ANDOVER TOWN (The Portway)

FA VASE 1st QUALIFYING ROUND, ANDOVER TOWN 7-2 FAWLEY AFC, ATTENDANCE: 92

I headed south to Hampshire as the FA Vase kicked off today. I opted for a visit to The Portway Stadium, a ground I missed when previous tenants Andover FC played there. The ground was Andover FC's home from it's inauguration in 1989 until 2011, when the club was dissolved.

With no team playing at The Portway, Sparsholt and Andover Colleges took over the lease of the ground and turned it into a site for a sports academy and also established an adult senior football side to provide a vehicle for the academy players to make the step up from youth to Senior football.

As a result, Andover Town was formed in 2013 and accepted into the Wessex Football League Division One. They claimed runners up spot, and promotion, in their first season.

From old pictures I have seen, the Portway Stadium has changed little, apart from the colouring which is now blue instead of red. There is a large stand on a raised bank and it is a very smart ground. The ground is in the middle of an industrial estate about 1.5 miles out of town. Luckily I was given a lift to and from the match, allowing plenty of time for a quick pint in the town.

The game started off at a frenetic pace with two goals in the opening 8 minutes. Fawley took the lead after 3 minutes through a Charlie Willett volley from the edge of the box (pictured left) then 5  minutes later a Bobby Swayne header levelled the tie. Matt Scott (38) headed home from a corner to give the home side the lead before Connor Cocklin (41) scored to give Andover a 3-1 lead at the break.

Swayne (51) scored with another header then Ollie Yates (60) made it 5-1. After 75 minutes, Fawley's Willet netted his second with a superb free kick (pictured right) but any hopes of an unlikely comeback were quickly extinguished when Yates (81) and Sammy Pekun (85) added further goals for Andover.

Andover Town will now travel to Bemerton Heath Harlequins in the next round