 It occurred to me in the middle of last night's game that my hobby could well be seen as a little strange by many. Here I was on a Thursday evening, after an 80 minute drive, a 110 mile round-trip, standing in the pouring rain watching a step 6 team take on a step 5 team. For football supporters who spend their life watching Arsenal v Man City from the comfort of their armchair, that probably does seem odd, but you know what, I love it. Rain or no rain, you can't beat being out there watching live football. It's the armchair fans who are missing out. Anyway, on to the game. I was in Andover to watch the NHDFA Cup semi-final between New Street and Winchester City Flyers, a repeat of last season's final, in which Winchester came out on top by 2-1 (despite Full-Time reporting it the opposite way). This was the second consecutive final defeat for Andover. The previous year BotP had the pleasure of watching the final where Andover fell at the final hurdle to Fleet Town (Fleet Usher In First NHDFA Cup Win), after knocking Winchester out in a semi-final penalty shootout. League ranking and this season's form pointed to a Winchester victory in this game, but nothing could be taken for granted. New Street had got back to winning ways in their last league outing and Flyers, currently in second sport in the Premier league, may well have eyes on that prize rather than the cup. Flyers made five changes to the team that started their last league game against Sholing, including Lauren Sayler taking over between the sticks, and Annie Northwood leading the line with top-scorer Chelsie Hay on the bench. New Street made three changes from their starting eleven in Sunday's defeat of Bursledon, including captain Keira Smith starting on the bench and Nicole Barnes taking over the armband.  Flyers were a threat from corners The rain, which began on my journey south, was still coming down steadily when the teams came out but the pitch looked in pretty good condition given the recent constant bad weather. Kicking up the slope in the first half, it was Andover who started the better of the two sides. Inside the first minute, Freya Twigg fed Summer Williams but her shot was wide of the mark. A few minutes later, Twigg used her pace to burst into the box again, this time thwarted by a good block from Lauren Sayler. Twigg was proving to be a handful for the Winchester defence, especially her pace and direct approach. In the ninth minute this proved to be to source of the opening goal. Twigg burst into the box only the be thwarted by another good save from Sayler. However, the ball fell to Summer Williams on the edge of the box and she sent it into the far corner with a perfectly placed finish. 1-0. Emily McDonough almost had the perfect response to the goal, bustling into the home area but missing the target. On the quarter-hour, however, the visitors were back on level terms with a well-worked goal, Kayleigh Tonks playing a quick one-two with Emily McDonough before sending the ball past Emily Evans. 1-1 Back came Andover. Less than 20 minutes had gone when they nudged in front again. This time Freya Twigg took it upon herself. Her pace, once again, took her clear of the defence and into the left-hand side of the box. With no-one in the centre, she opened herself up and planted a beautiful curling strike in off the far post. 2-1 With three goals in 20 minutes, it was no great surprise that the players and the goalmouth action took a short break. Breather over, on the half-hour, City were inches from an equaliser when a ball right across the face of goal was met by Shayne Prasad at the far post but, under considerable pressure, she wasn't able to get enough on it to squeeze it home. A few minutes later, only some superb last-ditch defending prevented McDonough from getting in a strike at goal from 10 yards out. Winchester were gradually ramping up the pressure. That pressure paid off on 34 minutes when Charlotte Warhurst rose highest to power in a header from a right-wing corner. 2-2 Twigg then let fly from way out, but couldn't beat Sayler and, almost immediately, Winchester quickly broke away and there was Chelsie Hay to put them in front for the first time on the night. 2-3 That still left enough time for Warhurst to almost replicate her earlier goal, sending the header narrowly over the bar this time. HT Andover New Street 2 Winchester City Flyers 3. A very entertaining half of football. Flyers have the edge at the break, but the game is far from over. Andover have already shown that they can hurt Winchester and Freya Twigg's pace has caused numerous problems for the visitors.  Kiera Smith goes close The opening of the second half proved to be a far more cagey affair than the first, with the vast majority of play being concentrated on the middle of the park. A few changes for both teams saw the pattern of play change. Winchester had a better hold on Freya Twigg now and Andover had to be aware of the constant treat posed by the pace and work-rate of Chelsie Hay. Andover were working very hard to get back into the game but, with under twenty minutes remaining, Winchester struck again with a goal that looked to have put the game to bed. Emily Evans did well to save from Tilly Plummer but the ball broke loose to Chelsie Hay, who sent it sailing into the empty net. 2-4 The Andover response was a strike from Twigg that, whilst on target, didn't cause any problems for Sayler. That could not be said about Keira Smith's free-kick a few minutes later though. That had Sayler scrambling across her goal as the ball whistled just past her right-hand post. That was in the 79th minute. Two minutes later the hosts struck to breath some life back into the tie, and it was a move straight off the training ground. A corner played into the near post was then fed back into the path of Kyla-Mae Hayes, who smashed it past Sayler for 3-4. It looked like we were in for a nail-biting last few minutes until, with three minutes of normal time remaining, Cheslie Hay was played in once more, making no mistake to restore the two-goal advantage and claim her hat-trick. 3-5 That one definitely sealed it. Even though there was quite a long period of added time, Andover could not find a way back again. HT Andover New Street 3 Winchester City Flyers 5. A great effort from the hosts, pushing a high-flying Premier League side all the way. In the end, the difference was the predatory finishing of Chelsie Hay. Having said that, it's fair to say that Andover scored the two best goals of the day. One a piece of individual brilliance, the other a well-rehearsed set-piece. Winchester will now face either Farnborough or Aldershot Town in the final (Update: This will be Farnborough, after they defeated Aldershot 3-1 in the other semi-final). However, before that, they have a massive game coming up on Sunday when they travel to Burnham FC to take on the league leaders in a game that could go a long way towards deciding the title race. Andover make the short trip to Whitchurch to take on Bemerton Heath Harlequins. Andover New Street: E.Evans, A.Payne, Hayes, Seddon, Barnes(c), Mullins, T.Williams, C.Evans, Ridley, Twigg, S.Williams. Subs: O.Payne, Smith, Screech, Casey, Batley Winchester City Flyers: Sayler, Vokes, Moulding, Warhurst, Northwood, Tonks, Powell-Rowland, Prasad, Whitlock(c), Hughes, McDonough. Subs: Snelling, Plummer, Hay, Wylie, Wernham Ground Number: Re-visit Att: Entrance: N/A Programme: N/A 
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