YACHTSMEN RETAIN GOLD CUP IN TENSE AND DRAMATIC FINAL AT WESTWOOD PARK

Cowes Sports beat Newport on penalties in the Gold Cup final at Westwood Park on Friday evening. In Steve Brougham’s final game in charge of the County Town club, Wessex Division 1 Newport set out to frustrate their Wessex Premier opponents – and very nearly succeeded. The game was watched by a crowd estimated to have been in excess of 800, including Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely. The Yachtsmen retained the bulk of the possession for most of the 1st half with Cowes goalkeeper Ed Hatt a virtual spectator. Altogether Cowes won 9 corners and 5 free kicks close to the penalty area in the 1st 45 minutes of the game but were unable to find the vital breakthrough in the final third of the field. In the 15th minute, Pitman had to dive full stretch on the goal line to parry an effort from Cowes captain McKie. Towards the end of the half, the game became increasingly physical with 3 bookings for Newport and 1 for Cowes manager Max Draper for leaving his technical area to restrain 1 of his players.

Despite conceding countless free kicks and corners, Port weathered the storm to reach the half time break on level terms with their Wessex Premier opponents. Half time: Cowes Sports 0-0 Newport IW Port began the 2nd half with Joe Craig replacing Sonny Myram. Cowes midfielder Jordan Cook was carried off injured on the hour mark to be replaced by George Carter-Knight. The game took a dramatic turn in the 65th minute when Cowes Defender Ollie West caught Newport’s Joe Butcher on the edge of the penalty area and was shown a straight red.

However, Port made little use of their extra player, with the Yachtsmen continuing to dominate the game. With 15 minutes of the game remaining, Newport’s Harri Catania – who appeared to have lost his composure – was booked and then swiftly substituted, to be replaced by Ollie West’s brother, Henry. The breakthrough for Cowes came 10 minutes from full time when George Carter-Knight converted a Connor Kelly cross at the far post (1-0).

The Yachtsmen continued to press Port after taking the lead, with Leon Pitman forced into a good save to deny John McKie. However, having threatened nothing over the 90 minutes of full time play, Newport equalised in the 4th minute of injury time when – in a goalmouth scramble – Ed Hatt could only parry a shot from Port captain McDonough, and the ball fell to substitute Henry West, who dispatched the ball in the back of the net from 12 yards (1-1). Full time: Cowes Sports 1-1 Newport IW

And so to penalties… Jordan Browne, Henry West, Joe Craig, and Mike Thompsett all netted for Newport with Joe Butcher having the final 5th free kick saved by Ed Hatt. Liam Triggs, Fin Phillips, Ryan Oatley and Connor Kelly converted their penalties for Cowes, with George Carter-Knight having the 3rd penalty saved by Pitman.

In sudden death, Keelan Walsh for Newport and Ewan Cranwell for Cowes were both successful with their 6th penalties. The 7th penalty saw Newport captain Martin McDonough strike the upright and Cowes midfielder Joe Hancott have his effort saved by Pitman. Matt Oatley then sent the 8th penalty over the crossbar leaving Jimmy Mumford to score the winning penalty for the Yachtsmen.

Penalties: Cowes Sports 6-5 Newport IW Cowes Sports: Hatt, Mumford, West, Triggs, Oatley, Hancott, Phillips, Cook, McFarlane, McKie (c), Kelly Subs: Bridi, Carter-Knight, Cranwell, Neale, Ahmed Newport IW: Pitman, Holbrook, Thompsett, Oatley, McDonough (c), Barron, Butcher, Watterson, Browne, Catania, Myram Subs: West, Craig, Parsons, Walsh, Streeter (gk)