Narrow loss for New Milton Town FC against Whitchurch

Sydenhams Division One: New Milton Town FC 1-2 Whitchurch United

NEW Milton Town FC were edged out by a Decland Shuttleworth winner with 15 minutes to go in Sydenhams Division One over the weekend.

It was the biggest attendance of the season for the Linnets, but it was the visitors who got off to the brighter start as Mikey Davis and Rory Wood came close to scoring.

The Linnets fought back as Ashley Booker played in Jack Cooper who forced an acrobatic save from Whitchurch keeper Ash Downs. But it was the visitors who took the lead five minutes before the break as Davis slotted past the onrushing Luke Dennison.

In the second half, New Milton looked dangerous going forward. Just after Booker made a fantastic last-ditch tackle to prevent Town going further behind, the hosts grabbed the equaliser they had been pressing for.

Asa Drodge found space in the box to sweep the ball into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 on 55 minutes.

Whitchurch pushed forward and put the Linnets backline under heavy pressure. Substitute Nattel Lynch hit the post, and the rebound fell to George Bishop who blazed over from eight yards out.

However, with 15 minutes to go, New Milton switched off during a short corner, and the ball was worked into the box.

The ball fell to Whitchurch captain Shuttleworth who slid the ball under Dennison to restore their lead. Whitchurch had a chance to put the game beyond doubt, but Jack Pearson’s effort cannoned off the bar.

With time winding down, New Milton pushed right to the end but were unable to find the cutting edge to claim a second equaliser.

New Milton Town: Dennison, White (c), Knight, Robertson, Zdrava, Horton, Gane, Booker, B. Cooper, Drodge, J. Cooper. Subs: Butterworth, Smith, Scott.