East Cowes Vics were knocked out of the 2nd round of the FA Vase at Beatrice Avenue by a formidable Portchester side on Saturday (24th September).
Portchester captain and former Pompey player Brett Pitman scored 4 goals as well as hitting the crossbar twice and missing 2 open goals.
Portchester opened their account in the 10th minute when Ryan Pennery headed in a high ball close to the goal line (0-1).
In the 22nd minute, Vics captain Liam Newbold shot just over the Portchester goal, but from then on, all the scoring opportunities fell to the away side until the very close of the game.
In the 23rd minute, Marley Ridge sent a 20-yard effort looping over Vics keeper Alex Ram (0-2).
In the 33rd minute, Ridge scored his 2nd through a low shot from the middle of the of the penalty area (0-3).
Shortly before the half time whistle, Brett Pitman finally found himself on the scoresheet, knocking the ball into the net from 5 yards after Alex Ram could only parry a shot (0-4).
Half time: East Cowes Vics 0-4 AFC Portchester
Portchester continued from where they had left off in the 1st half when James Cowan floated a ball to the far post, which was converted by Pitman on the goal line (0-5).
Pitman scored his hat trick in the 61st minute when he tapped in a George Barker cross close to the goal line (0-6).
Barker then turned from provider to scorer when he sidefooted the ball past Alex Ram in the 67th minute (0-7).
Having scored his hat trick, Pitman took a more charitable attitude to the Vics defence, hitting the crossbar in the 70th and 79th minutes, before missing 2 open goals in the 84th and 85th minutes.
Pitman – who unfailingly found himself in the optimum position to punish the Vics defence – finally got his 4th 2 minutes from full time when he sent a shot past Alex Ram from the edge of the penalty area (0-8).
However, the final word in the game went to young Vics striker Charlie Marsek, who blasted the ball past Portchester keeper Steve Mowthorpe in the 1st minute of injury time after having his 1st attempt on goal blocked (1-8).
Final score: East Cowes Vics 1-8 Portchester
East Cowes Vics: Ram, West, Berry, White, Newbold (c), Walsh, Chapman, Yates, Marsek, Snow, Woodford Subs: Cant, Evans (gk), Kettell. Sheerin, Tuckey, Lacey, Kilroy
Newport IoW 4-0 Amesbury Town
4 2nd half goals saw the County Town club advance to the 3rd round of the FA Vase after seeing off Wiltshire side Amesbury Town at Smallbrook.
After a quiet 1st half in which Amesbury had spurned some early chances, the Port took the lead through a Jordan Browne header from a Josh Younie cross (1-0).
The home side then added a 2nd from a Joe Butcher strike (2-0).
At this point in the game, Newport No 9 Jordan Browne clashed with an Amesbury player in an off-the-ball incident, leading to a yellow card for Jordan and a red for his opponent.
Now playing against 10 men, flying winger Connor Kelly added a 3rd for the Port after waltzing through the Amesbury defence before coolly slotting home (3-0).
The final goal of the game was scored by Joe Craig, who showed skill and composure in front of goal after being fouled by an Amesbury defender (4-0).
Newport IoW: Pitman, Colson, Oatley, Hancott, Pearce, Triggs, Kelly, Younie, Browne, Craig, Butcher Subs: Barron, Boyd-Kerr, Lamb, burford. McCormack
Cowes Sports 2-1 Verwood Town
Cowes advanced to the 3rd round of the FA Vase after seeing off Dorset Wessex League Division 1 outfit Verwood Town at Westwood Park.
Cowes could have scored more than 2 goals but for poor finishing. However, it was man-of-the-match goalkeeper Ed Hatt who ensured the Yachtsmen advanced to the next round by pulling off some fine saves late in the game.
Cowes took the lead in the 16th minute through John McKie, who latched on to a lofted ball by Aedan Coode, before turning and his shooting the ball in off the upright.
The Yachtsmen then had 3 opportunities to extend their lead. First, McKie sent a cross to Fin Phillips, who was unable to direct his header goalward. Then, another McKie cross came to Aedan Coode, who missed the target from 7 yards. Finally, a further McKie cross was wasted by Eli Ahmed.
3 minutes after the half time break, Jez Conway missed a further opportunity to extend the Yachtsmen’s lead. However, in the 59th minute, a mishit shot from John McKie came to the feet of Caleb Neale, who had his 1st shot saved before lifting the rebound over the Verwood keeper and into the net (2-0).
3 minutes later, Verwood captain Jake Carswell scored, reducing the Yachtsmen’s advantage to a single goal (2-1).
The Potters then pressed Cowes late in the game but were denied by the goalkeeping skills of Cowes keeper Ed Hatt.
Cowes Sports: Hatt, White, Mumford, West, Conway, Laird, Perrin, Coode, McKie, Phillips, Ahmed Subs: C. Neale, J, Neale, Dempsey, Hayward, Wykes
