The Romans celebrated the 150th anniversary of their foundation by winning the Hampshire Trophy—which they last won in 1976—by beating local rivals Shanklin in an all-island final at Beatrice Avenue.
However, it was heartbreak for Shanklin, who were runners up in the Isle of Wight League—which they had led for much of the season—and then fell at the final hurdle in the prestigious cup competition against a team they had twice beaten 3-0 earlier in the season. Shanklin must also regret that ill-discipline (or—alternatively— harsh refereeing decisions) cost them the game as they had 2 players sent off in front of a bumper 300+ cup final crowd.
Brading began the game brightly with man-of-the-match Barry Calvert forcing Shanklin keeper, Dan Ward, into making a good save as early as the 4th minute of the game. Barry Calvert then did better in the 22nd minute, when he side-footed a defender on the edge of the Shanklin area and sent a deflected shot over Dan Ward. (1-0)
Shanklin felt aggrieved in the 33rd minute when they had a strong appeal for handball on the edge of the Romans’ penalty area turned down by referee, Derek Pratt. However, it was Brading who appeared the more incisive in the final third of the field with Harris Payne having a strong curling shot parried by Ward in the 34th minute.
Shortly before halftime, Shanklin captain, Iain Seabrook was booked for clattering over Jordan Browne on the edge of their penalty area, but Brading were unable to take advantage of the resulting free kick and went into the halftime break with a single goal advantage.
HT: Brading Town 1-0 Shanklin
Disaster struck for Shanklin 5 minutes after the halftime break when Wayne Newnham was sent off for an off-the-ball incident with a Brading player in which Brading defender, Macaulay Barnes was booked for kicking the ball away.
A few minutes later, Shanklin defender, Jason Smythers, was booked for a late challenge and then harshly sent off in the 64th minute by referee Derek Pratt for a clumsy challenge.
Now playing against 9 men, the Romans took the lead in the 73rd minute when Jordan Browne set up his skipper, Dan Vale, to knock the ball into an empty net from 5 yards with Shanklin ‘keeper Ward stuck in no man’s land. (2-0)
Substitute, Ollie Wilson, then added a 3rd for Brading in the 78th minute (3-0) before Barry Calvert added a 4th goal for Brading, 8 minutes before full time. (4-0) Calvert then had 2 further opportunities to score but was denied his hat trick through some good saves by Ward.
FT: Brading Town 4-0 Shanklin
After the match, Brading manager, Steve Lawton, said:
“I am absolutely over the moon with our victory. It’s a great way to celebrate 150 years of history. I have a great bunch of lads who deserved to win. However, deserving to win and winning are two completely different things.”
Shanklin: Ward, Scott-Jackson, Smythers, Seabrook (capt), Newnham, Fleming, Hill, R.Gregory, Drew, Wilson, Carter-Knight. Subs: Wright, Powell, Nash, Winterbottom, B.Gregory.
Brading Town: Hunt, Collins, Barnes, Payne, Knowles, Burford, Lawson, Josh Younie, Vale (capt), Browne, Calvert. Subs: Jake Younie, Bennett, Wilson, Oatley.
