Cowes Sports slumped to a 2nd successive defeat by being dumped out of the Velocity Wessex League Cup at the Quarter Final stage by league leaders AFC Stoneham this evening (Tuesday). The 1st half began with pressure for the Island side, with George Colson having some early chances. However, the Purples took the lead in the 17th minute when Adam Pattison beat a Cowes defender before placing the ball in the bottom right corner of the goal (1-0). The Yachtsmen then had to deal with a great deal of Purple pressure from long balls, with Ed Hatt forced to make crucial saves in the 21st and 24th minutes. The Purples continued to press Cowes, having a penalty appeal for handball denied just before the half hour mark, and shooting over the crossbar 5 minutes later. 7 minutes before the half time interval, Cowes full back Harrison Dempsey was forced off the pitch injured to be replaced by White. Connor Kelly came close to equalising for Cowes shortly before the half time whistle after rounding a Stonham defender, but had his shot parried for a corner. Half time: AFC Stoneham 1-0 Cowes Sports The Purples continued to press at the start of the 2nd half with their centre forward striking the ball wide in the 48th minute. Connor Kelly had a scoring opportunity blocked in the 50th minute after latching onto a long ball from Ed Hatt. However, Stoneham had a 2-goal cushion in the 55th minute through a tap in from Duarte Martins (2-0). 6 minutes later, the Purples added a 3rd goal when striker Martins – who appeared offside to be in an offside position – slotted the ball into the bottom corner to bag his brace (3-0). The 70th minute saw a welcome return to action for Eli Ahmed in a Cowes shirt after the striker replaced George Carter-Knight. 2 minutes from the full time whistle, centre forward McFarlane scored a consolation for the Yachtsmen by turning in the box and slotting the ball into the bottom corner after being set up by a Neale pass (3-1). Full time: AFC Stoneham 3-1 Cowes Sports Cowes Sports: Hatt, Dempsey (White), West Triggs, Oatley (c), Hancott (Neale), Cook (Mumford), Colson, McFarlane, Carter-Knight (Ahmed), Kelly (Salter) After their loss to league leaders Stoneham, Cowes Sports stated on their Facebook page:
“A fair amount to review, we felt the lack of training and cohesion today.”
The Yachtsmen return to action at 15:00 this Saturday, when they face Sherborne Town in the Wessex Premier at Westwood Park. Cowes are still in with a shout in the promotion playoff race, lying 2 points behind 5th-placed Brockenhurst but have 4 games in hand.
