Newport Keep Promotion Hopes Alive

Newport picked up three more valuable Division One points from their trip to Fleet Spurs, the side next to bottom in the table, but were left counting the cost.

Newport Win Proves Costly

Newport manager Steve Brougham admitted he was just pleased to get the game ‘done’ in difficult weather conditions on a bumpy pitch. 

Goals from Joe Craig, Joe Butcher and Jacob Reynolds secured the 3-1 victory to keep the Island outfit well in the promotion hunt.

But with a crucial three-match week beginning next weekend, Steve is facing the prospect of being without up to six of his regular players due to injuries, suspensions and unavailability.

He said:

“It was good to pick up the victory, because it was the type of game where we could have easily come unstuck, but in the end we won comfortably without playing that well. I don’t normally make excuses about the weather or the playing surface, but this was just a horrible place to go to play football.

“To make matters worse we picked up a couple of injuries, and so we will be struggling to find enough players for our new few games, because we don’t have a big squad. Spike Pearce has a hamstring injury, which could keep him out for some time; Jordan Brown is missing with an ankle injury,  and Aaron Burford and Josh Younie will not be available, while Liam Harper is suspended.

"We’ve been operating with a 16-man squad for the past few weeks, so these absentees will seriously deplete us. But we will still give it our best shot.”

Yachtsmen make their point

Cowes Sports’ recent upturn in form continued when they took a deserved point from their Premier League game at home to Blackfield and Langley with a 1-1 scoreline. Although their league position has not changed, they are now 20 points clear of second-from-bottom Hythe and Dibden, with all fears of relegation a distant memory. 

It looked as though the Yachtsmen’s efforts might end in disappointment when Blackley scored a few minutes into the second half. But they refused to buckle, and were rewarded when Gareth Bricknell grabbed the equaliser eight minutes from time. But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Yachtsmen in their build-up to the game.

Manager, Max Draper, explained:

“With even more injuries and unavailability than first thought we went into Saturday morning piecing together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Missing six regulars, and with Jake Watson carrying a knock, we knew we had to come together again and fight as one.

“Before the game we would have possibly settled for a point, but we have higher expectations these days, and after seeing us well below par, we were disappointed with the result. We go into this week carrying 14 injuries and even more unavailability, so we will build a plan on how to tackle the challenge of an Isle of Wight Gold Cup match against a fired-up West Wight and a tough fixture against Christchurch.”

Topsy Turvy Time For Vics

East Cowes Vics’ trip to Verwood in Division One ended in a disappointing 3-0 defeat that left manager Richie Woodburn bemused.

He reflected:

“A few days earlier we turned in one of our best performances of the season against promotion chasing Folland, but against a Verwood team that were in wretched form we just didn’t turn up. It was a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show’ and I felt some of the lads were saving their legs for the big Isle of Wight Gold Cup game against Shanklin on Tuesday. 

“But that didn’t work out because in the opening few minutes we lost our leading scorer Jimmi Burton through a knee injury, which could well rule him out for the rest of the season. Sam Cant, our other in-form striker suffered a nasty gash on his shin which could mean he will also be out for a couple of weeks. And to make matters worse defender Aiden White has broken a bone in his foot which means he will also be out for a while. 

“A week ago we felt we had got into a position where we could look forward to a strong finish to the season, but then this happens. It has certainly been a crazy few days.  But in fairness to Verwood, they were the better side, and forced us into mistakes.”

Vics started slowly, but just when it seemed they were getting into their stride they conceded the opener after 35 minutes, and were two down before the break. The second half was always going to be an uphill task for the Island team, and Verwood sealed victory with a third 15 minutes from time.