Two-horse title race as Sylvans suffer defeat
AND then there were two.
Sylvans’ brave and totally unexpected title bid, built on an unbeaten league run stretching back to the end of August, ended in the drizzle of a grey afternoon at the Track on Saturday afternoon, Manzur inflicting a 4-1 defeat on the westerners.
The loss, a first in 16 matches, came the day after St Martin’s had strengthened their position, holding off a spirited Belgraves to win 2-0 under the Blanche Pierre Lane floodlights.
Bels were good value for the 0-0 half-time stalemate but conceded soon after the break and Saints dominated the second half.
And having seen his side close to within a point of Rovers for 20 hours or so, coach Leon Meakin revealed he had been less than pleased with their first-half performance.
‘They had a bit of a rocket at half-time. We were too comfortable in the first half and played at Bels’ pace a little bit,’ he said.
‘We were probably a bit too nervous about losing the game, but we said at half-time “look we’d rather die trying”.
‘We wanted to be on the front foot a little bit more and we felt we invited them in a bit too much.
‘We came out firing in the second half and I thought they were great in the second half. Danny Hale stepped up, Eti [Le Prevost], Louis [Hunter], it was fantastic.’
The following afternoon Meakin’s eyebrows would have lifted when hearing old Sylvans’ struggles along with a potential shock at Port Soif.
From three goals down, Rangers had battled back to 3-3 against the league leaders.
In the end Rovers’ added class shone through and they were to romp home 9-3.
Kevin Gillease, the Rovers coach said his side did not deserve their 4-3 interval lead.
‘There were a few home truths told at half time to be honest,’ he said.
‘I wasn’t happy at all, livid. It just wasn’t us.’
The leaders were a different side after the break and with Fin Whitmore hitting a hat-trick in his final game before heading back to university, Rangers were picked apart.
At the Corbet Field, Vale Rec won for the second time in 72 hours, this time seeing off Alderney 3-1 with goals from Rory Moriarty, Glenn Le Tissier and Charlie Tostevin.
Match reports in today’s Guernsey Press.
