Cowes Sports FC lost by a last-minute goal to Lymington Town on Saturday (28th December) – a team who had already beaten them 0-4 twice this season in both the FA Cup and Wessex Premier League.
The Yachtsmen made the short journey across the Solent without the injured Gareth Bricknell and Conor White. Regular keeper Ed Hatt was suspended, and Michael McEnery was unavailable. However, there was a welcome return for Tom Dye, Ashley Brett and James Wykes. Former Newport striker, Jared Wetherick, was given his first start since returning from the United States.
The Island side conceded the first goal in just the first minute of the game, when Lymington forward Rian Drake chipped the ball over young Cowes keeper, Fraser Law. The Islanders then equalised from an 18th minute corner, when Finley Phillips fired the ball towards the goal and Jimmy Wykes was on hand to flick the ball into the back of the net from around 6 yards to bring the Islanders back on level terms.
The Yachtsmen then took the lead in the 23rd minute, when returning striker Jared Wetherick struck the ball into the back of the Lymington net from 18 yards, his 49th goal in total for the
Cowes club. Resolute defending by the away side ensured that the Islanders made it to half time with a 1-2 advantage.
HT: Lymington Town 1-2 Cowes Sports
Lymington started the second half with 10 men as one of their number had been sin binned shortly before half time, but Cowes were unable to take advantage of the extra man. The home side then came back into the game, and equalized midway through the second half when Ali Zintany chipped Cowes keeper, Fraser Law.
The Yachtsmen’s manager, Max Draper, tried to shake things up for the Island side by sending on Mitchell Ricketts and Scott McFarlane to replace Aiden White and George Carter-Knight. However, Cowes failed to hold on to their lead, as Luke Churchill gave the home side a 3-2 lead just a minute from the final whistle, to send the Yachtsmen back home across the Solent without
a point.
FT: Lymington Town 3-2 Cowes Sports
Cowes Sports: Law, Cranwell, A White (Ricketts), Bryan, Perrin, Brett (c), Dye, Carter-Knight (McFarlane), Wetherick, Phillips, Wykes, Sub:not used: Nash
Defeat at Lymington leaves the Yachtsmen deep in relegation trouble in 19th place in the Wessex Premier, 3 points behind closest rivals Bournemouth.
After the match, Cowes Sports manager, Max Draper, thought his side had been unlucky to lose. He said:
“We had a really good first half, played at a high tempo and put them under pressure. However, decisions went against us in the second half, and I thought there was a handball involved in the
second goal. This just sums up our luck.”
This Saturday, 4th January, the Yachtsmen will face 3rd place AFC Porchester at Westwood Park. Max Draper said of the fixture:
“We are feeling very positive. We played well on Saturday and believe we can win. We are most definitely ‘up for it’ and believe we can give a good account of ourselves”.
