Cowes Sports FC

Match report: Isle of Wight Senior Gold Cup, Qtr Final: Cowes Sports v West Wight, 02/03/2010

Cowes Sports 2 v 1 West Wight. After extra-time.

Cowes finally won their first home game since mid-September and booked their place in the Semi-finals of the IW Gold Cup, at the expense of a battling West Wight side.

Play was fairly even for the first half-hour, but then West Wight’s Chris Griffith was put through and calmly shot past the advancing Chris Norris to put the visitors ahead.

Cowes hit back and should have equalised, but Mark Augustus’ first touch let him down in front of goal.

Both sides then went close from long-range, Chris Bridges firing just over and West Wight’s Paul Brenchley having to tip Tom Dye’s blaster around the post, but the visitors kept their lead at the break.

Cowes eventually equalised after sixty-eight minutes. Jamie Dyer planted a corner into the box and Craig Thommas rose to head firmly into the net.

With time running out, the visitors were reduced to ten men, Mark Holmes seeing red for violent conduct after a tussle with Andy Watson.

Just three minutes into extra-time, Cowes won it and it was Craig Thomas again, knocking the ball in from close range after a rare mistake from Paul Brenchley, who was unable to hold on to a shot in front of goal.

West Wight made frantic efforts to force penalties, but, for once, rhe Cowes defence stood firm.

Cowes Sports: C. Norris, T. Dye, A. Watson, A. Brett, M. McDonough, M. Draper, G. Bricknell, J. Dyer, M. Augustus, C. Thomas.

Substitutes: K. Foster, S. Yelland, J. Butcher, M. Jones, M. Randall.