NINETEEN-year-old Adam Rogers has disproved the theory that Winchester City's prolific frontline partnership of Ian Mancey and Andy Forbes can't be broken.

The young gun from Chandler's Ford scored twice in Saturday's 5-0 Hampshire Senior Cup second round crushing of Cowes Sports to take his tally to five goals in two games.

Winchester have been looking round all season for extra firepower but, according to director of football David Malone, players are reluctant to move to the Denplan City Ground for fear of not getting in the team.

With the free-scoring Forbes already on 28 goals this season and big Mancey now firing again after a 42-day suspension, almost all the strikers City speak to fear they would be destined for a lifetime on the bench.

But Winchester's frontline is not a closed shop and Rogers has proved that the chance is there to break into the team for anyone who is good enough and brave enough to take it.

Malone admitted: "Some young lads I've spoken to seem to be frightened to come here because they think they're not going to get into the team and that they're not good enough. They're doing themselves a disservice by not giving it a go.

"Adam Rogers is an excellent prospect. He came through the youth system at Bashley and he's turning into a good little footballer."

Asked his opinion of the youngster, team boss Neil Hards smiled: "I drool about Adam Rogers. For a young kid he's a terrific prospect. When Ian was suspended he came in and played up front and got better and better with every game. The hat-trick he scored at Alton last week oozed class. The goals weren't just easy tap-ins, he had to work really hard for them. Adam is very much part of the long-term future of the club, as are other good youngsters like Kevin Brewster."

Having brought up his century of City goals against Bournemouth Poppies, Forbes was rested on the bench against Alton and was again named as substitute for Saturday's visit of Derek Ohren's young Island side.

Without him, City were unusually off-colour in the first half and it wasn't until the 42nd minute that they got their noses in front when Shaun Dyke's rich right-wing supply line fed big defender David Goss, whose stooping header was deflected into the net off Cowes' Darren Powell.

Forbes' arrival as a second-half replacement for Mancey breathed fresh life into the City frontline and it took the former Andover hot-shot just three minutes to make his mark, drilling home an angled shot from Matthew Bicknell's assist.

Rogers hooked in his first from a cross by veteran midfielder Gary Green and, on 61 minutes, the youngster did well to hold the ball up before Bicknell set up Lloyd Webber to sidefoot City's fourth.

In between, Rogers had been denied by Cowes 'keeper Gary Streeter as he chased onto substitute Danny Smith's through ball, but the youngster was in the right place at the right time on 85 minutes when he added the finishing touch to Forbes's goal-bound header.

Although Cowes capitulated in the second half, they had made life difficult for Hards's men for 45 minutes with Sam Hart keeping Dyke busy on the left and Powell forcing a smart save from reserve 'keeper Rob Mitchell, who had a solid first-team debut in place of Newport loan man Joe McCormack, who was not allowed to be cup-tied.

Cowes boss Derek Ohren said: "We were without our three first-choice centre-halves today - Michael Pointer, Andy Watson and Ollie Fleming - and I'd like to have seen how we'd have done if they'd been playing.

"We gave a good account of ourselves for 45 minutes. Our game plan was to try and frustrate them and we did that right until they scored just before half-time.

"Winchester are a very good side, but they should be for the amount of money they're paying. To be able to bring off Mancey at half-time and bring on Forbes says it all. But that's life! It's what we have to put up with week in, week out. We're never going to pay money at Cowes and all we can do is compete.

"But if we win at home to Bemerton tomorrow night, we could be breaking in among teams that do pay money which is a fair achievement for a team like ours with an average age of 20."