Haslemere II 0 Andover 3.

ANDOVER battled hard to claim all three points in a 3-0 away win over basement side Haslemere II.

Sam Goacher continued his fine goal scoring form and captain Jamie Hacker was also on target as Andover recorded their fifth win of the season to put them in touch with the top half.

The visitors rode their luck in the second half but their determination and fight paid off as they successfully secured the win.

After the match captain Hacker said: “We started very brightly and deservedly raced into a lead but we couldn’t maintain our level of performance and Haslemere responded well.

“The second half was nervy in parts but we were solid in defence despite the pressure - the third goal was a big relief and really put the game beyond doubt.”

Andover were quickest out of the blocks and after initial pressure took the lead, Will Turner breaking into the area and feeding Goacher at the back post who finished.

Before the break the lead was doubled when Hacker slammed home on the reverse from a penalty corner.

However after the break Haslemere fought back and enjoyed long periods of pressure but Andover dug in deep and their fight paid off as on the break Goacher deflected home to put the game to bed.

Andover now sit in seventh in the league but a win at home to Gosport tomorrow at John Hanson School could see them break into the top half.

Full page of hockey with pictures in Friday's Advertiser.