M&T AWBRIDGE feared the worst on Saturday when they lost keeper Dan Thebe to a back injury midway through the game when already trailing to hosts Ludgershall.

But they needn't have worried - defender Dan Cole made an effortless transition, inspiring confidence in his team-mates and keeping a second-half clean sheet while his strikers did the business at the other end of the park.

On a tufty, uneven pitch control was difficult for both sides. That was exacerbated by a quirky batch of match-balls that seemed lighter and more bouncy than the norm. But it was a good game despite that.

M&T started in lively mood, with Adam Sherman and Alex Hoyle fashioning an opening on the left. Hoyle crossed to Shane Lewis, advancing on the other side, but he blasted his shot wide of the target.

It was Ludgershall who took the lead on 20 minutes with a goal from a break on the right. Thebe got a hand to the initial shot, but with the defenders unable to get a foot on the loose ball Norton swept it into the net.

Seven minutes later it was 1-1. Lewis sent Hoyle away, and he was upended as he burst into the box. The home keeper parried Adam Needs's penalty, but Needs kept his cool to net the rebound.

Shortly after that Thebe hurt his back in making a good save. Although he soldiered on to the break in obvious discomfort, the hosts took their opportunity to edge in front. Good approach play on the edge of the box was helped by Awbridge's unwillingness to challenge, and Evans finished clinically.

Ludgershall tested Cole's nerve with a swirling cross shortly after the break, but his confident punch downfield set the scene for the next half-hour.

M&T took a firm grip, and equalised for a second time with an hour on the clock. The ball was squared from wide on the right, and after a scramble Adam Sherman - whose speciality is spectacular goals - was left with an easy tap-in for his 17th of the season.

Ten minutes later Awbridge grabbed the winner when, after a left-wing move, the ball was worked to Lewis on the right. His shot was saved, but Lewis retrieved possession and lashed the ball goalwards for an unlucky defender to get the last touch as the ball found its way in. Ludgershall had a player sent off after the referee's patience with a series of misdemeanours ran out. True to form, M&T looked less assured against ten men than they had against eleven, and Cole had to be alert to keep them ahead.

The hosts hit the bar with an intended cross in the last minute, and that was the last of the action as Awbridge banked three points they just about deserved.