Andover Town v Paulsgrove abandoned at 8-0 after opponents drop to six players: ‘A complete farce’

Updated 3 Nov 2026, 07:25 · First published 2 Nov 2026

A non-league match between Andover Town and Paulsgrove was abandoned at 8-0 after Paulsgrove came out for the second half with only seven players and were soon down to six. Andover’s manager called it “a complete farce”.

Why was Andover Town v Paulsgrove abandoned?

Andover led 7-0 at half-time. Paulsgrove’s players all left the pitch at the break and only seven came back out. Andover scored “pretty much straight away” to make it 8-0, and the match was abandoned when Paulsgrove were reduced to six. The laws of the game say a match cannot continue if a team has fewer than seven players.

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What did the Andover manager say?

Andover boss Skeates told BBC Sport he had “never seen anything like what happened today from an opposition side”, calling it a farce. He suggested, sarcastically, that four players must have been injured in the changing room.

What have Paulsgrove said?

Paulsgrove have not commented directly. Posts on social media that appeared to come from the club said the players were genuinely injured: “Sadly can’t make injured player continue.” Paulsgrove are bottom of the table and have lost all ten of their games this season, conceding eight or more in three of them.

What happens next?

A league spokesperson said: “As is standard for any abandoned game, an investigation is under way.” Andover will submit a report, and the league will decide whether the 8-0 result stands, the game is awarded or it is replayed.

Sources: BBC Sport, via Occasional Digest; Andover Advertiser. Photo: Virrage Images / Shutterstock.

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