Lymington and New Milton 0 Dover Athletic 2

F.A. Cup Preliminary Round

Saturday 27^th August 2005

Whites won their Preliminary Round FA Cup tie with a deserving win against Lymington down in the New Forest. The side controlled the game, but didn't create that many chances, so it was a welcome relief when Wilkins headed home just after the hour mark, and then Matata made the game safe with his second touch of the game.

Clive Walker decided to stick with the side that ended the game against Horsham the Tuesday before, after they had played so admirably in the second half. This meant that Readings and Hogg had to settle for a place on the bench, alongside Walid Matata who returned from an injury sustained in the friendly at Folkestone.

The Whites again made a good start to proceedings, and could have scored the early goal that has been a feature of the season so far. This time it was Spiller who went close, as his shot from 20-yards was curling away into the top corner, but keeper Mark Watson pulled off a fantastic save to deny him.

This was a rare chance for the Whites in the first half however, as the side dominated possession but were unable to create notable goalscoring opportunities. It would have been a travesty if Lymington had taken the lead against the run of play however midway through the half, but they easily could have as Hyde was forced to pull off a point blank save to deny Lee Chudy.

This seemed to alert the Whites side to the danger that the home side had when they counter attacked, and Whites went down the other end and could have taken the lead themselves. Cloke's long throw was headed on by a defender at the near post to Spiller, but his header went just over the bar.

Hyde was again called upon to save well at the feet of Kevin James, but Whites could have broken the deadlock as the half came to an end. Tyne's goalbound effort was deflected wide by Lymington's Paul Towler and Cloke headed a Spiller free kick over but the vital goal couldn't be forced before the interval.

Lymington made a change at the start of the second half, but five minutes in and the game really came to life. Gareth Barnes committed a terrible challenge on Humphrey, and a 21-man brawl ensued, with people from both benches joining in as well. Barnes was shown a straight red card, as was a member of staff on the Lymington bench, with Chapman picking up a yellow card for his part in the brawl too.

The home side had a slight revival just after this as Whites adjusted to playing against ten men, but just after the hour mark the vital first goal came, Tony Browne made a superb run down the right, and laid the ball back to Hamshare. He swung the ball to the back post where Wilkins headed across the keeper and into the back of the net.

Rogers should have sealed the game minutes afterwards when he had all the time in the world and free men around him, but blazed over when he could have passed to a colleague.

But we didn't have to wait long before the second goal came. Matata replaced Hamshare, who had taken a few knocks, and within thirty seconds and with his second touch on the ball, he capitalised on a mistake in the centre circle and used to his pace to take him away from the chasing defenders. He took his time and slid the ball underneath the advancing keeper.

Wilkins headed a Braithwaite cross just over before the former set up Rogers for an open goal 6-yards out, but the pair dallied and Lymington's John Mulhern got back to thwart the danger.

The game ended with keeper Mark Watson making a good save to deny Tyne after he had tried to lob him, and the home side could have got a late consolation when Hyde made a superb save to deny Paul Towler, but Whites survived to set up another clash in the New Forest in the next round at Bashley.

This was by no means easy for the Whites, even though they controlled the possession, as the first goal came at a vital time in the match when the home side were getting used to only having ten men. But the main thing was the win, and let's hope this is the start of a cup run for the Whites, continuing with a tough match at Bashley in two weeks time.

Lymington and New Milton: Mark Watson, Kevin Reacord (Richard Gregory, 71mins), Pete Smith, Paul Towler (C), Darren Powell, Steve Marwood, Kevin James, Mark Clothier (John Mulhern, 46mins), Gareth Barnes, Lee Chudy (Stuart Hussey, 64mins), Ben Thomson.

Subs (Not Used): Trefor Smith, Mike Hookway.

Bookings: Steve Marwood (18mins and 77mins)

Sent Off: Gareth Barnes (50mins - Straight Red Card), Steve Marwood (77mins - Second Booking)

Dover Athletic: Paul Hyde 8, Tony Browne 7, Daniel Braithwaite 7, Shane Hamshare 7 (Walid Matata 8, 71mins), Craig Cloke 7, Nick Humphrey 7, Danny Chapman 7, Lee Spiller 7 (C) (Anthony Hogg, 90mins), Craig Wilkins 8, Tommy Tyne 7, James Rogers 7.

Subs (Not Used): Dale Skelton, Dean Readings, Darren Smith.

Bookings: Craig Cloke (48mins), Danny Chapman (50mins), Nick Humphrey (57mins and 81mins), Shane Hamshare (63mins), Tommy Tyne (90mins).

Sent Off: Nick Humphrey (81mins - Second Booking)

Referee: Colin Lymer

Assistants: Ian Kitchen and B. McLaren