first twenty minutes or so with the only real chances coming from Malachi Dotse’s blistering pace down the left flank. Out of the blue however, the Millbrook center back tried to play a horrific back pass to his own goalie which Greg Peel easily managed to intercept. Through one on one with the opposing goalkeeper, Peel, not known for his pace, got mere inches away from the keeper before barely managing to slot the ball in the back of the net. With New Street in the lead, they couldn’t afford to give away any silly mistakes, which made what happened next all the more unfortunate.
It was a poor foul from New Street as they rushed back to stop a counterattack that gave away a risky free kick on the edge of the area, providing Millbrook a good chance to get back into the game. Fans were unconvinced by the wall that stood to block Millbrook’s Bobby Gorman, seeming to take up only a tiny part of the goal. To the surprise of no one in the ground, Gorman’s shot flew past the three man wall and towards the exposed left hand side of the goal. Hampered by his injury, O’Brien was unable to get down to the ground convincingly enough to prevent Millbrook getting a much needed equalizer.
Just on the stroke of half time, Cameron Thatcher, New Street’s number 4, combined beautifully on the flank with Malachi Dotse to find himself in a perfect position to whip a ball into the penalty area. And he did just that. It was a scramble in the box but from out of the crowd, Peel managed to get his foot to it first and tuck it home, grabbing his, and New Street’s, second of the match. As we went into the break, New Street held a narrow lead, unaware the drama that would unfold in the second half.
Early into the second half, seemingly out of nowhere, Sean O’Brien in the New Street goal went down off the ball. Play was paused and the New Street bench looked concerned as the physio signaled that the only available goalkeeper needed to come off! Pandemonium from the crowd, who would be brave enough to go in goal for the last half an hour? Claudio Herbert, that’s who. The pacy center forward put on his gloves and plucked up his courage for the longest half of football of his life. Luckily his teammates managed to relieve the pressure on him somewhat shortly after he came on. It was a well worked corner. swung in from the left flank, which bobbled around the Millbrook penalty area before finally falling to George Higgins who smashed it home for 3-1.
Millbrook turned the pressure up but New Street refused to crack. Claudio Herbert was surprisingly adept in net, showing signs of being a strong sweeper keeper and even pulling off a decent save or two. With the clock ticking down and the result looking clear, or as clear as a result could be with an outfield player in goal, the Millbrook goalkeeper made a fatal mistake. Rushing out to get on the end of a New Street clearance, Doste’s lightning speed beat him to it and he managed to squeeze the ball in from an impossibly tight angle, thirty yards out.
It was a forgone conclusion from that point on and New Street fans were excited to book their tickets to the next round. The only question on their minds, who would start the next game in goal, Cairney or Herbert?