College boys aim to double their money

FA CUP fever has hit Elizabeth College in the build-up to their quarter-final tie against Belgraves on Saturday. Already guaranteed £200 as quarter-finalists, Mike Garnett's student side will double their money by causing the shock of the tournament.

'The boys cannot wait for the game on Saturday,' said Garnett, coach of a team which has yet to lose this term.

'Our season has gone from strength to strength.

'We have not lost a game yet and we have only had one draw from our six Channel Islands School League matches. In our last game we beat Hautlieu 3-0 and it was a fantastic display - Ross Allen was outstanding.

'Unfortunately, we have got David Knight out injured and that is a big loss for us in central defence, but we should have the rest of the squad available and they are still playing well.

'We train twice a week and play every Saturday and the team has really bonded well,' he added.

After knocking out The Bowl, Garnett knew in all probability that his charges would be facing a Priaulx outfit in the quarter-finals.

At the time, he hoped it might be Rangers as several of his players have links with the club, but he was still happy with the outcome.

'The draw could have been worse for us. I know they have got some players unavailable, but we are still underdogs in this competition and we have got nothing to lose,' he said.

'A notice has gone around the school about the game and we are hoping for a lot of supporters there once again, perhaps even more than we had against The Bowl,' Garnett added.

With the CI Schools title a distinct possibility, victory over Bels at the Track and a place in the semi-finals would be the icing on the cake.

Garnett admits that reaching the last eight of the cup was beyond his early expectations, but he and his squad are looking forward to facing the Stranger Cup winners and will provide them with tough opposition.

'I did not expect to get this far really. We entered the competition thinking we would get a couple of extra games, which would fit in okay with our programme. We did not expect to still be playing in it in December.'

After the disappointment of receiving a bye in the first round when AS Wings withdrew from the competition at the 11th hour, Elizabeth College announced their arrival in the competition belatedly with a superb 4-2

victory over Sunday League kings, The Bowl.

'We were quite chuffed about that. We played well but, as I said at the time, we can play better,' said Garnett.