Greens stage remarkable fightback to earn a draw

Danny Vennard’s men staged a brilliant fightback yesterday morning as they won the concluding singles session of the Ravenscroft Inter-Insular 7-3 to halve the match 10-10 over a windy weekend at L’Ancresse, but Jersey flew home with the Challenge Trophy still in their possession as holders.

It was the red onslaught in Saturday afternoon’s fourballs rather than the wind that had blown the hosts off course, though, as Jersey whitewashed the session 5-0 to take the initiative overnight with a four-point cushion – an initiative that the Greens so very nearly snatched back in the most dramatic fashion little more than 12 hours later.

In the end, Jersey captain Darren Attwood was thankful to Matthew Parkman, who holed a clutch putt from 25ft on the 18th for a birdie two to edge out Nigel Vaudin and retain the trophy for the Reds in only the fourth singles match out, such was Guernsey’s dominance across the rest of the board.

‘I was thinking this can’t go wrong surely, then at one stage it got really nervy, but Parky just did what Parky can do and to hole across the green on 18 to retain the trophy was just unbelievable golf,' Attwood said.

Vennard reported that he was full of mixed emotions after the extraordinary outcome.

‘We are not picking up the trophy, which is the objective of the weekend, but we have to take a huge amount of pride from today, though. So I am proud but disappointed,’ said the Guernsey manager.

• Full report in Monday's Guernsey Press.