GFC go toe-to-toe with title contenders
TRUE to form Ross Allen marked his 300th Guernsey FC appearance with a goal yesterday, but title-chasing Basingstoke Town took all three points from Footes Lane.
The Green Lions went toe-to-toe with the second-placed side in Isthmian South Central and twice came from behind to level the game, but a wonderfully-executed third from Paul Hodges was enough to give the ’Stoke a 3-2 victory despite coming under late pressure from GFC.
‘We had them rattled at the end. They were in a winning position, but they couldn’t relax. We huffed and puffed and possibly deserved a draw out of it,’ said Tony Vance, who felt his side had a couple of key decisions go against them in their last home game of the campaign.
But he can definitely take plenty of positives out of GFC’s display against a side who had hammered them 8-0 earlier in the season.
After D’Andre Brown had given Basingstoke a fourth-minute lead, the hosts hit back through a close-range Sam Murray header.
Bradley Wilson restored the visitors’ lead before the interval but Allen equalised with his 284th goal for the club on 63min.
However, a clever dinked pass from Wilson and a delightful first-time looping volley finish from Hodges six minutes later proved decisive.
‘All in all, we’ve just played two teams who have pretty much run riot in this division, battered us when we were weak, and we have gone up against them in two different types of performances, which shows that we’ve got the resources and the assets to compete,’ said Vance of yesterday’s display and that of the goalless draw against leaders Walton & Hersham on Easter weekend.
‘These two are running away with the league and here we are having a go at them and they are nervous about us.’
GFC are away tomorrow night at Hanworth Villa.
