Cowes Sports were knocked out of the FA Cup in extra time by Southern League Larkhall Athletic last night (Wednesday) in a game they had been leading 0-2.
The Isle of Wight no longer has any representatives left in the FA Cup after the Yachtsmen’s preliminary round defeat.
Cowes Sports travelled to the Bath suburb of Larkhall without Saturday’s goal scorer Harri Catania and Morgan Perrin – who were unavailable – but were bolstered by the return of captain and talisman, John McKie.
The ever-dangerous McKie was instrumental in setting up 2 goals for teenage striker Josh Neale as the Yachtsmen raced into a 2-goal lead against their higher league opponents in the 1st half hour of the game.
In the 19th minute, McKie rushed down the wing and had his shot parried by Larkhall keeper Walker only for the ball to fall to the feet of Neale, who coolly dispatched the ball to the back of the net from 10-yards (0-1).
Shortly before the half-hour mark, McKie directed a near post cross to the head of Neale, who sent a looping header over the keeper and into the Larkhall goal (0-2).
5 minutes before the halftime interval, Larkhall captain Dan Restorick reduced the deficit to a single goal when he rose unmarked above the Cowes defence to send a powerful header past Ed Hatt from a corner.
Half time: Larkhall Athletic 1-2 Cowes Sports
Southern League Larkhall received a justified roasting from their manager during the half time interval and returned determined to recover the goal deficit. However, the Island side held on to their lead until 5 min from full time.
In the 52nd minute, Jez Conway was booked for a foul just outside the Cowes penalty area. Hatt somehow managed to block both the resulting free kick and follow up attempt on goal.
The home side forced a series of corners, but all their goal attempts flew either high or wide or were blocked by Hatt. Larkhall’s Shea Mannings and Harry Brock were both guilty of profligate finishing when presented with great goal scoring opportunities.
The Yachtsmen had opportunities to catch the Southern League side on the break, with Harrison Dempsey forcing a good save from Walker in the 76th minute and substitute Aedan Coode blasting the ball over the crossbar in the 84th.
The goal that broke the Cowes hearts came 5 minutes from full time when Brad Norris sent a powerful strike into the left corner of Ed Hatt’s goal (2-2). Incredibly, the Yachtsmen then had 2 injury time chances to regain their lead when first Jimmy Wykes had a shot blocked and then Eli Ahmed broke through but had his goal attempt stopped by Walker.
Full time: Larkhall Athletic 2-2 Cowes Sports
And so, to extra time …
Larkhall Athletic finally took the lead against underdogs Cowes after over 180 minutes of trying through a controversial goal by Harry Brock 3 minutes after the restart (3-2). The ball had bounced off the inside of Ed Hatt’s left post before rolling across the goal line to be taken by Hatt, who claimed that the ball had been kicked out of his hands. After a long consultation with the linesman – who had flagged for offside – referee (the appropriately named Sam Fudge) let the goal stand.
After 20 minutes of extra time, Larkhall’s Max Williams sent a rocket into the bottom left corner of Hatt’s goal to seal the victory for the Southern League side.
Final score: Larkhall Athletic 4-2 Cowes Sports
Raucous celebrations in the Larkhall dressing room followed the home teams’s victory despite the fact that they had twice been held by the Island side from a lower league over 90 minutes of normal time.
After the game, Cowes manager Max Draper said:
“We had the chance to win the game in the 90 minutes. Had we reached half time without conceding then it would have been game over. We also had 2 good chances to wrap the game up at the death.
“The average age of our team is just 21. The lads have matured together, and the new signings have helped. We are a stronger side with a better spirit than last season but from now on it has to be all about getting league points on the board.”
The Yachtsmen are without a game this Saturday but travel to Eastleigh to play Stoneham in the Wessex League Cup on Tuesday 30th August.
Newport have a ‘home’ fixture at Warminster in Wiltshire on Saturday (27th August) in the FA Vase. Also on Saturday, East Cowes Vics face Millbrook at Beatrice Avenue in Wessex Division 1.
Cowes Sports: Hatt, White, Dempsey, H.West, O.West, Conway (McFarlane), Ahmed, Hayward, McKie (c) (Wykes), Phillips, Neale (Coode)
