Crick makes Saints pay for wastefulness at BPL

St Martin's 0, Jsy Scottish 2

TWO St Martin's teams turned up at Blanche Pierre Lane on Saturday in their Deloitte Jeremie Cup quarter-final with Jersey Scottish. In the first half they played like the early Priaulx League pacesetters: in the second they were all at sea and that led to their downfall when Scottish's Ross Crick scored twice after the break.

The reason for their dramatic change was their influential captain, Kevin Graham, being sidelined with a rib injury after the break along with his centre half partner, Sam Rowe.

Graham has received some rave reviews since he returned to the scene at the start of the season and the wheels came off for Saints when he was not on the pitch.

'All I can say is that for the first 20 minutes we looked like the side that played on Wednesday when we beat Rangers and for the last 20 we looked like the side that played last season,' said Saints boss Colin Fallaize.

'That describes it all. Second half we had to reshuffle due to the injuries and it gave us no options.

'They completely destroyed us. If we don't do the simple things, then that's what will happen.

'And a quality player scored two quality goals.'

After the initial 20-odd minutes, Saints might have been at least four goals ahead.

Adam Heaume had a golden opportunity when he did well to round Scottish keeper Ally Santos, bizarrely the smallest player in a big team, only to see his effort put behind by sliding defender Scott Devlin.

Saints forward Robert Pickford then had two great chances in quick succession. He missed with a turn and shot and then Santos put his close-range effort over the bar.

Heaume again had his head in his hands in anguish when a great ball from Will Thompson found him at the back post but he could not keep his header down.

The visitors did not have any real chances in a physical opening period that accounted for Rowe with a twisted ankle and Graham with that rib injury.

That soon changed after the interval as Scottish's star striker Crick showed why he is the most dangerous player in Jersey. Shortly after the restart he found the back of the net with a piece of magic.

He executed a delightful little turn on the edge of the box and then deftly chipped Nathan Pattimore.

Ten minutes later, he got the second, a trap and shot from wide of the goal that went in off the far post.

Not as good as his first, but still impressive.

The second half was all Scottish and they should have got a few more.

Saints, on the other hand, could not string together any meaningful play and without Graham looked rudderless.

'It was the old cliche of a game of two halves,' said Scottish's coach Pat Brennan.

'In the last 20 minutes of the first half, we came into it but St Martin's could have had it dead and buried by then.'