Green Lions aim to be ‘spoilers’ on the road
THEIR two ‘big hitters’ might be missing for today’s trip to Thatcham Town, but manager Tony Vance believes his Green Lions have what it takes to come back with the three points.
Although Charlton Gauvain has completed his suspension, he is away this weekend and will miss this afternoon’s match, as will Ross Allen, who has not yet returned to full training with the Guernsey FC squad due to his GFA academy commitments.
Niall Hainsworth is also unavailable after being included in a match-day squad for the first time a week ago, but Kieran Mahon and Brandon Wallace are back in the ranks as 19th-placed GFC take on their 16th-placed hosts.
‘I’m really happy with the squad and really enjoying the way we are playing,’ said Vance.
‘It is a far nicer brand of football than we were playing this time last year and we’re certainly scoring more goals, so we are not a million miles away.
‘We have been unfortunate with a couple of our results, which was not by our own doing, so our motivation is not dropping – it is far superior to where we were last year because we know we’re going the right way about it. We just need to get a couple of wins, but we know football at this level can be cruel and we have had a few harsh realities so far.’
Vance added that GFC’s next two games being on the road in quick succession, with today’s game followed by a trip to Chipstead on Tuesday, may prove beneficial to his side.
‘We have had the luxury of being at home for a couple of weeks, but we have had some challenges and being the home side does bring the pressure of wanting to take the game to the opposition,’ he said.
‘We have got a couple of difficult encounters coming up, but being the away team means we can be the spoilers rather than having that added home pressure.
‘We are not at full-tilt in terms of numbers, not having our big-hitters in Charlton and Ross, but the youngsters are doing really well. I’m enjoying having them around. The group has a refreshing feel to it, it is tight-knit and we now have consistency. Unlike this time last year, those who are playing are also training, so we can get some relevance in terms of our preparation.
‘Typically, I see Thatcham have signed three players in the last week, but they are a team who are around us, so it is a winnable game. This league is so tight, there is not much between teams in the bottom third and those in the top third to be fair.’
Guernsey FC squad: Josh Addison, Dave Rihoy, Joe Alvarez, Tom Vaudin, Dave Merris, Seb Vance, Kieran Mahon, Owen Wallbridge, Jack Griffin, Keene Domaille, Brandon Wallace, Ryan-Zico Black, Matt Loaring, Sam Murray.