Saturday 1st March 2025
Venue: M.A. Hart Stadium
Attendance: 147
New Milton Town put the ghosts of last weekend at Romsey well and truly behind them as Elliott Pearce-Eavis sparked a revival of mammoth proportions to see the Brickmakers overturn a 2-0 deficit on home turf to claim three points against AFC Aldermaston.
Things were beginning to look bleak after Alan Lucas doubled the away team's lead—and his own tally for the day—and had Matt Maybury's men staring a second successive defeat in the face after a run of 22 league games unbeaten, but as we have seen so often this season, this squad of players do not know when to give in when facing adversity.
Manager Matt Maybury said the following.
"We weren’t great in the first half, but you can’t question the togetherness and character of this team. To go 2-0 down 5 minutes into the second half and bounce back the way they did is a credit to them.
They dug in when it wasn’t going our way and eventually their quality shone through. We were probably good value for another couple of goals in the end, but you have to give credit to Aldermaston, I thought they started the game really well.
All we can do is take it game by game and that’s another one ticked off."
The home team had not been on their own patch for exactly a month, and on that occasion, they trailed at the break, too. The only eventful action of the first half saw Aldermaston take the lead with Alan Lucas sidefooting the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
When the game restarted, the second goal quickly followed. A cruel bobble of the ball eluded goalkeeper Ollie Bull and fell to the feet of Alan Lucas, who helped the ball into the net with the goal at his mercy. It left the M.A. Hart Stadium silenced.
It had felt up to that point that it was not to be New Milton's day, but the visitor's lead being doubled finally sparked the Brickmakers into action. Within seconds of the restart, a lifeline would be found. Barney Stone showed great tenacity to divert the ball back across goal, which fell to the feet of Elliott Pearce-Eavis, who made no mistake in finding the corner.
The goal only incensed the hosts even more. After a flurry of efforts at goal, the referee pointed to the spot for a handball after earlier denying them what appeared to be a more clear penalty appeal in the first half. Dan Bartlett made no mistake in firing home from the spot despite the Aldermaston goalkeeper's attempts to put him off.
Aldermaston had Simeon Weekes sent off after the penalty was awarded, and New Milton eventually made the one-man advantage count.
A corner kick in the 80th minute was cleared only as far as Billy Maybury - back from suspension after his red card on the Isle of Wight - who took a touch before half-volleying the ball from just over 25 yards out into the bottom corner of the net, sparking chaos in the stands. The comeback was complete, but there was still time for another goal.
Luca Lane had come on early in the second half, and his energy and forward running had made a real difference; it was just rewards that he would get on the scoresheet himself as he gambled on Aldermaston goalkeeper Nate Knight not handling an effort at goal as he controlled the rebound before lashing the ball home.
It was the seventh occasion this season that Matt Maybury's men had come from behind to claim points, and it was the second time that they had done so from being 2-0 behind.
The Brickmakers will now travel to Gosport next weekend to take on Fleetlands.
New Milton Town: Ollie Bull, Elliott Pearce-Eavis, Cam Smith, Billy Maybury, Jack Kinge-Phillips, Jack Broad, Toby Colmer, Barney Stone, Dan Bartlett, Noel McCarthy-Gardiner, Brad Snelling
Substitutes Used: Luca Lane, Heath Thornton, Ollie Mayo, Jason Brookes
Goals: Pearce-Eavis 51, Bartlett pen 65, Maybury 80, Lane 89
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