East Cowes Vics advanced to the Gold Cup semi-final by overcoming Shanklin at Beatrice Avenue on Tuesday evening (15th March).
The game was packed full of incident and controversy with referee Callum McFarlane dishing out 6 yellow cards, 1 red card, sinbinning 2 players, and awarding a penalty.
Both sides had vital players missing for the game. Shanklin were without leading scorer Nicky Vyse and Ben Gregory. Prolific striker Jimmi Burton, Coner Lyon, Sam Cant and Ollie West were all absent for Vics. The East Cowes side played 2 16-year-olds up front: Charlie Marsek and Toby Snow.
The 1st half began with plenty of possession and pressure for Vics. The 1st chance fell to Harri Catania in the 7th minute, who headed over the Shanklin goal from 5 yards out. In the 18th minute, Aiden White shot across the face of the Shanklin goal but there was no Vics foot to poke in the cross.
In the 20th minute – against the run of play – Shanklin centre forward George Carter-Knight picked up the ball on the edge of the Vics penalty area and shot the ball past an outstretched Alex Ram into the top right corner of the goal (0-1).
In the 38th minute, Harri Catania had a powerful shot spilled by Shanklin keeper Chris Page but there was no-one in a Vics shirt to pounce on the rebound.
It took a piece of individual brilliance from Vics captain Liam Newbold to score the home side’s equalizing goal when he weaved his way through 3 Shanklin defenders before blasting the ball into the far-right corner of the goal (1-1).
The half ended with the 1st booking of the game for Vics’ Harri Catania.
Half time East Cowes Vics 1-1 Shanklin
The 2nd half began with Charlie Marsek blasting the ball at Shanklin keeper Chris Page from a promising position. In the 60th minute, Shanklin had a strong penalty appeal for handball turned down by referee Callum McFarlane. Shanklin skipper Pete Wilson was then forced to leave the field of play through injury to be replaced by Cory Sanderson.
In the 66th minute came the incident that determined the course of the game when Charlie Marsek was fouled on the by line of the penalty area and referee McFarlane had little hesitation in awarding a penalty. His decision was strongly protested by Shanklin keeper Page – who was sinbinned – to be replaced by Iain Seabrook. Ryan Gregory sent Seabrook the wrong way from the penalty spot to put Vics into the lead for the 1st time in the contest (2-1).
The game then became fractious. First, Shanklin’s George Carter-Knight and Vics’ Brandon Hayward were booked after an altercation between the 2 players. Then, the home side’s James Turner and Shanklin’s Jordan Cook both found themselves yellow-carded. Finally – in the 86th minute – Vics captain Liam Newbold was sent off for tussling on the ground with Shanklin’s Wayne Newnham.
The referee continued to be in the thick of the action, sinbinning Shanklin’s Cory Sanderson then booking Brad Young. However, the final word of the game went to Vics winger Harrison Yates, who blasted the ball into the far corner of the Shanklin goal after being put through by James Turner (3-1).
Full time: East Cowes Vics 3-1 Shanklin
East Cowes Vics: Ram, Berry, White, Newbold (c), Gregory, Hayward, Chapman, Catania, Marsek, Snow, Yates Subs: Sheerin, Woodford, Turner, Terry, Linington (gk)
Shanklin: Page, Field, Smythers, Seabrook, Newnham, Waterson, Cook, Young, Carter-Knight, Wilson, Drew Subs: Sanderson, Wright, Drudge
After the game, Vics manager Richie Woodburn said:
“I’m really pleased with the result bearing in mind the players we had out. We deserved to win. Shanklin scored against the run of play, but we didn’t panic after going 0-1 down.”
For Shanklin, manager Paul Haward said:
“I thought it was a pretty even and good cup tie. We knew we would have to concede quite a bit of possession to the Wessex league side but thought our shape and game plan worked well. The penalty decision and the sin bin probably changed the game as we had to chase from then on.
“I’m proud of the effort from my team to compete against a Wessex league team for 90 minutes and quite honestly there wasn’t much between the 2 sides. Congratulations to Vics and good luck to them in next round.”
This Saturday (19th March), Vics travel to North Hampshire to face 2nd-from-bottom Fleet Spurs; Shanklin face Sandown in the Bay Derby at the Fairway Sports Centre.
Tonight (16th March), Cowes play West Wight at Westwood Park in the 2nd Gold Cup Quarter Final. Kick-off is at 19:30.
