Venosa strikes twice as the holders progress

Leon Meakin’s men went into their first round tie as overwhelming favourites, but it took until the stroke of half-time for them to break through as a corner flicked on by Callum Le Lacheur led to an unfortunate own goal.

Le Lacheur then got one himself after half-time as he doubled the lead for the cup holders.

Young Steffan Timms netted in his side’s Priaulx opener on Friday night and he made it two in two for the season with an absolute screamer to peg back Saints and bring it back to 2-1, but Ally Venosa ensured that no upset was on the cards as he continued his fine scoring form against Rangers to make it 3-1 moments later.

Venosa was not finished there either, as he added a fourth to put St Martin’s out of sight and into the next round of the Jeremie Cup, before Rangers grabbed a second just before the full-time whistle.

Saints coach Meakin felt that the youngsters took their opportunity on the night.

‘We finished the game with four under-18 players on the pitch and I thought that Alex Roussel and Josh Duddy were excellent,’ he said.

‘It is all about the draw now. Everyone here is very evenly matched and every team will be confident no matter what.

‘The Jersey sides will also pose a different challenge if they can enter the competition at a later stage.’

Saints’ win on Tuesday was their second victory in four days after overcoming Rovers on Saturday and the head expressed his delight after his side’s super week.

‘I am pleased to win, it was a good result. I felt we should have scored more – we hit the woodwork multiple times and their keeper made some great saves.

‘Everybody played well and it was a good performance.

‘Between the two games everybody has managed to get a start, which is great.’

Meakin was also keen to sing the praises of Jacques Le Gallez, who put in a stellar performance.

‘I thought Jacques was excellent at right back. He gave us so much energy down that side.’

Rangers coach Rex Williams said that it was a tough evening for his side but there were lots of positives to take from the performance.

‘We worked really hard and we battled. We scored a couple of goals, which is good.

‘We’re still a couple of players light and we had to use a makeshift back four,’ he added.

Williams also spoke about the individual stars for his side on the night.

‘Steffan Timms was a standout. He always works really hard.

‘Brad Foss was also excellent. It was a team effort, but I think those two really stood out for us.’

The next Jeremie Cup ties are on Saturday when Vale Rec host Sylvans and Bels entertain North, both at 2pm.

At the same time, Rangers face Rovers in the FNB Priaulx League.