Island Ladies 1st XI overcame a strong Southampton to win 4-1 at Fortress Smallbrook after conceding an early goal. The Islanders drove forward, with Evie Fairhurst weaving into the D, slipping the ball back to Katy Ednay to equalise in the left-hand corner, with the teams going into the break level.

The Islanders came out firing in the second half, growing in confidence and composure. Claire Caddick, Jaimie Payne, player-of-the-match, Emily Lord, Hannah Pocock, and debutant, Phoebe Heng, denied Southampton’s short corner attempts and commanded the play from the backline. Mia Lawrence, Lizzie Dodds, Sophie Parkhouse, and Nikki Lloyd provided outlets in the midfield, to orchestrate Fairhurst, Ednay and Layla Holbrook’s moves in the forward line. Fairhurst, producing a dazzling solo run down the right flank, weaved through defenders and fired the ball to give the IW back their lead. Lord scored the third, after Payne opened up the defence, and, despite a disallowed goal, the Island kept pressing, with Fairhurst rounding off a fine performance and securing the 4-1 home win.

IW Men 1st XI won 2-1 at home to Basingstoke, maintaining early season form and starting the match strongly. Player-of-the-match midfielder, Alex Breach, picked up the ball on the edge of the D, driving powerfully across goal, and produced a sublime reverse-stick finish into the bottom corner to make it 1–0. With keeper, Steph Boyd, rarely troubled, the 1-0 half-time score-line did not do justice to the Islanders.

After skipper, Joe Arnold’s team talk, the Island maintained tempo, discipline and intensity, with their efforts rewarded when debutant, Seb Foster, started a move with a series of incisive passes down the right flank. This was followed by a clever dummy from Finn Woodford in the D, wrong-footing the defence and allowing Cian Smallwood-Butler to slot home calmly at the back post to double the lead. The visitors never gave up, and Basingstoke’s attack capitalised on a rare defensive error to score a consolation goal.

Island Men’s 2nd XI narrowly lost 2-1 away at New Forest. Carl Joyce, Tom Young, Steve Holbrook, and Nathan Phillips dominated midfield exchanges, setting up opportunities for Kensei Parker, Rupert King and John Pearson upfront, with Young giving the Islanders a 1-0 lead at the break. The second half started with New Forest striving for an equaliser, but the Island defence held firm with a man-of-the-match performance from Will Dall-Whittle on his debut at right back, supported by Toby Noyes and Arthur White. They backed up with some great saves from an outstanding Alexa Jennings, another debutant for the men’s team. However, defensive errors allowed New Forest back into the match and they scored twice to win, leaving the Islanders disappointed in defeat.

With storm Amy, and an early start, IW Ladies 2nd XI will be delighted with a 1-1 away draw at Haslemere, with the sides evenly matched despite going a goal down. The Islanders merited a point, with Alice Aldridge-Snell scoring the equaliser, and player-of-the-match, Martha Eggleton, putting in an inspiring all round performance.

The U-14 girls’ side lost 8-1 away at Winchester, with some positive performances from a side that has versatility and determination.