Whitecroft & Barton have maintained their 100% record in the season to date by beating Northwood St Johns at the Isle of Wight Community Club on Wednesday evening.
Last season’s Division 1 runners up W&B dominated the 1st half before losing momentum in a lacklustre 2nd half display.
W&B opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Sam Yelland converted a corner from a couple of yards from the goal line (0-1).
The away side went 2 goals up in the 21st minute through a Freddie Knowles header again close to the goal line (0-2).
3 minutes later, W&B had a 3-goal advantage when Mark Allen put an Alex Wright cross into his own goal (0-3).
W&B had further chances to score with Liam Harper and Alex Wright going close for the away side but there were no further goals until the halftime break.
Half time: Northwood St Johns 0-3 Whitecroft & Barton Sports
The away side came close to adding a 4th goal 6 minutes after half time when Andy Payne just managed to tip an Aiden Sainsbury strike over his crossbar.
Northwood St Johns had an opportunity to come back into the game when awarded a controversial penalty on the hour mark. James Flux shot low and to the left but had his goal attempt saved by Gareth True.
The home side were given the advantage of playing against 10 men for the final 20 minutes of the game when Josh Appell was red carded for an off-the-ball incident with Luke Flux (who received a yellow card). However, Northwood were unable to make their extra man count, and Whitecroft & Barton took all 3 points to take another step towards regaining the coveted Division 1 trophy.
Full time: Northwood St Johns 0-3 Whitecroft & Barton Sports
Northwood St Johns: Payne, Allen, Jones, Watson, Collins, White, J. Flux, L. Fliux, Balchin, Whittle, Blackmore Subs: MacKenzie, Butt, Cousins
Whitecroft & Barton: True, Williams, Martin, Yelland, Ovnik, Sainsbury, Knowles, Wright, Appell, Harper, Calvert Subs: Kalaker, Evans, Lambert
Northwood’s defeat leaves them 6th in Division 1 with 10 points from 6 games; W&B are 2nd with a maximum 18 points from 6 games and trail Shanklin on goal difference.
In other games …
Shanklin 3-1 Bembridge
Shanklin remain top of Division 1 on goal difference with a 100% record in the season to date after overcoming Bembridge at the County Ground thanks to goals from George Carter-Knight, Nicky Vyse, and Jordy Cook. Bembridge are in 8th place with 8 points from 6 games.
Oakfield 3-1 Vectis
Oakfield stay in 3rd place with 15 points from 6 games after beating Vectis at the Molehill thanks to a hat trick from Harrison Taylor. Mash Wherry scored for Vectis.
Binstead & COB 4-1 ECS
Binstead are 4th in the Division 1 table after seeing off winless East Cowes Sports at the Molehill. The scorers for Binstead were Jacob Morley, Ashley Smith, Corbin Ricketts, and Cam O’Rourke.
Cowes Sports Reserves 3-1 Pan Community
Cowes Sports Reserves beat Pan at Westwood Park thanks to a goal from Darren Williams and a brace from Ji Nash. Ash Gulliver scored for Pan.
Ryde Saints 0-3 Sandown & Lake
Sandown & Lake won their 1st game of the season against bottom-of-the-table Ryde Saints at Smallbrook stadium. Sonny Mulholland scored a brace for Sandown and Harry Mulholland also grabbed a goal.
West Wight 1-0 Brading Town
9th-placed West Wight overcame 10th-placed Brading Town at Camp Road courtesy of an own goal from a deflected cross.
Isle of Wight fixtures for Saturday 3rd September 2022
Division 1
Bembridge v Pan Community
Cowes Sports Reserves v Shanklin
ECS v West Wight
Northwood St Johns v Binstead & COB
Sandown & Lake v Oakfield
Vectis v Ryde Saints
Whitecroft & Barton Sports v Brading Town
Division 2
Carisbrooke United v East Cowes Vics Reserves
Newchurch v Niton Community
Seaview v Osborne Coburg
Ventnor v High Park
Yarmouth & Calbourne v AFC Wootton
Combination 1
Binstead & COB v Bembridge
Brading Town v ECS
Oakfield v Northwood St Johns
Shanklin v Vectis
West Wight v Whitecroft & Barton Sports
No Fixture: Sandown & Lake
Combination 2
Bembridge ‘A’ v Newchurch
Carisbrooke United v Ventnor
Ryde Saints v AFC Wootton
No Fixture: Niton Community: Osborne Coburg: Pan Community
