IT WAS not pretty to watch but it's the result that counts and Cowes Sports ended their season on a high by winning the Isle of Wight Senior (Gold) Cup, following a dramatic penalty shoot-out against arch-rivals Newport.
COWES SPORTS 1, NEWPORT 1
(Cowes win 4-3 on penalties)
The Yachtsmen gained revenge for last year's Gold Cup final defeat against Port, in front of a bumper crowd of 524 — the biggest attendance for any Island game this season — at Beatrice Avenue, East Cowes, last night (Friday).
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Having finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, the final went straight to the lottery of a penalty shoot-out — Elias Ahmed coolly dispatching the winning spot kick to send the player, squad, management team and fans into delirium.
It was tough on Newport who have endured two bitter shoot-out blows — the other in the Wessex League Division 1 play-offs.
Cowes had the early pressure and it took a smart two-handed parry by Port stopper Leon Pitman to prevent them taking the lead after 12 minutes.
The next 20 minutes were scrappy, as both sides struggled to get a foothold in the game, and both showing plenty of commitment for every ball.
But a speculative ball forward was diverted by a Cowes defender in error and fell invitingly for striker Joe Butcher — his composed finish from about 12 yards leaving keeper Ed Hatt rooted to the spot to make it 1-0 to Newport.
The goal sparked the game into life, with Newport smelling blood and looking keen to add to their total quickly, as Cowes suddenly looked ragged.
Hatt came to the rescue with a great near post save from a Joe Craig snap shot after being put in on goal after some intricate one-touch play.
The first 15 minutes of the second half was a carbon copy of the way the first started, but Cowes manager Max Draper may not have made a better substitution this season when he brought on Ahmed for the ever-willing Jez Conway.
A throw in from the right was, with his first touch of the ball, flicked on by Ahmed, for skipper John McKie, who scored superbly with an overhead kick to level it.
Cowes then looked the stronger and more likely to score next, but a sickening clash of heads between Conor White and Scott McFarlane, saw play stopped for several minutes for the poleaxed defenders to get treatment.
This killed their momentum and the pendulum then swung Newport's way again, yet despite all their attacking threat, either the final ball was poor, or the Yachtsmen defended like tigers.
Only a close range effort from Jordan Browne, well blocked by Hatt, was as close they came to winning it.
An uncharacteristic spot kick miss by Conor Kelly — which summed up how below par Newport were all evening — gave the opportunity for Ahmed to write his name in Cowes folklore, winning the shoot-out 4-3.
Delighted Cowes Sports boss Max Draper said afterwards: "We always thought it was going to be a tight game. Last year, we played well in the first half and let ourselves down in the second half.
"But we're building a good, young side. There were 17 and 18-year-olds out there and it's a long journey for where we want to be, but we'll get there.
"We'll start competing properly again and we'll keep going and knocking things off.
"Fair play to Newport, they made it a good game and it was tight."
Cowes Sports: Hatt, White, Dempsey, Watson, O.West, McFarlane, Phillips, Hayward, Conway, McKie (capt), Mumford. Subs: Neale, Ahmed, Catania, Whittle, Coode.
Newport: Pitman, Hughes, Triggs, Colson, Oatley (capt), Barron, Kelly, Boyd-Kerr, Browne, Craig, Butcher. Subs: Nash, Younie, Chapman, Malin, McCormack.
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