Ross maintaining a family tradition

A GUERNSEY footballing legacy could continue tomorrow if Ross Allen makes his senior Muratti final debut. The 20-year-old Rangers striker has been a hit since he returned from university in America earlier this season.

He earned his first senior cap against Alderney in March when he scored twice in the greens' 4-0 victory.

On the strength of that performance and with his strike partner of that day, Simon Tostevin, out injured and Neil Clegg suspended, the smart money is on Allen to start at Foote's Lane.

If he does, he will be following in the footsteps of his father Craig, great-uncle William 'Timmy' Allen and Barry Hill, his grandfather on his mother's side.

Craig has eight Muratti caps to his name while Timmy played in 1937, scoring twice in a thrilling 3-3 replay.

Midfielder Hill appeared four times for the island in a Muratti.

Also, his grandfather, Harold Allen, a Rangers stalwart, coached the island side from 1983-85.

So you could say football is in the young Allen's blood.

'Obviously with being brought up with both sides of the family being football orientated, it's always been my main sport,' he said.

'I guess I was born to follow in their footsteps.'

With all the hype and with Tostevin and Clegg out of the picture, Allen looks favourite to start up front with either Bels' Marc McGrath or, more likely, Ryan Tippett.

But Allen junior is not taking anything for granted.

'Obviously I'd love to start but I don't expect to go straight in after being away the whole season,' he said.

'It won't be fair to say that. Obviously my chances are better with Tostie being injured and Clegg being suspended, but hopefully I'll get on.'

While he is being cagey about his chances, his father is bullish that he will feature.

'He's always done quite well,' Craig said.

'He was put in the under-18s, so I imagined him playing in it at some point. It's great.

'I think he's kept his place, especially with the injuries.'

Craig and Harold will be among the predicted 3,000 crowd for the big match and the latter is hopeful that he will see his grandson in action.

'It would be nice if he did go on and follow in his father's footsteps,' he said.

'I'm pleased to see him do well. He's got pace, he's got skill and he looks fairly fit.'

For the first half of the season, Allen junior was on a football scholarship with fellow Sarnian Piers Ockleford at Florida Tech.

Playing in the NCAA Division Two Sunshine State Conference, Allen banged in a prolific 11 goals in their first 10 matches and he certainly looks an improved player since he has returned.

'It definitely helped me and if you look at Piers, he has improved so much,' he said.

'Just playing every day, it's like being at a professional club. You come back over here and it seems a lot easier.'

Craig also thinks that his son's time in the US has helped his game.

'It's quite a good standard he's been playing there. He's a bit taller and a lot stronger than he was.

'But it's just the standard of football is better than in Guernsey.'

Craig is one of the finest footballers to come out of the island.

The striker featured in five Muratti finals and three semi-finals, scoring 13 goals in the process.

He also spent time in the US playing professionally but he does not know if Ross feels any pressure to follow in his footsteps.

'You'd have to ask him that,' he said.

'He obviously gets nervous before games but he's looking forward to it. As he said to me, he likes the bigger matches.

'It won't be his only Muratti. I'm sure he'll have a few more, so it's not all or nothing.

'There's more pressure in the under-18 Murattis because you've got only one shot at it.'

The answer is that Allen junior feels no extra pressure because of who his father is.

'There's always pressure. Even in friendlies I get nervous,' he said.

'I'm a goal scorer and I always feel that I should score. Because it might be my first Muratti, it's no different

'I've always loved playing big games with the atmosphere and the crowd. I thrive on it and I love Murattis - they are like FA Cup finals.

'It's a lot about luck and once you've got that luck, the quality come through. Games like that are always going to be tight.

'You could be the best player in the world and not be able to make an impact because it's such a tight game.'