Alvarez praises side for positive reaction

The chocolate-and-blues recovered from going a goal down in extra-time to see off Vale Rec 2-1, as youngsters Archie Drillot and Owen Wallbridge both got on the scoresheet to help their side advance in the competition after Jacob Masterton-Pipet had given Rec the lead

‘It was a very hard game, they were very well set-up and gave us a really good test,’ said Alvarez.

‘They were extremely dangerous, especially on the counter attack, so we are really pleased to come away with the result.

‘I am delighted at the way the lads dealt with the conditions, because the pitch got cut up quickly and it made it tough to play football.

‘I was impressed with how Rec set up – Seb Skillen was excellent for them and it is really nice to see him playing again.

‘We made a mistake and conceded, but the way we reacted after that was excellent.

‘There were a lot of tired legs and tired minds out there, but the boys dug deep to turn it around.’

Vale Rec’s coach Mark Romeril said: ‘We are very frustrated – I felt like we did enough to win the game.

‘We had a lot of defending to do but I thought we created the better chances.

‘Ultimately our finishing and final ball cost us, but on the flip side we came into the game needing to turn around that 7-0 deficit from last time we played North and we definitely did that.’

Rec also lost their talisman Louis Travis to injury during the FA Cup clash and Romeril confirmed that the forward has broken his arm.

‘He will be going to the fracture clinic in the next few days, and with some luck hopefully he will not need an operation.

‘The suggestion is that it will take about six or seven weeks to heal if he does not need an operation, so hopefully he will be back for us come January.

‘I am guessing a little bit in terms of his recovery schedule, but I do not think he will play again in 2022.

‘He is going to be a massive loss for us with the six or seven games we have coming up in the next month-and-a-half – he is a major part of what we do.

‘Glenn Le Tissier is also out for the next month, so we are picking up some damage in this busy period of games.’

Both Grand Fort Road teams are in Priaulx League action this weekend, as North host Alderney and Rec play away at Rangers.

‘There are a couple missing for us but we should all be well up for it,’ said Romeril.

‘We rotated a little bit against North so the lads should be OK – it is really helpful having a bigger squad so it is time for some others to step up to the plate now.’

North come into their fixture against Alderney off the back of three league wins in a row, but their head coach says that they’ll have to be at their best to get three points this weekend.

‘We will probably be making quite a few changes this weekend as there will be a lot of tired lads in the groups, but it is all about keeping the standards high because we need to play well to get the win.

‘Alderney always give us a tough game, the XI who come out for them will give everything like they always do.’

In the other Priaulx fixture this weekend, Kevin Gillease’s Rovers take on Sylvans as the Port Soif side look to stay at the summit of the league table.

Rovers remain the only side in Guernsey’s top flight to have not lost a game and their opponents have won just once in six attempts so far in 2022-23.

n North v Alderney kicks off at 1.45pm tomorrow, while the Rangers v Vale Rec and Rovers v Sylvans fixtures get under way at 2pm at KGV and Port Soif respectively.