Midweek football: Lymington and Brockenhurst seal cup victories as New Milton Town, Christchurch, Ringwood Town, and Fawley AFC all play

SIX local sides competed in Hampshire Senior Cup first-round action on Tuesday night, with Lymington Town and Brockenhurst the only victors.

Lymington were convincing 4-1 winners against United Services Portsmouth, but Brockenhurst needed a penalty shootout to defeat Blackfield & Langley.

The other local sides who exited the cup were New Milton Town, after a 1-0 defeat to Hamble Club, Christchurch, who lost 5-6 on penalties, and Ringwood Town, while Fawley AFC lost in the league.

After a poor start to life in Velocity Wessex Division One after suffering relegation – the south coast side has lost all three of their matches so far – a 4-1 win in the cup came as a welcome relief.

There was an extra reason for the Lymington fans to be hopeful for the future, with eight players in the squad aged 18 or younger.

While the game’s best strike came from USP thanks to a stunning Dylan Holgate goal, efforts from Ben Morris, Hubert Cegielka, Alex Morris and Ken Nwachukwu saw them into the next round.

In a game that ended goalless and gave the fans little to get excited about, Brockenhurst held their nerve best to see off Blackfield and win the shootout 4-2.

In the first half, which saw limited opportunities, it was telling that Tyler Wellman’s pot shot that flew over from 25 yards out was one of the best moments.

There was a sickening clash of heads after 40 minutes when Finn Lawton and Dyllan Roocroft both went for the same ball. Luckily, both players were deemed fit enough to continue.

Deep into added time, Brock keeper Will Butler had to be on his toes to tip a free-kick over the bar – the first time either keeper was needed.

The Badgers did have some nice moments of build-up that fell apart at the final moment, and both sides lifted plenty of balls into the area, but the half ended, and the match went to penalties.

Brock went first, and both sides scored their first two penalties. Dylan Walker, Callum Taylor, Ryan King and Noel McCarthy-Gardiner scored for Brock to seal the win, while Harrison Mealing and Keegan Kelly skied their attempts.

New Milton Town took a young squad to take on Hamble after giving much of the first team the night off following a busy start to the season.

The bulk of the starting line-up that featured for the young Linnets side won the Hampshire FA Youth Cup final last season, and they took on full-strength opponents.

The two sides shared an even start to the contest until the eighth minute when Braydon Douglas sat the keeper down and tucked it into an empty net.

New Milton were unlucky not to level the contest with 42 minutes played after a slick counter-attack that culminated with striker Jayden Goodall firing inches wide, the keeper looking beaten.

As the match entered the final minute, the Linnets pressed for a late equaliser, and they created their best chance when a ball into the box found an unmarked Toby Colmer, who could only send his header over the bar.

Christchurch travelled to take on Petersfield Town, and the two sides played out an evenly balanced match that ended with Church losing 5-6 on penalties.

The Rams had the best of the first half, with Church happy to sit a little deep and let the hosts play, but the match shifted in the second 45 when the hosts lost a man to the sin-bin.

Church soon had the ball in the back of the net, only to see it ruled out for offside before Ollie Davis hit the bar.

Both sides missed their second penalties, but the Rams would not miss again, and the shootout ended 6-5 in their favour.

Ringwood Town, with a team containing eight teenagers, were unfortunate to suffer a last-minute defeat at the hands of Combined Counties League side Eversley & California.

The Boars took the lead through Mo Adam, whose headers found the back of the net after an Ollie Noyes cross, before Town drew level after 38 minutes with an own goal.

However, as the match entered its final throes, it was the visitors’ turn to put the ball in the back of their own net, and the Boars progressed.

The only local side to feature in the league last night were Fawley AFC, who suffered a 5-1 Wessex League Division One drubbing at the hands of Alresford Town.

Enmanuel Andrade grabbed a last-gasp consolation for the visitors, but the game was already lost.