Addison the hero as North battle through to quarters
NORTH rode their luck and were extremely thankful to their keeper Josh Addison as they edgily won their way through to the quarter-finals of the Guernsey FA Cup.
From virtually the first minute to the last of their 3-1 victory on the KGV 3G the keeper performed at a different level to anyone else and as plucky St Ouen headed back to the sister isle they can justifiably claim to have been beaten by one man.
Addison was simply outstanding.
St Ouen arrived sitting second in Jersey’s Jackson Premiership and the fact they are one place ahead of mighty St Paul’s tells you much about their quality.
The visitors were sharp and energetic, North sharp of mind too, unlike their Jeremie Cup tie against St Peter back in September when they dozed in the sun and deservedly went out.
Aside of the tight confines, conditions were perfect with no wind inside the cage and within two minutes St Ouen’s Dane McCormick was forcing Josh Addison into a fingertip save with a crisp snap shot from 18 yards.
At the other end the returning Scott Bougourd was on the end of a well worked move, but from a tight angle he had little chance of beating the keeper.
Addison was soon forced into a second smart save from a goalbound glancing header and North were marginally second best for much of the opening stages, but on 12min. they won a throw 10m down the line from the corner flag and from Joe Alvarez’s launch Sam Murray forced the ball home.
It was almost 2-0 a couple of minutes later as full back Calum Huckerby’s desperate intervention slid inches wide of his own goal.
St Ouen looked better going forward than coping with Murray and Dom Pougeolle’s stinging, swerving drive proved too hot for Addison to handle cleanly.
Right sided midfielder Stewart Daynes looked a very tidy player for St Ouen who kept pressing and were holding their heads in frustration again as Pougeolle’s rasping left foot shot was kept out by an excellent Addison, already staking an early claim for man of the match.
Pougeolle was a lively presence for the visitors throughout a generally even first period where the tackling was unsurprisingly robust and the regular querying of Neil Jarvis’s decisions an irritation.
The St Ouen winger fired a good chance well over and left back Martyn Sansom surged upfield to fire narrowly wide of Addison’s goal.
The St Ouen right back, Huckerby, went just as close and the half ended with the reds well on top and North hanging on.
Before halftime Jose Alvarez was making use of the rolling subs rule and introducing Danny Hale for Ben Bullock, but the sub was soon feeling his problem hamstring as the result of an early touchline burst.
He was still out there, though, as the second half got going with Addison again coming to North’s rescue, falling to his left to deny Jake Prince’s fairly weak finish.
Yet, it was North who doubled their lead on 55min, Scott Bougourd rifling home a penalty that must have felt like a dagger in the St Ouen’s collective heart.
Selby Breaton might easily have finished St Ouen off, but arriving at the far post and with the goal gaping, he miscued his close range effort.
Murray, put in by Hale, also had a good chance of wrapping up the tie but keeper Luke Duncan denied him and a minute later twinkle toes Daynes fired past Addison from 10 yards to give his side a lifeline.
Daynes then set up Sansom for a header which he should have put on target instead of over - a big let off for North. It proved a very costly miss because a minute later Hale finished clinically with a low cross shot into the far corner.
Addison repelled Elliott Hughes' effort with great near post save and from the corner Nobes was denied by a stunning parry from the man in yellow.
