CAPTAIN JOHN SAILS YACHTSMEN TO PLAYOFF BERTH WITH HAT TRICK AT WESTWOOD PARK

Cowes Sports captain John McKie scored a hat trick as his side returned to 5th place in the Wessex Premier table by beating Hamble Club by the best of 7 goals. Sadly, young Cowes full back Harrison Dempsey was forced to leave the pitch at the end of the 1st half with a suspected fractured ankle. The game was notable for the debut of 16-year-old George Bridi in goal as replacement for the unavailable Ed Hatt. The Yachtsmen began the game brightly with Connor Kelly beating a defender for pace in the 2nd minute but then failing to test the Hamble keeper. The home side took the lead in the 12th minute when Kelly again beat a defender, crossed the ball to McKie, for the No10 to bury the ball in the left corner of the goal (1-0). 10 minutes later, the Monks levelled the score through a Mitch Byrne header (1-1). On the half-hour mark, Dempsey was forced to leave the pitch with what appeared to be a serious injury to be replaced by the combative Brandon Hayward. The Yachtsmen were dealt a further blow in the 35th minute when the Monks’ centre forward Yeomans netted for the visitors (1-2). 10 minutes from the half time whistle, man-of-the-match McKie bagged his brace by putting in an Oatley cross at the back post (2-2). McKie then could and should have put Cowes into the lead on the stroke of half time when he failed to convert an Oatley cross from inside the 6-yard box.

Half time: Cowes Sports 2-2 Hamble Club The 2nd half began with a powerful shot from Fin Phillips, which the Hamble keeper deflected for a corner. Disaster struck for the Yachtsmen 10 minutes into the 2nd half when Hamble’s speedy No 7 Roach received the ball in a seemingly offside position before rounding Bridi and scoring (2-3). Cowes centre forward McFarlane then came close to equalising with a 65th minute header that bounced off the near post. Captain McKie bagged his hat trick by knocking in an equalising goal into the bottom right corner of the goal (3-3).

In the 77th minute, McKie put Connor Kelly through, but the No11 was denied a strike at goal by Hamble keeper Newman. 8 minutes from the full time whistle, Captain John took the ball into the penalty area, then cut inside the full back before passing the ball to Kelly, who smashed the winning goal into the back of the net (4-3). The Yachtsmen had to navigate their way through a seemingly endless 7 minutes of injury time against a dangerous Hamble side but survived without mishap to ensure all 3 points remained at Westwood Park.

Full time: Cowes Sports 4-3 Hamble Club Cowes Sports: Bridi, Dempsey (Hayward), West, Cranwell, Oatley, Hancott, Phillips (Cook), Colson (Carter-Knight), McFarlane (W. Bridi), McKie (c) (Neale), Kelly The Yachtsmen’s win leaves them 5th with 45 points from 26 games, 2 points ahead of 6th-placed Brockenhurst. The game was watched by 153 spectators, including groundhopper Jake Topliss, who had travelled down from Sheffield to see the game. Jake said:

Of the 85 games I have seen this season, this was the most entertaining. I wasn’t supporting either side. I would say that football won.”

On Tuesday, Cowes Sports travel to Dorset to face 16th placed Bournemouth Poppies.

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VICS HOLD 4TH-PLACED ALRESFORD TO DRAW AT BEATRICE AVENUE

Vics retained their foothold in the Wessex Division 1 playoff positions by drawing with the team immediately above in the table: Alresford Town. Vics manager Alex Smith selected experienced Elliot Wheeler for his 1st start, goalkeeper Jamie Linington for the absent Alex Ram, and both Aedan Coode and Harrison Yates were left on the bench. Vics came out of the blocks fast, and early chances for Josh Neale and Ji Nash were spurned. The opening goal came in the 20th minute, when Liam Newbold’s cross picked out Charlie Marsek, who converted the scoring opportunity with aplomb (1-0). Alresford battled hard while creating few chances. The away side’s equaliser came in the 47th minute of the first half and would have graced any ground when a misplaced clearance fell to Scott Hills, who curled a 25-yard shot past Linington and into the top corner (1-1).

Half time: East Cowes Vics 1-1 Alresford Town

With the pitch looking very heavy, the 2nd half was never going to be pretty, and so it proved, with very few scoring opportunities. The best chance for Vics was a drive from man-of-the-match Elliot Wheeler in the 55th minute, which sailed agonisingly wide; the best for Alresford fell to No 11 Andy Turner. who had a poked  effort cleared off of the line from Liam Newbold. However, Vics were unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty when Charlie Marsek was knocked over in the penalty area with the unsighted referee waving play on to the amazement of the 170 spectators present. Full time: East Cowes Vics 1-1 Alresford Town East Cowes Vics: Linington, Snow, Mumford, Newbold, Chase, Wheeler, Nash, Young, Marsek, Reynolds, Neale Subs: Coode, Conway, Chapman, Voller, Yates Vics remain 5th in Wessex Division 1 – 2 points ahead of 6th-placed Cove. Newport IW had their game against Ash United postponed. The Port have a home game against New Milton Town on Wednesday. Kick off is at 19:30.