[8] The first match, played at the County Cricket Ground ended in a 2–2 draw, with St. Mary's taking the replay on 24 March by a 2–1 margin, thus winning their first trophy.
[8] In the summer of 1888, Ned Bromley moved to London to study dentistry and Carter was appointed team captain, a position he was to retain for the next six years.
which was initially rejected but this was overturned after an appeal from Cowes, who claimed that the linesman had stopped the ball with his flag while it was still in play.
The third replay, also at the County Ground, was a heated affair watched by a crowd estimated at 7,000 but St. Mary's won 4–1 to earn their place in the final.
[12] In the following season, St. Mary's entered the Hampshire Senior Cup for the first time and reached the final against the winners of the two previous years, the Royal Engineers based at Aldershot.
[12] In the final, played at the County Ground on 14 March 1891, the Saints took an early lead through Ernie Nicholls before "a rare slip" from Carter allowed the engineers to equalise.
Two second-half goals, from Frank Bromley and Bob Kiddle, saw St. Mary's claim the senior cup for the first time.
[14] With this he immediately sent a telegram of protest accompanied by the necessary fee of 2 guineas[16] to the Football Association claiming that the Saints had fielded illegally registered players in Fleming and McMillan.
The claim was upheld by the F.A., who found that the players had not been registered at least 28 days before the match, and as the Saints had not complied with the requirements of Rule 5 they were thus expelled from the competition.
[17] In March 1892, St. Mary's retained the Hampshire Senior Cup, with an easy 5–0 victory over a Medical Staff team.
[20] After the match, Carter protested to the referee that the foul had been committed outside the penalty area, saying that he could point out the exact spot where the offence occurred.
[2] With George Marshall now playing at right-back, St. Mary's reached the final of the Hampshire Senior Cup again in March 1894, but were defeated 1–0 by the Royal Engineers.
[21] Carter was unable to fully recover from his leg injury and he retired from playing football in May 1894, thus missing the club's first season in the Southern League.