Balancing act for coach as Raiders target five points

Having inflicted a first defeat of the season on London & South-East Premier leaders Wimbledon last week to close the gap at the top to just two points, Guernsey host bottom-placed Guildford at Footes Lane tomorrow in their final home game of 2019.

But despite having momentum on their side against an outfit who have registered just one win from 12 outings so far this campaign, Raiders coach Jordan Reynolds emphasised the importance of focusing on the job in hand.

‘A lot of people outside of our group have measured us on the win against Wimbledon, but we consider ourselves measured on the games straight after because you can win a big game like the one at Wimbledon and it can be very difficult to get up for the next one – but we have to,’ he said.

‘It is important we have the mindset that, yes, we beat Wimbledon, but we have a huge test ahead against a side who ran Rochford very close, pushed Hertford close last week and they are desperate to avoid relegation.

‘From our own experiences in National Two last season when we were down at the bottom, we won eight games purely out of desperation from the situation we were in, so we have to be very respectful of Guildford on Saturday.

‘They do perform well and they have got a very strong set-piece and in these conditions when it is going to be very wet, we know the set-piece is going to be crucial.’

Reynolds has delayed naming his match-day squad while he weighs up a number of options.

Although Doug Horrocks will miss the next three games – ‘on a much-needed break’ said his coach – Robin Le Cocq should be back, while fly-half Owen Thomas is also likely to be available.

‘We are in the opposite dilemma to last week. Whereas we were sort of on the bare bones going to Wimbledon, from a pack point of view we have a lot of forwards to decide upon this week.

‘The decisions we need to look at are: are we trying to rest a player, do we want to give some players game time and so on, but also we want to give Guildford as much respect as possible.

‘That was a tough game last week and some of the guys have been playing week in, week out so they need a rest. Also, we do need to rotate guys in because the last thing we want is to have a game – say against Hertford or Rochford at the start of January – and we are then calling on someone who has been six or seven weeks without playing.

‘There is huge value in getting guys back on the park who have been out for the last few weeks.

‘It’s all about how we get that balance and, of course, we want to keep up as much pressure as possible. Getting a win this week is vital, but also the bonus point is huge, too, because we have to consider that Wimbledon and Rochford will get theirs and we do not want to slip from where we are.’

Raiders v. Guildford kicks off at 2pm on Saturday at Footes Lane.