Tender greens play to their strengths

Gore Court 2, Guernsey 4

NICK MAHY watched a display of maturity beyond his expectations on Sunday as Guernsey progressed to the next round of the HA Trophy. 'Before the match I was mindful that we had a very youthful side but the lads played with great passion and determination and the blend of youth and experience worked far better than I had expected,' said the island coach.

Guernsey played to their strengths - they protected the D very well and used the fast and direct front two of Rob Newton and Simon Beck to great effect.

Newton was firing on all cylinders and caused the Gore defence problems with his pace and movement.

It was thanks to him that, despite an early miss, Guernsey established a 2-0 half-time lead.

'I just did my job for the team and put the ball in the back of the net,' was Newton's modest assessment of his performance.

Gore Court pressed at every opportunity as they looked to make life difficult for the Sarnians, but that played into Guernsey's hands as their game plan was to defend deep and hit on the break.

Tristan Cairns, another player who raised his game on the day, used his powerful passing game to good effect and released the front two at every opportunity.

Early in the second half Cairns also scored a brilliant individual goal, beating four players before casually slotting the ball under the oncoming keeper.

Gore Court started to chase the game but the Guernsey defence coped with the pressure well, with the experienced Tony Veillard, Matt Elston and stand-in captain Aidy Peacegood showing good composure while 16-year-old Steve Eulenkamp settled well despite a nervous start.

However, the inspiring influence of goalkeeper Andy Good lifted the team on a number of occasions, with him pulling off some superb acrobatic saves to keep the Gore Court forwards at bay.

Shortly after the Cairns wonder-goal, experienced forward Beck pulled his hamstring and had to be replaced.

However, 17-year-old debutant, Daniel Wray, who was so nervous he forgot to bring his shorts with him, got stuck into hassling the Gore Court team and started to show the composure and speed of thought needed at this level.

The other two juniors, Jonny Clark and Jonny Taylor, both 16, also put in good performances.

Both looked very composed and solid in the middle of the park, with the latter winning a penalty stroke mid-way through the half with some fine individual skill.

Cairns slotted the ball home to make it 4-0.

With 15 minutes remaining, the Guernsey skipper was sent off for a rash challenge on the opposing forward.

Gore Court scored two quick goals to heap the pressure on Guernsey, but the team pulled together and Olly Richards, the engine of the team, put in a tireless performance in midfield.

'I don't think I've run that far before in my life,' he said afterwards.

Guernsey continued to defend with vigour but there was one more moment of controversy near the death as Gore Court found the net again.

Fortunately for Guernsey, the ball was struck from outside the circle and disallowed, much to the annoyance of the home team and their band of supporters.

Mahy, though, was delighted with the result.

'The senior players offered the experience and leadership and together with the enthusiasm and running of the young lads resulted in a fantastic victory,' he said.

The evergreen Veillard added: 'Players who are missing are going to have a difficult time getting back into the side.'

The Sarnians have a couple of months to prepare for the fourth round on 10 February.

They have been drawn away to Banbury, who play in the same league as Gore Court.