TWO WINS FROM TWO TO START THE LEAGUE SEASON!

THE Brickies left it late but eventually wrapped up a well-deserved 3-1 win over a stubborn AFC Aldermaston side at the GD Print Stadium. So it’s a six-points maximum, and a goal difference of 9-2 to start the Wessex League season. New Milton dominated the early exchanges - Luca Lane forced Aldermaston keeper Durham Nkenge into a smart save, then Callum Clarke whacked one in which beat the keeper and almost took out the crossbar as it rattled the goal frame. The breakthrough eventually came on 27 minutes when Darren Husher measured his pass perfectly to Joe Roberts, who calmly did the rest. Elliott Pearce-Evis brought another smart save from Nkenge, but Aldermaston were coming more into the game, and moments before half-time they levelled it. Anthony Bossman was surprisingly allowed to run almost unchallenged from the halfway line and had time to aim his 20-yarder well out of Lloyd Thomas’s reach. Jake Carswell’s excellent goal-line clearance in the first minute of the second half was just the wake-up call the Brickies needed and after that it was virtually one-way traffic to the Aldermaston penalty area. All too often, that was where it broke down - although Clarke had one cleared off the line, and Lane twice went close, including one effort which brought an acrobatic tip over by the keeper. To their credit, the Brickies did not allow frustration to rule the day and produced two really special goals to round things off. On 87 minutes, a precision pass from Ole Lowes landed in front of Man of the Match Elliott Pearce-Evis, who calmly hit a side-foot volley way out of the keeper’s reach. It might have been an anxious last few minutes protecting the lead, but almost immediately, Hector Rayner, a midfielder successfully-turned left back, won the ball near halfway, drove forward, then picked out Clarke racing through the middle. The young striker did the rest with a fine finish. So in the end a tough afternoon turned into a comfortable win. Next up is a trip to Fawley on Friday - Tuesday’s scheduled fixture at Romsey has been postponed because the club’s floodlights have failed. Picture by club photographer LES CHASE.