'Stretched' Fleetlands without three players due to Covid-19 issues but still see off Lyndhurst

Boss Rich Bessey's pre-match preparations were blighted with coronavirus issues within his side.

However, the Coptermen served up a blistering first-half showing to blow Lyndhurst away.

Kelvin Robinson (two), Glyn Cooper - his first of the season - and Luke Heard all found the back of the net as Fleetlands raced into a 4-0 lead inside the opening 45 minutes.

It's been a mixed start to the season for Bessey's men, with the Lyndhurst win just their second in five matches.

But the Fleetlands boss would rather look at the fact his team have only lost once in the league so far this term.

And Bessey is hoping his squad can take the momentum from their latest win into a busy bank holiday weekend fixture list.

He said: ‘We had three cases of Covid last week so with that in mind we were in a position where we were stretched.

‘Unfortunately, we raided our reserves and the reserves raided the under-18s - the reserves had five under-18s in their 16-man squad.

‘We got a couple of heads in just to help us out and I signed a couple of players in just to help me out.

‘Phil Archibold, who was with us last season, he came in and helped me and came on at half time. Midfielder Jack James, previously at Petersfield and more recently at Liss, he’s a decent, steady player and he played well.

‘It went really well. We were lucky the players who came in were of a quality because we missed a lot of players and we’ll have some players missing again this weekend.

‘You’ve got Victorious, there’s a case of Covid still and two injuries so we’re not full strength but we’re still going ahead with the game.’

Heard fired home from a corner to put Fleetlands on their way to victory.

In-form striker Robinson then bagged goals number four and five of the season to hand the Coptermen a 3-0 advantage, with Cooper also bagging before the break.

Lyndhurst did at least pull a goal back through Craig Stickland but Fleetlands cruised to victory.

The Coptermen now head into games against Liphook (Saturday) and high-flying Sway on bank holiday Monday bidding to continue their push up the table.