Cowes Sports FC’s residence at the top of the Wessex Premier League table lasted only 4 days after they were brought down to earth by a strong Moneyfields side in Portsmouth on Tuesday night.
Moneyfields’ manager, Glenn Turnbull, previously managed United Services Portsmouth, a side he took to the semi-finals of the FA Vase last year. Upon being appointed manager of Moneyfields, he persuaded many of his former side, including prolific striker James Franklyn, to join him at his new club. The electric pace of man-of-the-match Franklyn tormented the Yachtsmen all evening, and he was unlucky not to have scored more than a solitary goal towards the end of the game.
The Yachtsmen began the game in a promising fashion, winning a free-kick in a dangerous situation in the 2nd minute of the game, which was scrambled away by the Moneyfield’s defence.
The Portsmouth side then had numerous scoring opportunities, which they wasted with profligate finishing. Poor distribution by Ed Hatt gifted the ball to the home team in the 6th minute in a dangerous situation, but Moneyfields wasted the chance to take an early lead. Elliot Turnbull had a shot hit the post in the 7th minute. Then Ed Hatt pulled off a good save to deny James Franklyn in the 9th minute, before having to fist the ball over the crossbar. Another defensive error gifted the ball to Franklyn, who again failed to punish the Cowes defence for their carelessness. Franklyn finally got the ball in the net in the 15th minute but had his effort ruled offside.
The Yachtsmen managed a rare attack in the 30th minute when Jimmy Wykes intercepted the ball and forced a good save from an outstretched Tom Price in the Moneyfields’ goal. However, Moneyfields took a deserved and overdue lead in the 33rd minute, when centre forward, Declan Seiden, beat Ed Hatt with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area (1-0).
Former Moneyfields player, Jimmy Mumford, then forced a good save from Tom Price with a powerful near-post strike. However, Moneyfields then doubled their lead a minute before the halftime interval when James Franklyn set up substitute Freddie Penfold to place the ball past Ed Hatt (2-0).
HT: Moneyfields 2-0 Cowes Sports
The Yachtsmen came out in the 2nd half with fighting spirit, determined to claw the lead back from a strong Moneyfields side. In the 52nd minute, Ji Nash turned 3 defenders before having a strong strike stopped by Price. However, the Portsmouth side were to punish their Island opponents again in the 66th minute when Rob Evans sent a low shot past Ed Hatt (3-0).
Max Draper then decided to throw on his substitutes, with Scott McFarlane, Jake Watson and Dom Sexton all coming on to the field of play. The Yachtsmen continued to battle gamely, with the ever-dangerous John McKie having a shot glance off the upright in the 73rd minute. However, the final word in the game inevitably belonged to James Franklyn, who finally scored his long overdue goal in the 86th minute, side-footing the ball past Ed Hatt from 10 yards.
FT: Moneyfields 4-0 Cowes Sports
Cowes Sports: Hatt, White, Wykes, Pye-Poulter, Cruise, Cranwell, Phillips, Mumford, Nash, Coode, McKie (captain) Subs: Sexton, Watson, McFarlane
Defeat at Moneyfields has resulted in Cowes dropping from 1st to 6th place in the Wessex Premiership table. Cowes travel across the Solent on Saturday to face Blackfield & Langley in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup in their next game on Saturday 7th August.
In the one other game played by an Isle of Wight Wessex League club on Tuesday, East Cowes Vics lost 0-1 at Beatrice Avenue to Island League runners-up, Shanklin FC. The scorer for Shanklin was Ben Gregory.
Vics face Infinity at home on Saturday in their first Wessex League 1 fixture, and Newport play Romsey Town in their first Wessex League 1 fixture at Smallbrook Stadium, Ryde.
