Newport IoW 5 Basingstoke Town 1

TOWN'S recent run of good form came to an abrupt end on the Isle of Wight on Tuesday as a determined Newport side hit five goals in the Hampshire Senior Cup.

Town were disrupted by injuries before the game as Steve Baker (toe) and Richard Newbery (bruised foot) joined Jason Bristow and Dominic Naylor on the side- lines.

However, manager Ernie Howe was making no excuses for his side's performance in a game where the team failed to raise their level of performance to the standard required.

He said: "They were up for this game and we weren't. It's as simple as that.

"The players knew what to expect before the game but, if you're not going to compete, then you will suffer in the end.

"We were second best on the night and, hopefully, this will be a kick up the backside for a few of the players and, hopefully, we can return to playing like we have done in recent weeks."

Basingstoke were left in the blocks during the early stages of this game and found themselves two goals down after 16 minutes.

The home side opened the scoring after five minutes when Rob Cook's clearance was charged down inside his own half and Adam Holbrook picked up the loose ball before spotting 'keeper Scott Tarr off his line and producing a perfect chip from 30 yards.

Newport doubled their lead with only the second opportunity of the game as they outnumbered the Town defence.

Steve Leigh exchanged passes with Steve Watt before skipping round Tarr and converting into an empty net. Tim Sills had two half-chances to reduce the lead midway through the half but his shot from distance, and a header from a Stuart Girdler cross, were both held by 'keeper Colin Matthews.

Cook was shown the yellow card for a foul eight minutes before the break and the tough-tackling midfielder can count himself lucky not to be shown a red card following a number of sloppy challenges.

On 41 minutes, the home side nearly put the game beyond Basingstoke but a brilliant double save by Tarr from substitute Ashley Wright and Dave Wilson kept Town in the game.

Tarr was called into action once more at the start of the second half when Chris Honor's misplaced header allowed Wright a clear run on goal, only to be foiled by the Basingstoke 'keeper.

Adie Mings had a glorious opportunity to cut the deficit on 50 minutes when Lee Chudy's left-wing cross fell to the unmarked striker six yards out but 'keeper Matthews just did enough to deflect the shot round his near post.

Another Chudy cross on 56 minutes did get its reward when defender Steve Riley was struck on the arm and Sean Gorman converted the resulting penalty-kick.

Just as the Town players appeared to have given themselves a fighting chance, they fell two goals behind once more as a long throw into the box by Newport was half-cleared and Wilson hit a first-time strike from 25 yards that gave Tarr no chance.

With just over quarter of an hour remaining, the home side grabbed their fourth as Town striker Gorman hit a misplaced pass that allowed Watt to release Wright and he coolly converted under Tarr's body.

Four minutes later Newport grabbed their final goal of the game when Holbrook's corner looped high in the air, allowing Riley to head home from close range as Tarr appeared to be impeded.

Basingstoke: Tarr 5, Honor 5, Forbes 5, T Sills 5, Wilkinson 5, Chudy 5, Girdler 5 (Tyers), Cook 5 (Hemmings), Mings 5 (J Sills), Gorman 5, Howes 6. STAR MAN: Glenn Howes Newport IOW: Matthews, Cole (Buckman), Rew, Riley, Price, Holbrook (Dodd), Leigh, Sperry, Watt, Quirke (Wright), Wilson.