NEWPORT (IoW) 2–4 TEAM SOLENT
27 February, 2018.
Newport made two changes to the side that drew nil-nil against Shaftesbury on Saturday: Jacob Reynolds replacing the injured Will Quigley at right back, and regular centre forward, Charlie Urry, taking the place of Lewis Wright in the starting line-up.
Newport began the game kicking towards the allotments end on a hard pitch in sub-zero temperatures.
In what was to be very much a game of two halves. Team Solent’s first goal came in the fifteenth minute, with Jim Orvis crossing from the right, the cross connecting with the head of Tyrell Mitford, who sent the ball flying into top right hand corner of Andy Payne’s goal to give Team Solent a one-nil lead. The second for the visitors came just two minutes later, when, in the 17th minute, Jamal Wiseman dispatched a hard low strike from inside the area into the net. A quarter-of-an-hour later, in the 32nd minute, the sharp and impressive Hisham Kashimu pounced on a fumble by a Newport defender to give the away side a seemingly unassailable 0–3 lead.
Newport also had their chances in the first half. Their best came in the 22nd minute, when a Connor Kelly lob narrowly missed the Team Solent right-hand post, was redirected towards the goal by a Newport player, but was then saved off the line by a Team Solent defender.
Half time: Newport (IoW) 0–3 Team Solent
‘The Port’ made one half time change to their starting line-up, Lewis Wright replacing Spike Pearce.
The nature of the game changed dramatically in the fiftieth minute, when Connor Kelly sent a lob-come-cross towards the far corner of the Team Solent goal, that was completely missed by their ‘keeper, to reduce the home teams deficit to two goals, making the score 1–3 to the visitors. For the rest of the half, ‘the Port’ were to apply relentless pressure, only for their efforts to ultimately go unrewarded. In the 62nd minute, Aurele Beya, who had shown good touches and control throughout the match, scored with a fine volley from outside the area to make the score 2–3 and reduce the deficit to one. From trailing 0–3, it was now very much ‘game on’ for ‘the Port’.
Team Solent had by now lost some of their composure, and Ryan Dacres-Smith was lucky not to have been sent off when he deliberately brought down Aiden Sainsbury with his arm while lying in a prone position, leading to an altercation between the two players, both receiving yellow cards.
‘The Port’ continued to press: in the 68th minute, Aurele Beya found himself clean through, but was thwarted by the linesman’s flag, in the 70th minute Charlie Urry nearly connected with a Connor Kelly cross, but still failed to find the vital, equalizing goal.
Liam Newbold appeared to have pulled a hamstring, and was replaced by Darren Powell in the 80th minute.
The island side had set up camp in their opponent’s half. In the 82nd minute, Andrew Payne was forced to make a fine save to deny Tyrell Mitford the goal that would have made the game safe for the students.
‘The Port’ continued to press: Liam Triggs forcing a save from the Team Solent keeper from a long shot in the 84th minute, Charlie Urry breaking through the Team Solent defence in the 87th to be denied by the linesman’s flag.
Then came the final blow for ‘the Port’ in the second minute of injury time, when Team Solent’s impressive No 9, Hisham Kashimu, sent a low, powerful shot into the right-hand side of Andrew Payne’s goal, to make the final score 2–4 for the visitors.
Full time score: Newport (IoW) 2–4 Team Solent
Goals: Newport: Kelly (50), Beya (62) Team Solent: Mitford (15), Wisemann (17), Kashimu (31, 90+2)
Newport (IoW): Payne, Newbold (Powell 80), Reynolds, Sainsbury, Wetherick, Pearce (Wright 45), Taylor, Triggs, Urry, Kelly, Beya.
Attendance: 59