Saturday 4th January 2025
Venue: M.A. Hart Stadium
Attendance: 210
New Milton Town began 2025 in emphatic fashion with a commanding 4-0 victory over Cove, pulling five points clear at the top of the Wessex League Division One table.
While much of the league faced postponements due to adverse weather, the Brickmakers seized the opportunity to solidify their position as league leaders against an 11th-placed Cove side searching for form.
Under fortuitous circumstances, the game’s opening goal came just eight minutes in. Barney Stone’s speculative cross-turned-shot took a deflection off Cove defender Josh Southwood, leaving goalkeeper Dease Kerrison wrong-footed as the ball bobbled over the line.
Initially marked as an own goal, the goal was later credited to Stone.
New Milton maintained control throughout the first half, consistently threatening the Cove defence. Stone came close on two more occasions, while Harry McGrath’s low effort was well saved by Kerrison. Brad Snelling also grazed the crossbar with a header following a deep free-kick sent into the box by Billy Maybury.
Cove, however, were not without their moments. Their strategy of exploiting space behind New Milton’s defence occasionally bore fruit, but they lacked the cutting edge.
Their best chance came when Luke Dennison, returning to the team for the first time since August, made a crucial save, turning a tight-angle shot onto the post. Much to Cove’s frustration, a goal kick was awarded rather than a corner.
The second half began with both teams searching for a decisive second goal. Cove had a golden chance to equalise, but it was New Milton who capitalised when Harry McGrath doubled the lead. McGrath’s close-range finish came after excellent work from Noel McCarthy-Gardiner, whose low cross was perfectly placed.
Louis Moore, making his final appearance for the Brickmakers before travelling abroad, made an immediate impact after replacing Ben Beard. Just six minutes after coming on, Moore delivered a pinpoint left-footed free kick that found Brad Snelling, who headed home to extend his remarkable scoring streak to five games, with nine goals in that span.
The final blow came from substitute Heath Thornton, who took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Kerrison to walk the ball into an empty net just two minutes after coming on.
This crucial win sets up a tantalising clash next Saturday as New Milton Town face second-placed opposition Frimley Green in what promises to be the biggest game of the season so far. With momentum firmly on their side, the Brickmakers will look to further cement their place at the Wessex League Division One summit.
Matt Maybury said the following on yesterday's victory.
"Fair play to Cove. They had a right to go at us, and I thought they were a really good side. They’ll probably feel hard done by with the score line, but we took our chances when it mattered and managed to keep another clean sheet.
When you’ve got the firepower we have, if we’re solid defensively, then we always fancy ourselves to score goals. It was a good win for us, especially with all the postponements in the league, and we go again on the training ground in the week and prepare for a tough test at Frimley next week."
New Milton Town: Luke Dennison, Jack Kinge-Phillips, Elliott Pearce-Eavis, Billy Maybury, Ben Beard, Toby Colmer, Jack Broad, Noel McCarthy-Gardiner, Barney Stone, Harry McGrath and Brad Snelling
Substitutes Used: Cam Smith, Louis Moore, Heath Thornton, Jack Foden
Goals: Stone 8, McGrath 73, Snelling 81, Thornton 86
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