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Monday 13 October 2014

Tadley Milk Their Time In Cowes - East Cowes Victoria vs. Tadley Calleva

It was a sunny day on The Isle
This weekend I made my way on to the Isle Of Wight for a long planned weekend away. Naturally I arranged the trip around a game and the game in question was The Wessex League Division One game between East Cowes Victoria and Tadley Calleva. The Victoria part of the home teams name comes from the fact that the ground is located on The Crown Estate close to Osborne House which was a royal retreat for Queen Victoria. The home side had not made the best start to the season and they lost in The FA Vase the previous weekend 11-0 away at Bridport of The Western League. The visitors meanwhile had only dropped two points in the league all season.

Kick off at Beatrice Avenue
The opening minutes of the game are quite scrappy. However it doesn't take long for the first chance of the game to come along. The ball is played right through the middle of the East Cowes defence and the keeper bails out his defenders making a good save with his feet. The visitors create another one on one chance shortly afterwards but the keeper is again alert to get to the ball first. The break through isn't long coming although there was a touch of fortune involved. Following a Tadley ball forward, the defender and keeper clash and the forward is left to roll the ball in to the net. The referee allows the goal to stand despite the home teams protests. Tadley continue to press after the goal and the wingers get to the byline a couple of times. On the second occasion the East Cowes keeper makes a great close range save. East Cowes' first chance comes when the Tadley defence misjudges the bounce of the ball but the shot from the edge of the area is straight at the keeper.  Tadley should really be two up just before half time as they have two free shots in the area but the home defence is able to repeal the attacks.

A first half East Cowes attack
The visitors double their lead early in the second half. Following a through ball the East Cowes keeper is able to save the first effort but the rebound is put in to the net. It gets worse shortly afterwards as the forward finishes on the half volley at the back post after a cross from the left wing. Tadley then score an incredible fourth. A quick throw catches the full back out which allows the winger to curl home an effort from distance right on the far touchline. East Cowes are unlucky not to pull one back with a deflected effort following a good break. East Cowes luck continues to desert them as after a couple of deflections the ball falls at the feet of the forward who makes no mistake from close range. They add a sixth as the forward is put through and he rounds the keeper and taps the ball in. East Cowes get the goal their efforts deserve with a free kick from the edge of the area. Somehow I miss another three Tadley goals by leaving early.

The East Cowes free kick beats the Tadley Calleva keeper
So to get Cowes from London is fairly simple. Firstly you have to travel from Waterloo to Southampton which takes just over an hour assuming there are no engineering works. The ferry port is then a twenty minute walk away. The ferry journey to East Cowes then takes an hour. Around three quarters of the way between the ferry port and the ground is The Prince Of Wales. This is a great pubs for a pre match drink. The walk from the port to the ground takes twenty five minutes and is up hill for a lot of the walk. The clubhouse does the job and is very friendly. After the game I returned to East Cowes waterside and took the chain ferry over to the westside. The two pubs I remember being particularly good were The Duke of York and The Fountain. All in all a great weekend away and I'll look forward to revisiting to see Cowes Sports.






Side one view of the stand

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