Competition

RED INSURE CUP Semi Final

Date

Tuesday 2nd March 2010

Collier sees silver lining to cup exit

Supermarine’s Southern League Cup run came to an end at the semi-final stage as they were dumped out by lower league opposition in VT FC.

 

An unfamiliar-looking Supermarine side lost 2-0 to the Division One West outfit in Southampton as they missed the chance to meet Cambridge City in a two-legged final, after the Lilywhites beat Hednesford Town 2-0 in the other last four clash.

 

VT took the lead midway through the first half when a deep cross from Tyronne Bowers was sidefooted in from six yards by the late-arriving Byron Mason. The second goal came in the 57th minute and was the result of lax defending, as Lee Bright was left unmarked to head in Bowers’ corner.

 

Despite his disappointment at being eliminated from the competition, Marine boss Mark Collier said avoiding the prospect of two further cup games could help his side in their cause to stay in the Southern League Premier Division this season. “I’m not happy to be knocked out of the cup but maybe in the long-term it will be a blessing in disguise,” he said. “With it being a two-legged final, it could have been three games in one week, which wouldn’t have been ideal.”

 

Collier, who selected new signing Ashan Holgate for his first start for any club in five months, added: “We were a little disjointed which was to be expected with the changes we made. “We didn’t perform well, we performed okay, which wasn’t good enough. “We looked a little bit off the pace and overall it was a fair result.”

 

Another negative aspect of the night for Collier was picking up yet another injury, adding to his current lengthy list of sidelined players. Defender Matt Robinson twisted his knee early in the game and was replaced by David Bampton at half time, but it is not thought that the problem is serious. Collier will be hoping that his captain recovers quickly enough to be part of the side that makes the trip to Cornwall to face Truro City in the league at the weekend.