Newport opened their I.W.Senior Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory against a battling Ventnor side this evening.
Ventnor kicked off attacking the Shide end. The opening five minutes saw Newport very much on top.
In Ventnor’s first attack after five minutes, Emerson Tattershall was shown a yellow card for a foul on Jamie Linington as the keeper raced out to smother the ball. After five minutes of treatment, Jamie Linington was unable to carry on so Tom McInnes went in goal and Jared Wetherick came on up front. This altered the whole complexion of the match, making Newport more cautious and Ventnor more determined to test Tom McInnes.
Following a series of corners, Simon Carmichael shot just over the bar from just outside the penalty area. Tom McInnes then produced a good save to push away a swirling shot from Jamie Brenchly.
The rest of the half saw end to end play as both teams seemed evenly matched.
In stoppage time Aidan Sainsbury received a yellow yard following a series of fouls.
Half Time: Newport 0 Ventnor 0
Newport made an interval substitution replacing Liam Newbold with Keelan Sainsbury. Ventnor then made a substitution after 52 minutes bringing on Kyle Brew for Charlie Urry.
An Aidan Sainsbury free kick from twenty yards rattled the crossbar for a foul on Jared Wetherick, Keiron Ford was shown a yellow card.
The deadlock was finally broken on 64 minutes. A surging run into the penalty area by Connor Kelly led to him being fouled and Connor Kelly calmly despatching the penalty into the roof of the net. At this time Newport were down to ten men as Keelan Sainsbury had gone off and he was subsequently replaced by Josh Maloney.
Newport extended their lead on 69 minutes when Connor Kelly dispossessed a defender about thirty yards from goal, then ran at goal and slotted the ball past Dan Russell and into the net. At this point Ventnor made another substitution replacing Robert Gee with Steven Gee.
Ventnor’s best opportunity came when a shot from about 15 yards struck the post and rebounded back into the goal area creating a melee before Newport finally cleared the ball.
Ventnor had shown determination throughout the match but eventually it was Newport who join Cowes Sports in the semi final draw.
Full time: Newport 2 Ventnor 0
NEWPORT TEAM
Jamie Linington(Jared Wetherick), Oliver West, Liam Newbold(Keelan Sainsbury)
(Josh Maloney), Spike Pearce, Mark Taylor, Scott Sampson, Aidan Sainsbury, Lewis Wright, Tom McInnes, Connor Kelly, Joe Butcher
Referee: Tom Berry
Attendance: 175