The Yachtsmen were unable to fight back from conceding 3 early 1st half goals in a miserable Bank Holiday Tuesday afternoon match against Moneyfields at Westwood Park.
The game began calamitously for Cowes in the 4th minute when Jez Conway made an unforced back pass to keeper Ed Hatt, who failed to control the ball and saw it roll under his right foot and into the back of the net (0-1). Cowes then conceded a 2nd goal when Tom Cain headed over Hatt from the near post in the 13th minute (0-2).
It appeared very much like game over in the 21st minute after Tyler Moret tapped the ball under Ed Hatt from close range (0-3). The shell-shocked Yachtsmen then regained their composure with efforts from John McKie and Aedan Coode parried by Moneyfields’ keeper Callum McGeorge but were still left trailing by a 3-goal margin at the half time interval.
HT: Cowes Sports 0-3 Moneyfields
Any faint hopes the Yachtsmen may have had of staging an unlikely comeback were dashed 4 minutes into the 2nd half when Tyler Moret blasted the ball into the top right corner of Ed Hat’s goal (4-0). The Yachtsmen then threw on their substitutes with Jimmy Mumford replacing Max Coshell and Connor Furmidge coming on for Boyd-Kerr. Powerful forward Furmidge made his physical presence felt 5 minutes after entering the field of play when he blasted a John McKie cross into the back of the Moneyfields net from the middle of the penalty area in the 65th minute (1-4).
However, the final word in the game belonged to the well-organized Portsmouth-based Moneyfields side, when Joe Briggs placed the ball in the bottom left corner of Ed Hatt’s goal 2 minutes before the final whistle (1-5) to end an unfortunate afternoon for most of the 181 spectators present at Westwood Park.
FT: Cowes Sports 1-5 Moneyfields
Cowes Sports: Hatt, Coshell (Mumford), Malcolmson, Watson, Conway (McFarlane), Boyd-Kerr (Furmidge), Phillips, White, Coode, McKie, Nash Subs not used: Bardsell, Ricketts
After the game, Moneyfields manager Glenn Turnbull emphasised that his side had achieved victory at Westwood Park without 3 key players: goalkeeper Tom Price, Harry Birmingham, and captain and leading scorer Steve Hutchins. Turnbull felt his side had deserved their victory, a sentiment even the most die-hard Cowes fan would find hard to disagree with. However, the Moneyfields boss had particular praise for Cowes captain Finley Phillips, whose performance he described as “exceptional”.
For Cowes, assistant manager Alex Smith simply said:
“You can’t give a 3-goal head start to a team as capable as Moneyfields.”
The Yachtsmen now have 3 successive home games at Westwood Park against Shaftesbury (3rd January), Brockenhurst (8th January) and Alresford (15th January). All games are scheduled to kick off at 15:00, but supporters have been advised to check times closer to the day of the games.
The Bank Holiday Derby between Newport and East Cowes Vics, scheduled for 27th January, was postponed due to heavy and persistent rain. The Port next face Totton & Eling at Smallbrook on 3rd January (k.o. 14:00), and Vics are at home to Fawley at Beatrice Avenue on the same day (k.o. 15:00).
