Cowes travel to 2nd-from-bottom Christchurch today (Saturday), hoping to remain 5th in the Wessex Premier in the 4th playoff position. On Tuesday, the Yachtsmen finally advanced to the playoff places by beating Lymington Town 3-1 at Westwood Park. However, just 5 points separate the sides from 5th to 10th in the league table. Manager Max Draper does not forecast an easy victory for his promotion-chasing side. Max has told Island Echo:
“We will aim to build on Tuesday night’s win against Lymington and the draw at Portchester. As we know, there are no easy games in Wessex Prem, so we will have to approach like any other. “They are in a period of change and that’s always dangerous as new ideas can throw up great performances and results so we have to be aware. “Fingers crossed we can smile again at 5 o’clock on Saturday.”
Wessex Premier table (top) below: 
In Wessex Division 1, East Cowes Vics – who are just 3 points from a playoff place – travel to Berkshire to face 2nd-from-bottom AFC Aldermaston. Vics are currently in good form with a run of 3 successive victories since losing 3-1 to Verwood Town earlier in the month. Their opponents Aldermaston have been in poor form of late and are on a run of 5 successive league defeats. Manager Alex Smith says of the game:
“At this point in the season, every game is significant and in the fight for 5th, it’ll all come down to who can put a run together. After a disappointing loss at Verwood, we’ve put 3 wins together, and we need to continue that form. “I’ve got no doubt that it’ll be a tight and tough game – we’ll have to be at our best to get the win. Although we’ve not turned out unbelievable performances in the last few weeks, we do know we’ve got what it takes to dig deep and keep fighting late on in games.”
Also in Wessex Division 1, Newport travel to Surrey to play 4th-from-bottom Frimley Green. The Port will be hoping to capitalise on their games in hand to travel up the league to reach a comfortable mid-table position. Frimley Green have had a bad start to 2024, losing every 1 of their 4 league fixtures to date. Wessex Division 1 table below: 
Wessex League fixtures for Saturday 17th February
Wessex Premier Christchurch v Cowes Sports Division 1 Frimley Green v Newport Aldermaston v East Cowes Vics
Isle of Wight fixtures for Saturday 17th February
Isle of Wight Senior (Gold) Cup High Park v Binstead & COB Brading Town v Bembridge OFF Memorial Cup Northwood SJ v Sandown & Lake Junior A Osborne Coburg v Newport Reserves East Cowes Sports Reserves v Bembridge Reserves Junior B Niton Community Reserves v High Park Harwoods Division 1 Cowes Sports Reserves v Vectis Ventnor v Shanklin Division 2 AFC Wootton v Seaview Combination 1 Binstead & COB Reserves v West Wight Reserves Sandown & Lake Reserves v Vectis Reserves W & B Sports Reserves v Shanklin Reserves Combination 2 Newchurch Reserves v Bembridge A Ryde Saints Reserves v West Wight A
