East Cowes Victoria AFC
Beatrice Ave
East Cowes
Isle Of Wight
PO32 6PA
Ground Number: 1219
Saturday 9th August 2023
East Cowes Victoria 3-1 Clanfield
Wessex D1
Saturday 9th August 2023
East Cowes Victoria 3-1 Clanfield
Wessex D1
EAST COWES VICTORIA FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was established in 1885, taking the Victoria part of the name as their Beatrice Avenue ground is in an area owned by Osborne House, one of the homes of Queen Victoria. They were founder members of the Isle of Wight League in 1898 and won the league in its inaugural season. They retained the league title the following season and went on to win the league again in 1931, 1935 and 1936. Following the end of World War II, East Cowes moved up to the Hampshire League. They were Division Two runners-up in 1949, 1950 & 1952, before finishing as champions in 1953. They'd spend a couple of tricky seasons in Division 1 before being relegated back. Worse was to follow when in the following seasons, they would become a yo-yo team between Divisions 2 & 3. Spells in Division 1 tended to be short-lived but they finally won the title in 1986 & 1987. Following the second title, they joined the Wessex League. During their first spell in what was then a single-tier league, their best finish was 8th in 1989. East Cowes Victoria were relegated back to the Hampshire League in 2000 and would spend four years here until they were invited to join the Wessex League's newly established second tier. They remain there, their best finish of 4th coming in 2011.
East Cowes is a town in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle of Wight Council. The population of the area is around 7,000. The name Estcowe (East Cowes) originally comes from one of two sandbanks on each side of the River Medina estuary, so-called after a supposed likeness to cows. East Cowes is the site of Norris Castle, and Osborne House, the former summer residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Another famous former resident is Lord Mountbatten.
MY VISIT
This groundhop was decided around a week before the game. I was originally meant to be going to Wycombe Wanderers v Cambridge United on this date but it was postponed due to international call-ups. I was disappointed as I had earmarked this as a Wycombe game to attend. I'd missed the previous home game to go to Mulbarton Wanderers and would be missing the next one for a weekend in Newcastle. That left an uncomfortably long gap between games attended, but whatever, I decided to make the best of the situation. Colin had suggested East Cowes Victoria as an alternative when I had given him a lift to Launton Sports on Tuesday, the day the Wycombe game was pulled. I was interested and after further investigation, it seemed a decent shout. Going together meant that we could get a return ferry for £12.30. My research and Colin's Disabled Railcard also got us a good deal on the trains, just £11 London - Southampton return, all booked the previous Friday.
It was a busy but local week for me. Firstly on Tuesday, I made a visit to Holmer Green for their game against Langley. This was around a 20-minute walk from home and is my closest club. Holmer have been struggling a bit lately and were bottom of the Combined Counties D1. They deserved to be beaten on the night, but not as emphatically as the 4-0 scoreline suggested. Braintree-based hopper Dan came over for the game and it was good to catch up. The magic of the FA Cup and a fiver entry tempted me to Flackwell Heath on Wednesday as they hosted Farnham Town. The original game had been abandoned due to a Flackwell Heath player suffering breathing difficulties. Luckily it all ended as well as it could. As a goodwill gesture, entry was £5 with all gate receipts donated to a heart and lung charity. Farnham had the better of the first half and despite Flackwell taking the lead with a close-range finish, two well-taken Farnham goals saw them lead 2-1 at halftime. That was the scoreline when the original tie was abandoned and the visitors certainly looked a slick and impressive outfit. Flackwell gave it a good go in the second half but lacked the cutting edge. There were no further goals in what was a pretty compelling watch for the 451 in attendance. It looked more than that and the streets around the ground were very busy.
Then after a busy 9-hour day at work, I was back up at Holmer Green for the FA Youth Cup game against Chalfont St Peter. Admission at £6 was steep and a quid more than the proper thing a day earlier. Should the charge be a regular thing for league games, I don't think I'll bother as often as last season it was only £4 and I was happy to pay that to chip in at my local side. It was a tie between two sides who had finished bottom of their respective divisions last season. Chalfont had a man sent off for a professional foul after just 6 minutes. It was a healthy attendance, around 100 with Holmer having a goal ruled out for offside after 12 minutes. They eventually took the lead with a deflected own goal on 35 minutes, this after Chalfont had a few chances of their own, albeit not really troubling the keeper. It turned out to be a pretty even first half. Chalfont were awarded a penalty for a trip on 48 minutes but the tame effort was well saved. The visitors' best effort so far five minutes later bought about the classic shit/shot typo from their very informative Twitter account. The Chalfont equaliser came on 74 minutes. Freddy Plant who had played excellently since his unlucky own goal set up Nathan Long who finished from close range. The visitors were the better side in the end but they were undone by a goal on the break in injury time after a lengthy stoppage. A super save from Holmer's diminutive keeper prevented an equaliser from a free kick. Overall, a decent night of football.
I had intended to go to Uxbridge v Sevenoaks Town at Slough on Friday. But an engine warning light on the courtesy car I had and a busy schedule previously made me give it a miss. Instead, I had a few pints and made plans for the future, including this trip. I had emailed and messaged a pub on the Isle Of Wight, plus Red Funnel Ferries to make enquiries about the trip. However, both were too lazy and ignorant to reply. The Uxbridge game stayed 0-0 into injury time in added time, the hosts took the lead before Sevenoaks struck back to win 2-1. It was a restless night's sleep and I only got a few hours in before my alarm went off at 6.30. 25 minutes later, I rushed out of the door and met Colin at the station at 7.10. We were there in plenty of time for our 7.22 train out of Amersham. It was lovely and quiet at that time, right up until we got into Central London. It
then got gradually busier. Our 08.35 train to Southampton was on time and large, however, only four of the twelve carriages went to Southampton. This meant everything was very full but at least the people were fairly decent at first.
I was going to download a 1989/90 version of Championship Manager 01/02 to play but lack of space and an iffy connection through the random places we travelled through meant I didn't bother. The clientele went downhill around Crawley when some revolting woman with a cough, cold and smelly food sat next to me. Working in retail makes you despise the public, at least in my case. Thankfully, the creature got off at Chichester along with a load of others so there was more space. We were finally at Southampton at 11.03 and were in the Giddy Bridge Wetherspoons twenty minutes later. It was not as good as the Standing Order one we did last year, nowhere near. But a tick is a tick and this was my 272nd Spoons. As lunch was not yet being served, I had a drink. Stowf Press was dull, but it was only £2.33 a pint. Soon after, food service started and I had myself a large mixed grill and a bottle of Aspalls. The drinks service was very quick indeed, little over a minute. Food was decent too and we left at 12.20. From there, it was half an hour via Lidl where I stocked up. Just over £12 each return was decent value and it was a pleasant crossing. Despite them saying 20 minutes delay, it was just 4 minutes so we were pretty much on schedule. We were in East Cowes at 2.10 and after a couple of stops and a strenuous walk, we were at the ground at 2.45. Sweating like a Prince whose Pizza Express voucher is close to expiry, I paid £6 to get in and did a lap before settling on the far side.
East Cowes Victoria were in 7th place whilst Clanfield were second bottom. The hosts had recorded league wins over Millbrook (2-1), Verwood Town (1-0) and at Ringwood Town (3-1). They'd drawn 1-1 against Romsey and lost 2-1 at Downton. The visitors had gained their only point in their last game, drawing 1-1 against Newport. They'd previously lost 3-1 to Verwood Town, 3-0 to Downton, 2-1 to Ringwood Town and 2-1 at Fawley. The game was end to end, Clanfield seizing on some slack defending to slot into the bottom left-hand corner on 18 minutes. The goal was credited to Fred Penfold. The game continued in the same vein. In first-half injury time, Josh Neale shot home on the turn to equalise for East Cowes. Ji Nash put the hosts ahead on 62 minutes, a brilliant through ball found him and it was a routine finish past the keeper. Clanfield did not look like the struggles that their results suggested. They had shots scrambled clear near the end but just lacked a cutting edge. East Cowes made the game safe deep into added time. It was a scrappy effort, only just crossing the line.
That was it then, a tad harsh on Clanfield, but East Cowes had edged it. They gifted Colin a pin badge which made him happy. We beat a hasty retreat, hoping to catch the 5.30 ferry back. We made it with five minutes to go, the staff being super helpful in getting us on. They had been first class despite the company not being the most reliable. It was still a scorcher, so I got a fridge magnet and an energy drink to cool down. With Newport IOW sharing here, that is all t, headed he pyramid grounds on the island completed for me. However, a cider mill in Ventnor makes me want to visit there and there are a number of teams with good grounds such as Brading Town. We got to Southampton and via Tesco, headed straight for the train. We got the 19:13 train rather than the booked 20:13. As well as his passport to the life of Riley, we were hoping that Colin's disabled railcard would provide us with an excuse to take the earlier train. Otherwise, we would just plead ignorance and say the bloke at the station said it was fine. We were due to get back to London at 9.45 and Amersham around 11. Unlike my lucky friend, I had work in the morning but a 2 Litee bottle of cider was gonna be cracked open once I got in. Until that time, a bottle of Irn Bru perked me up.
THE GROUND
BEATRICE AVENUE is a decent setup for the level. Around half an hour from the port, it has good food and drink facilities, especially the former. Limited merchandise is available but there is plenty of parking. As for the ground, all the cover is on one side, a seated stand holding around 100 and standing areas holding a little more. The rest of the ground is open, though there are a few seats on the far side. Overall, well worth the
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