Match report: Lymington Town FC left empty-handed in 2-1 Wessex League Division One loss by Cove FC despite dominance
Lymington Town failed to hit the heights of recent months in a titanic struggle against Cove, losing a closely-fought match 2-1 at home on Saturday.
It was a frustrating day for Ash Buckland’s side, who quickly levelled the match after Cove found the back of the net after just three minutes had passed.
The match got off to an electric start, with Kay Hampson giving his side an early lead with a tidy finish that beat the talented young keeper Nico Trojanowski with three minutes left.
Lymington quickly got their act together, responding brilliantly to restore parity within 12 minutes. Buckland’s side strung together some lovely play, cutting Cove open before Will Johnson cut the ball back to Connor Lopez. The club’s top goal-scorer made no mistake in making it 1-1.
Lymington Town were the better side for most of the half, with only a second goal missing.
After the break, Lymington kept up the pressure, with striker Lopez coming inches from his 17th goal of the season. The dynamic duo of Johnson and Lopez combined again, but the ball cannoned back off the crossbar this time.
With 60 minutes played, Cove scored a well-worked goal when pacey attacker Will Peters found the back of the net.
Try as they might, Lymington could not find that little bit of magic needed, and the final whistle came, leaving the hosts empty-handed.
There was positivity before the match, with the hosts naming two youngsters on their bench. Jacob Keeping and Mark McAulay, who play in the club’s U16 side, were named as substitutes.
After the game, Aaron Christie was named as the man of the match. The midfielder battled hard and covered every blade of grass.
Lymington Town turns their sights on Whitchurch United next, hosting the second-from-bottom side at the Lymington Sports Ground on Saturday at 3pm.
Lymington Town: N. Trojanowski, N. Bullen, J. Higdon, B. Tipp, C. Zikmund, A. Christie, W. Johnson, C. Taylor, B. Morris, J. Sutherdon, C. Lopez. Subs: J. Defries, J. Keeping, J. Chappell, E. Duell-Merritt.
