ON A miserable day, East Cowes Vics came away from a tricky Wessex League Division 1 game at Verwood Town all smiles after bagging all three points on the road today (Saturday, September 7).

VERWOOD TOWN 1, EAST COWES VICS 2

On a very awkward surface to play on, the Islanders put in a disciplined performance, to ensure they stayed second in the table.

Vics chief Alex Smith made one change to last week's game against Ringwood, with Sam Kirby dropping to the bench to make way for Raff Boyd-Kerr in the starting line-up.

Verwood came out of the blocks — creating three chances inside the first ten minutes.

Vics, trying to adapt to the poor playing surface, got out of jail five minutes later, thanks to the agility of Alex Ram in goal.

The Island side's first effort, from Jacob Reynolds, was on target, but blocked by two defenders.

Vics, growing into the game, started to create chances, with Boyd-Kerr heading wide on 26 minutes.

But on the half-hour mark, Vics took the lead. A great cross into the box found Reynolds, who teed himself up nicely to volley home.

However, Verwood restored parity in the 38th minute — a flicked-on cross into the box evading Ram and going into the far corner.

Verwood started the second half the brighter, forcing another save from Ram in the opening minute, then a minute later, a slip by Harrison Yates allowed a shot, with the alert Ram saving well.

Following a string of wasted half-chances, Vics exerted dominance — pinning Verwood in their own half for long spells.

Vics' patience was eventually rewarded in the 86th minute, when a long throw from Harrison Yates was half-cleared, with the ball dropping perfectly for Elliott Wheeler to hit a sweet strike across the keeper, into the far corner to make it 2-1.

Newport remain in mid-table following their 2-0 home defeat at the hands of fourth bottom Fawley, at Beatrice Avenue, East Cowes.

On a sodden pitch, it was a game Newport dominated in terms of possession, but they lacked any end product — rarely troubling the Fawley keeper. 

Fawley played to sit back and soak up Newport pressure, then try to hit the yellows on the break.

Disappointingly for Port, two defensive errors cost them the game.

Meanwhile, Cowes Sports are rooted to the bottom of the Wessex League Premier Division, following their 3-0 home loss against Andover New Street, at the Zilch Waste Stadium.

The defeat sees the Yachtsmen with just two points from their opening six fixtures, with 19 goals conceded. 

Both sides started the game at a high tempo, but unbeaten Andover looked the more direct and dangerous — taking the lead with a close range effort from a pinpoint cross on 28 minutes.

Andover made it 2-0, giving Cowes a mountain to climb, two minutes before the interval.

Again, the second half began at a high tempo and Cowes were unlucky to see a glancing header from Scott McFarlane cleared off the line.

After that, Andover largely dominated the half and, even when they were reduced to ten men near the end, they still managed to score a third to kill the game off for the blues.

RESULTS — SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

Wessex League Premier Division: Cowes Sports 0, Andover New Street 3.

Division 1: Newport 0, Fawley 2; Verwood Town 1, East Cowes Vics 2.

Island League, Division 1: Bembridge 2, Shanklin 4; Osborne Coburg 5, Vectis 1; West Wight 2, Northwood St Johns 0.

Division 2: Oakfield 3, Ryde Saints 0; Sandown & Lake 0, High Park 3; Seaview 0, Niton 8.

Combination 1: Bembridge Reserves 0, Whitecroft & Barton Sports Reserves 5; Binstead & COB Reserves 1, Sandown & Lake Reserves 1; Brading Town Reserves 3, Ventnor Reserves 1; Northwood St Johns Reserves 0, West Wight Reserves 8; Shanklin Reserves 2, ECS Reserves 3.

Combination 2: Niton Reserves 3, West Wight A 6.

Isle of Wight Challenge Cup, first round: Ventnor 10, Cowes Sports Reserves 2.

FIXTURES 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10

Hampshire Senior Cup, first round: East Cowes Vics v Cowes Sports.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

Island League, Division 2: ECS v Sandown & Lake.

Combination 1: Sandown & Lake Reserves v Osborne Coburg Reserves; Whitecroft & Barton Sports Reserves v Bembridge Reserves.

Combination 2: High Park Reserves v Niton Reserves.

Isle of Wight Junior A Cup, first round: High Park  v Ventnor Reserves; Niton v Newchurch; Seaview v Pan Community.

Junior B Cup, first round: Ryde Saints Reserves v West Wight A; Vectis Reserves v Niton Reserves; Ventnor Reserves v Newchurch Reserves.