2 Isle of Wight Wessex League teams play at home today (Saturday): Vics welcome Fleetlands to East Cowes while Cowes Sports take on Petersfield United at Westwood Park.
At Beatrice Avenue, 9th-placed Vics are attempting to overcome the 5th-placed side. Vics are 6 points below their opponents but have 2 games in hand.
The Coptermen are managed by former Pompey player and manager Steve Claridge. On Tuesday, Fleetlands beat Newport 2-0 at Powder Monkey Park.
Can Vics improve on the Port’s result at Beatrice Avenue and take all 3 points?
Vics boss Alex Smith says of the match:
“We’re looking forward to what’s sure to be a great game on Saturday. Fleetlands will be well organised and have had a number of tight games in the league recently. They currently sit inside the playoff places, and a win for us would certainly have a big impact on the way the table looks, especially with our games in hand.
“We’ll approach the game with focus and positivity, looking for all 3 points. We’ll be without Ji Nash and Toby Snow who are away, and Charlie Marsek who is still struggling with injury.”
In the Wessex Premier, the Yachtsmen take on Newport’s nemesis Petersfield United at Westwood Park, a team which beat Cowes’ Island rivals 5 times last season, preventing them from gaining promotion to the Wessex Premier.
Can 8th-placed Cowes do better than the County Town club against the Rams, who currently languish 3rd-from-bottom?
Manager Max says:
“We look forward to welcoming Petersfield to Westwood this weekend. It’s a chance to bounce back from Tuesday night and – after a good session last night ironing out a few things – the lads are keen to get out there and go again.
“Sadly, this weekend, we will be missing Liam Triggs with a knock picked up on Tuesday night, but we welcome back Connor White properly.
“It’ll be a good test against another side who like to play their football. This one should be a good game to watch.”
16th-placed Newport have a difficult game when they travel to North Hampshire to face 3rd-placed Alresford Town.
The Port are currently on a miserable run of 5 games without a win. However, Chairman John Davies remains positive and optimistic, saying:
“We are fully aware that this is a difficult away trip to a team currently lying 3rd in the league – especially where we have not picked up any points in our most recent 4 league games – but we have been in all those games up to a point.
“It’s all about making sure when on top you score and when we do that the rest will follow. The squad now has strength in depth illustrated by our midweek bench – it’s now about getting that result and climbing the table.”
In Hampshire Division 1, Shanklin Ladies travel to Southampton to face Varsity tomorrow (Sunday).
Player manager Gemma Woodford says:
“We go into this game confident after a comfortable 5-1 win against Liphook last week. We don’t know anything about Varsity, as they came up into our league this season, but we’re confident we can come home with 3 points.”
Last Saturday, Shanklin Ladies beat Liphook United on the road.
Holly Stephan opened the the scoring with a long range powerful shot (0-1). Just before half time, Thea Broadhead controlled a bouncing ball on the edge of the box and curled it into the top corner (0-2).
In the 2nd half, Holly Stephan got the ball on the edge of the box, drove it into the penalty area and scored again (0-3). The game then started to get a bit feisty, with a lot of Liphook players putting in late tackles. The home side pulled a goal back (1-3).
Shanklin continued to control the game, and Gemma Woodford scored after beating a player and chipping the Liphook keeper from outside the box (1-4). Shanklin then got their 5th with a well worked throw in that resulted in Gemma Woodford heading the ball into the net after a Freya Henry cross (1-5).
Wessex League fixtures for Saturday 14th October
Wessex Premier
Cowes Sports v Petersfield Town
Wessex Division 1
Alresford Town v Newport
East Cowes Vics v Fleetlands
Harwoods League fixtures for Saturday 14th October
Games kick off at 14:00 unless otherwise shown
Harwoods Division 1
Binstead & Cob v Bembridge
High Park v Cowes Sports Reserves
Northwood St Johns v ECS
Shanklin v Brading Town
Ventnor v West Wight
Whitecroft & Barton Sports v Vectis
Division 2
Sandown and Lake v AFC Wootton (13:15)
Newchurch v Seaview
Niton v Osborne Coburg
Ryde Saints v Newport (IOW) Res
Combination 1
Bembridge v Whitecroft & Barton Sports
Brading Town v Northwood St Johns
Osborne Coburg v ECS Reserves
Vectis v Ventnor
West Wight v Shanklin
Sandown and Lake v Binstead & Cob (15:00)
Combination 2
AFC Wootton v Bembridge A
High Park FC v Ryde Saints
West Wight ‘A’ v Niton
Women’s football fixtures for Sunday 15th October
Hampshire League Division 1
Varsity v Shanklin Ladies
Hants Women’s Trophy
Cowes Sports Ladies v Mudeford Phoenix
Rushmoor Community v Wight Eagles
