EVER since football restarted as the third lockdown restriction eased last season, Whitecroft and Barton Sports have simply been unstoppable — racking up an astonishing 31 league wins on the bounce.

They made it 30 three weeks ago when they hamemred Sandown and Lake 5-0 and dramatically kept the run going when beat Cowes Sports Reserves 2-1 a fortnight ago with a Matt Evans injury time winner — a goal treated like a final cup win by the players.

After taking Southampton side BTC 10-1 away in the Hampshire Intermediate Cup last Saturday, they take on a decent Bembridge side at Steyne Park this afternoon (Saturday) aiming to keep their run going against a side lying in third after the club's best start in many years.

When football resumed, W&B won 19 league games in-a-row (three of them handed to them as a 3-0 walkover without playing) to march to their sixth consecutive title under boss, Steve Rayner. 

Had Ventnor not dropped out as the season resumed, they would added their 9-0 win over them early that season.

Isle of Wight County Press: Tearful Steve Rayner after his final match in charge at W&B last season. FILETearful Steve Rayner after his final match in charge at W&B last season. FILE

Steve bade a tearful farewell to football management, on a high, at the end of last season.

His son Joe, with keeper, Gareth True, now co-manage the side.

They have been linchpins in the W&B side throughout the first team’s successful rise from Division 2, and going on to win six Division 1 titles thereafter. 

Along with coach, Paul O’Connor, W&B remain a formidable force — going top of Division 1 with their 12th win this season after Shanklin surprisingly dropped points at Vectis.

Isle of Wight County Press: Matt Evans in action for W&B. FILEMatt Evans in action for W&B. FILE

Unless you have a perfect record to match or can outdo whatever W&B can do, it’s going to be a thankless task trying to prize the title from their vice-like grip for a seventh time.

Should W&B do it, they will equal West Wight’s famous seven-in-a-row success, which many thought at the time could never be done again. Who would be brave enought to bet against it?

At any other given time, Shanklin could have been at the top themselves and winning it with their excellent record the past two or three seasons.

But W&B have most of their opponents wondering how on earth do you stop them scoring and how do you breach the tightest of defences.

Isle of Wight County Press: W&B co-manager scoring a bullet header in their match against Sandown & Lake which they won 5-0 to claim a 30th Island League win on the trot. Photo: Mathew Wells W&B co-manager scoring a bullet header in their match against Sandown & Lake which they won 5-0 to claim a 30th Island League win on the trot. Photo: Mathew Wells

It’s no wonder with a record of scoring exactly 100 goals and conceding just seven in this great run.

In the league this season, they had kept 11 clean sheets before Saturday’s game and 15 with the four at the back-end of last season — surely a record in itself. 

Gareth said: “Everyone thinks we’re glory hunters, but really our success is about our spirit and togetherness — seven of us came up through the youth ranks together and in the same teams as kids — and we all have a huge passion to win.

“We are all friends at this club. The way we celebrated our injury time winner on Saturday said it all.

“I wasn’t even aware of we’d won quite so many in a row. Let’s hope we can keep the run going.”

Isle of Wight County Press: Josh Appell, who five five in the cup last weekend. FILEJosh Appell, who five five in the cup last weekend. FILE

Joe was delighted with the landmark.

“I don’t think it’s ever been done before. I doubt very much it has,” he said.

“It’s a great achievement and winning 12 in a row this season is brilliant, but unless we win the league this season, it won’t mean a lot to us — that’s how we think.

“Obviously, 19 wins in a row last season gave us the league. All we care about is winning trophies — not breaking records. That’s our mindset. That’s how we are.

“Me and Gareth have got that from being around my old man — the biggest winner you could ever meet. He’s drummed that into us.

Isle of Wight County Press:

“Records are something nice to look at when you’ve finished playing.

“We’ve been doing this for seven or eight years now and we still have the passion for it. We play to win. It has been bred into us.”

Steve Rayner, who now lives in Lymington, likes to go and watch W&B on occasions.

He said: “Thirty one wins is an incredible, wonderful achievement and shows, without doubt, the passion is still there to win. They’re doing extremely well.

“In all my years in Island football, I’ve never known it to be done. I think we’ll win the league and equal West Wight’s record.”