Midweek football: New Milton Town pick up their first win as Ringwood Town gain momentum, but Blackfield & Langley and Fawley AFC lose

NEW Milton Town and Ringwood Town were the local winners in the latest round of midweek fixtures, while Blackfield & Langley and Fawley AFC suffered defeats.

New Milton picked up their first league win of the season with a dominant 3-0 victory over second-from-bottom AFC Aldermaston, while Ringwood beat Frimley Green by four unanswered goals.

However, it was not all joy for the local teams, with Fawley exiting the Russell Cotes Cup after defeat to Hamble Club and Blackfield losing to second-placed Moneyfields.

After a run of 22 league games without tasting victory, the loyal Linnets fans finally had something to cheer after a three-goal win over AFC Aldermaston.

When the full-time whistle arrived, the fans went berserk, chanting the players’ names and singing: “We are staying up”.

The game’s first goal arrived after eight minutes when a scrambled clearance from a corner only made it as far as the edge of the area, where Azza Trodd fired home.

The match was highly competitive for the rest of the half, but the Linnets’ defence kept the attacking visitors at bay to take a one-goal lead into the break.

With 74 minutes played, the hosts took advantage of Aldermaston pushing up the field and leaving themselves open at the back, and River Smith capitalised, tapping into an open goal.

The Linnets had found their shooting boots, and they rounded off the evening with one of their own, young Barney Stone, who started the season in the club’s youth side, firing a low shot across the goal to put the three points beyond doubt.

Ringwood Town rubberstamped their recent good form – the side has won three of their last four games – with a four-goal rout of Frimley Green.

The hosts got off to the perfect start when top-scorer and captain Harry Smith found the back of the net after Lee Vint found space in the area, but a poor challenge resulted in a penalty, which Smith smashed home.

Frimley Green settled into the match, and they made it to the 47th minute without conceding a second, but a brilliant delivery from Ben Harris allowed Davy Newbold to head into the corner, and the goal opened the floodgates.

The game’s third goal came after Vint showed excellent awareness, anticipating a sloppy backpass before racing goalwards and finding the bottom corner.

Vint was having an excellent game, but the keeper did well to parry his shot in the 69th minute, and Jamie Wintle followed up to get his first goal for the club.

Blackfield & Langley have been in better form as of late, and they have steadily put distance between themselves and relegation danger, but they were dominated by high-flying Moneyfields.

The hosts led the match by four goals, but the Watersiders kept the pressure on throughout and deserved Jahiem Dotse’s goal, which came after a slick passing move that ended with the goalscorer curling an expertly placed shot around the keeper and into the bottom corner.

However, they did not get the last word, with Moneyfields scoring deep into added time.

Fawley AFC started the match with multiple key players missing, including captain Declan Hartigan. However, after a reasonably evenly contested first half, higher league Hamble pulled away.

With two minutes played, Fraser Craigen had an excellent chance to put the Oilers in the lead, but the Hamble keeper made a routine save to preserve the clean sheet.

However, the game’s first goal arrived after 15 minutes, and as the match wore on, Hamble’s control grew until they secured a place in the next round of the Russell Cotes Cup.