Summer 2009 Blasts from the Past starts here
on 07/06/09 by Andy Starmore
Throughout the long we hope ‘hot’ football-less summer Pitchside is going to reproduce some old match reports from seasons gone by.

Starting with a game at Hurn Bridge, Christchurch at the start of the 1995/96 season, with an exciting match that ended in a 3-3 draw against Andover.

It went something like this:

Christchurch 3 Andover 3

A rapidly improving Christchurch were left kicking themselves, as they threw away a two goal advantage with just two minutes to go and let Andover draw level in a highly entertaining match at Hurn Bridge.

And disappointed Christchurch boss Ian Kelly stressed there were two lessons to be learnt from the experience.

First he admitted, "We were naïve in the last five minutes and should have killed the game off."

Then he added his team had "now got the ability and work rate to compete with the Andover's in this league and we've got nothing to fear."

Ability and work rate were very much in evidence as Priory were looking to make it four wins out of four.

But it was the visitors who took the lead in the 16th minute through Craig Goddard.

Andover threatened to increase their advantage on a couple of occasions before Priory sprung back into life.

Richard Burford, in the visitors goal, made a fine save when Pete Gardner tried to lob him from 40 yards out.

Minutes later Scott Kelly's free kick was knocked on by a defender to the grateful head of Simon Jackson, who made it 1-1.

The highlight of the afternoon came just before the break.

James Taylor produced a superb cross for Gardner, who fired a vicious right foot volley from 15 yards, only to see Burford make a magnificent point blank save.

Priory took the lead though, after the interval, via a powerfully struck penalty from Gareth Barnes.

And with eight minutes to go there was still plenty of action to come, as first Kelly crashed a 25 yard lob against the bar.

Then, three minutes later Gardner made it 3-1 as he pounced on a rebound from Jackson's shot and rammed the ball home.

Three points very quickly turned to one though, as substitute John Scott pulled a goal back for Andover, before Paul Hunt equalised in the dying seconds of a terrific game.

The Christchurch line up was:

Hubbard, Taylor, Butler, Joyce, Chamberlain, Herridge, Spackman, Kelly, Barnes, Jackson, Gardner. Unused subs: Dipper, Collinge, Knolles.