Island U18s hit Rec for six
HOPES of a Sarnian win in the Centenary Junior Muratti look promising on the evidence of the Island U18s’ 6-2 Stranger Cup demolition of Vale Rec at KGV on Saturday afternoon.
Even without Bristol-bound Ben Acey, the representative side proved far too good for a Rec team that was close to strength, although lacking GFC duo Glenn Le Tissier and Keanu Marsh.
At 4-0 the game was wrapped up by half time.
Keene Domaille fired the greens into a 10th minute lead and after Fin Duport had doubled their advantage on 23 minutes, Domaille got his second.
That was just before the half-hour mark and there was still time for Brandon Wallace to deliver a beauty of a fourth that flew in off a post from distance.
On 62min. Jamie Smith added a fifth via a tap-in, before Rec pulled two back via a Damian Larkin penalty and a second from the same player.
Sub Owen Wallbridge got a sixth for the youngsters on 84min.
The previous evening Rovers had scored once in each half to see off a hard-working Rangers side, lacking their prized U18 assets being saved for the GFA age-group side.
Rovers were depleted themselves with skipper Tobi Oluborode and top scorer Max Simpson-Cohen missing from the starting XI.
Rangers had two clear chances in the early stages and if Jose Camacho had converted either of them it may have been a different conclusion.
But the right-sided midfielder dragged the first chance well wide and belted the other way over.
Thereafter it was Rovers who created a stack of first-half chances and, on another day, George Clayton might easily have picked up a hat-trick.
Martin Savident, their most dangerous player, Niall Hainsworth and Dale Webb also went close before the blues went ahead in somewhat fortunate fashion.
On the byline Clayton clipped the ball towards the six-yard box to where he hoped a colleague might convert, and he will not have been displeased to see the ball rebound off centre-back Matt Solway and find its way in at the near post.
Rangers hung on desperately at times, and Brad Foss wastefully fired over before the break, after which Hainsworth sealed the points with a second after the interval.
