Hockey's men happy to shock

A VISIT to Rovers invariably equals wind equals potential shock. For all 29 years of their Priaulx League existence, the blue-and-whites have been laying out the banana skins at their exposed Port Soif ground.

Only a fortnight ago, title-chasing St Martin's arrived, beaten just once in the league.

Ninety minutes later, unable to cope with the elements and the zippy, low passing of Graham Hockey's men, Saints trudged off beaten 4-3, a scoreline that flattered them.

Tomorrow, Sylvans are the visitors and having already been trounced once by Rovers this season, 4-1 at St Peter's on the opening weekend, Trim Morgan's team should be wary. Their climb up the table and into the championship chase is once again under scrutiny.

At least Morgan's men won't have to come up against arguably the most under-rated defender in the island, the blues' skipper Keith Quertier.

He is away in Jersey, much to Hockey's chagrin.

Morgan's midfield will, though, come face to face with possibly the most improved player of the campaign to date, the powerful Matt Drillot.

Hockey, now into his third full season in charge at the club he both played at first-team level for and then coached the Railway, speaks enthusiastically about both Quertier and Drillot.

'He reads the game so well and controls the back four. We are going to miss him big-time,' referring to his absence from the Sylvans match and his impending world travels with another emerging Rover, Jake Ellis.

'I think he should be in the island squad personally.'

But Hockey, as you might expect from a coach, thinks highly of all his players and says Quertier is not the only blue deserving of a call-up by Steve Ogier.

'I think we've got three players work a look.'

George Prow and Drillot are the other two.

The coach once had a frosty relationship with the latter, but since his return from a drug ban, the player has repaid the man who did so much to get his three-year suspension lifted on appeal after just one season.

'Matt Drillot's energy is amazing.

'When he came back he was chomping at the bit to play. He really drives us from midfield.'

Already it is turning out to be a relatively successful campaign for Rovers.

Sylvans, Vale and St Martin's have all been turned over and they reached the final of the Le Vallee and are into the last four of the Collins Cup.

Hockey believes the club is on the up, although he is not daft enough to expect progress to be anything other than slow.

But at least the club is attracting players instead of regularly losing them.

This campaign has seen Simon Tostevin, Steve Ewins and Matt Seeds arrive from North and Nick Rothwell finally granted a transfer from Saints.

The team have scored more goals than in the whole of the 2002-03 campaign. Spirit in the camp is excellent.

Whether they are good enough to end Sylvans' run of three wins and a draw from their last four league games, remains to be seen.

Tomorrow's Port Soif clash kicks off at 2pm, half-an-hour ahead of the meeting between Vale Rec and St Martin's at the Corbet Field.

Ray Blondel's men have already lost twice to Saints this season, including the 1-0 defeat at the Corbet in September.