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Monday 8 December 2014

Lymington Claim Border Skirmish - Lymington Town vs. Christchurch

The sun sets behind the clubhouse at The Sports Ground
With the counties to the north and east of London being hammered by rain all week, it seemed like westwards was the way to go for a game. The game I opted for was Lymington Town against Christchurch in The Wessex League Premier Division. The game was a derby with little more than thirty miles separating the two clubs. In terms of league positions, there were twelve places separating the two sides with Christchurch one off the bottom of the table. Despite the difference in league positions, Christchurch had beaten Lymington 4-2 at The Hurn Bridge Sports Ground back in August. After an indifferent start to their league campaign, Lymington have greatly improved and have not lost in the league since a defeat against title chasing Petersfield in September.

Kick off at The Sports Ground
The game has a very scrappy start and the first chance of the game comes from a Lymington free kick in to the area which is headed behind. The home side don't have to wait long for their first real chance. The Lymington forward bursts in to the area and he is clumsily chopped down for a clear cut penalty. Despite the Christchurch keeper getting  a strong hand to the penalty, the ball hits the back of the net to put the home side one up. Christchurch think they should have a penalty of their own shortly afterwards but the referee is not interested. Set plays appear to be the best way to score as Lymington then hit the post with a free kick. The first real chance from open play comes when the Christchurch forward gets to the byline and the Lymington keeper pulls off a good low save. From the resulting corner, Lymington are quick to break out of defence and the end result is a looping header which hits the bar. Lymington do make it two shortly afterwards however. The forward is played in and he slots the ball under the advancing goalie. Christchurch are given a lifeline when the attacker goes down in the area and the away side are able to pull a goal back. Lymington should restore their two goal advantage before the break but the striker blazes the ball wide when played in.     

First half wing play with St Thomas Church in the background
Both teams have half chances at the start of the second half but the advanced players for neither side have any support. Lymington hit the woodwork again from close range and the Lymington player is relieved to see that he would have been offside anyway. The Christchurch player then powers through the Lymington defence and the keeper has to pull off a good save with his legs. The home side almost gift the visitors an equaliser as the centre back and keeper get in a tangle but the ball falls kindly and they get away with it. The Christchurch keeper then pulls off the save of the game when he tips a great long range effort on to the post. Lymington then get the killer third goal as the player is left unmarked at the back post following a free kick and he makes no mistake to seal the points. To their credit Christchurch keep on going and in the final stages the hit the woodwork and it is not to be their day. 

A Christchurch corner in the first half
As with several destinations this season, there are no direct trains to Lymington. You have to get a train from Waterloo to Brockenhurst (which was first destination of the season) and change there for a train to Lymington Town. If there are no cretins on the line near Southampton then the journey takes about an hour and forty minutes. Lymington is a delightful port side town and I enjoyed my walk around the quay before the game. The one downside to Lymington is that there are a lot of gastropubs. While both The Kings Head and The Thomas Tripp  were perfectly fine they were not the pubs I would normally opt for. The ground is a steady fifteen minute from the station and the clubhouse at the ground was fairly cheap and had Sky Sports. Next to the station is The Bosuns Chair which is perfect for a pre train drink.

Side on view of the stand

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