The Island Echo Challenge Cup has reached the Quarter Finals stage of the competition. In the Quarter Finals, Division 1 champions Shanklin face cup holders Whitecroft & Barton Sports at the County Ground in a repeat of last year’s final; 3rd-placed Vectis take on 6th-placed Binstead & Cob at Cowes Enterprise College; East Cowes Sports play Bembridge at the GKN Sports Ground for the 2nd Saturday in succession after last week’s league game in which Bembridge came out victorious with a 4-5 win. In the remaining Round 1 game, Ventnor are at home to Cowes Sports Reserves at Watcombe Bottom – the winners travel to Brading Town in the Quarter Final. Both Osborne Coburg teams are in action in the Hampshire Cups: the 1st team travel to North Island to play Bournemouth Development; the reserves are at home to AFC Stubbington.
In the Wessex League…
In the Wessex Premier, the Yachtsmen – currently lying in 9th place – take on 7th-placed Portland United at Westwood Park. Cowes Sports are only 4 points behind Brockenhurst in the 4th playoff position but have 2 games in hand. Victory would see the Island side leapfrog Portland in the league table. In the corresponding fixture on 16th September, the Yachtsmen were comprehensively beaten 5-1. Will the Island side fare better at Westwood Park? Manager Max Draper says:
“It should be a good game against a side who have shown they’re on a great journey under their management team.
Article continues below this advertisement “We go into the game in good form but lacking another week of football due to the weather. We will be missing a few this week due to injury, but we will host a good squad eager to continue our run.
“Fingers crossed for a good game at Westwood!”
In Division 1, 6th-placed Vics face 16th-placed Whitchurch United at Beatrice Avenue. The Beatrice Avenue boys are 6 points behind Cove in the 4th play off position. Vics have already beaten the Jam Boys twice this season: 5-2 at home in the Wessex League Cup and 0-1 away in the league. Will they achieve a hat trick of victories on Saturday? Manager Alex Smith says:
“Whitchurch was a difficult place to go earlier in the year, they were compact, hard-working and tough to break down. “We deserved the 1-0 win, but it took us 85 minutes to find the break through. We’ve put together a couple of good performances in our wins against Andover and particularly against Fawley – the type of game we’ve typically struggled with. “We have a few changes to the side tomorrow but a very strong 16. We’ll look to start well, set a high tempo to the game, and play the effective, forward thinking football that has got us this far. Our job is to take care of the performances and, if we do that, the table will take care of itself. “There are some very strong teams above us; we’ll need to put a strong run of performances together and then we’ll see where that takes us. “We’ve had an outstanding week of preparation, both physically and in the way we’ve organised and conducted ourselves. The players become more progressive and reflective with each week that passes. “I’ll keep my focus on improving each individual player and try to provide the boys with systems and structures that they can thrive in. They’re a really outstanding group and are a credit to the club.”
Also in Division 1, 17th-placed Newport travel to North Island to play 4th-placed Millbrook.
Wessex League fixtures for Saturday 16th December
Premier Division Cowes Sports v Portland United Division 1 East Cowes Vics v Whitchurch United Millbrook v Newport (IoW)
Isle of Wight football fixtures for Saturday 16th December
Island Echo Challenge Cup Quarter Finals East Cowes Sports v Bembridge Shanklin v W & B Sports Vectis v Binstead & COB Island Echo Challenge Cup 1st Round Ventnor v Cowes Sports Reserves Memorial Cup 1st Round AFC Wootton v Niton Community Junior A cup 2nd round Newport Reserves v Sandown & Lake Bembridge Reserves v Vectis Reserves Junior B cup 1st round Ventnor A v AFC Wootton Reserves HFA Vase Bournemouth Development v Osborne Coburg Osborne Coburg Reserves v AFC Stubbington Harwoods Division 1 Northwood SJ v High Park Combination 1 Binstead & COB Reserves v Northwood SJ Reserves West Wight Reserves v Sandown & Lake Reserves Combination 2 Bembridge A v Ryde Saints Reserves High Park Reserves v Niton Community Reserves West Wight A v Newchurch Reserves OFF
