For the second successive season it needed penalties to separate Newport and Cowes in the final of the Isle of Wight Senior Cup.
Newport attacked the southern end in the first half and created an opportunity in the opening minute but Liam Triggs shot over. Cowes also came close early on when a header from Craig Insley struck the top of the crossbar.
On 7 minutes Cowes were awarded a penalty which Jordan Browne placed beyond the reach of Gary Streeter to give the home side a lead.
Newport equalised after 19 minutes when Joe Butcher broke down the left before firing in a low cross that passed between two defenders and found Connor Kelly who blasted it into the net.
Liam Triggs fired in an excellent shot on 29 minutes which was superbly tipped over the bar by Ed Hatt.
Half time: Cowes Sports 1 Newport 1
The match began to get feisty in the second half and Cowes were reduced to 10 men when John McKie who had previously received a yellow card for dissent, received a second yellow card also for dissent. The match settled into a stalemate as Cowes had more possession but were unable to break down a resolute Newport defence whilst Newport were relying on the long ball to Tom McInnes. On 74 minutes, Newport made their only substitution bringing on Jared Wetherick for Aiden Sainsbury and this altered the pattern of play as Tom McInnes had support in attack and Joe Butcher produced some good runs that troubled the Cowes defence.
Nevererless there was no further scoring and with no extra time penalties were needed. Newport went first and Liam Triggs scored the first penalty. For Cowes, Dexter Malin took their opening penalty but shot high and wide. Newport then went on to score from their remaining penalties and when Joe Butcher converted the fifth it was the cue for celebrations on the pitch as Newport retained the trophy for the fifth successive season.
The trophies were presented by Paul Hunt from Harwoods who sponsored the competition.
Final Score: Cowes Sports 1 Newport 1, Newport won on penalties 5-3
Newport; Streeter, Newbold, Taylor, A Sainsbury (Wetherick), Pearce, Sampson, Wright, Triggs, McInnes, Kelly, Butcher.
Cowes; Hatt, Wykes, Malcolmson, Insley, Bryan, Lewis, Bricknell (McArthur), Phillips, Browne, Malin, Mckie.
Referee : Ron Groves
Photo courtesy of IW Radio