New Street 0 Christchurch 2
Match Report By Hamish Manson:
Hopes were high at Foxcotte Park as Andover New Street looked to grab another three points on their road to promotion, welcoming 14th placed Christchurch to the DH Property Services stadium. Prematch the players knew that this would be a vital game to see if they could bounce back from their defeat to Portland United a week ago.
A somewhat controversial call by manager Jamie Coleman saw the club’s joint top goalscorer Claudio Herbet left on the bench, would this decision come back to bite the team later on?
First Half
As the match kicked off, something seemed off with New Street, they decided to sit back and play around the back instead of the usual tactic of going for a fast start. The opening few minutes saw both teams not have much joy in attack however this would soon change when a spectacular shot from the edge of the box by Christchurch’s James Storey flew past Sean O’Brien and into the back of the net, putting the visitors one nil up.
O’Brien, out of retirement to cover for the unavailable Heath Bartram, was left fuming at the space afforded to the Christchurch midfielder.
Despite a new found determination in attack, Andover New Street just couldn’t seem to get past the watertight Christchurch defense led by captain Ryan Watkins. As halftime drew close the only hope for New Street was that one of Coleman’s rallying speeches could get the team back into it because this was certainly not the performance the fans have come to expect from the team.
Second Half
As the second half began it appeared that pep talk had little effect on the players as they continued to play safe possession football in a new look 3 at the back formation. One of the huge risks of this however is getting caught out at the back which was exactly what happened.
George Bennett played a risky back pass to youngster Harry Bowden that was easily intercepted by the Christchurch striker, Joe Freak, who rushed through and delicately chipped it over the onrushing goalkeeper, all but crushing New Street’s designs on a comeback.
The introduction of substitutions helped slightly with Malachi Dotse making a few good attacking runs but it was not until late in the match that Claudio Herbert finally got brought on.
Late Drama
A New Street corner caused chaos as a foul inside the box earned a penalty with fifteen minutes to go. If they could convert this then the match was back on. Captain Shane Lock took responsibility and was the one to step up.
With the weight of the team on his shoulders he composed himself, ran up to the ball and tried to slot it into the bottom right hand corner but the diving goalkeeper, Donovan, easily managed to push it out of danger.
The team seemed to deflate after that and Christchurch hung on to seal a good three points on the road.
What Next?
With two loses and a draw in their last three games are their promotion dreams dwindling? Can New Street respond to yet another set back or is this season over for them?
How the Street respond in their next match, a season-defining midweek home game against Hythe & Dibden, may hold the answers.