Muratti win 'a long time in the making' - U21 captain Vance
Guernsey U21s captain Seb Vance wants the ‘awesome’ and ‘unmatched’ feeling of lifting the Ambassadeur Bowl to spark more Sarnian Muratti wins this season.
After a difficult period in inter-insular football for the Greens, with a lot of talk within the domestic game about what can be changed to put things right, Sunday’s 2-1 victory at Footes Lane was a welcome boost for an age-group whose time to get one over the old enemy was running out and also something to build on for other Guernsey sides in the remainder of the season.
‘It’s probably my proudest moment in the Guernsey shirt,’ said skipper Vance.
‘For all of us, it’s been a long time in the making. It’s our first Muratti win for a lot of us.
‘Obviously, the U18s with Jordy [Kelly, coach] last season managed to get that get that win, but this was something special for all of us.
Listen to the full interview with Seb Vance on this week's Guernsey Press Football Podcast
‘Regardless of that, it’s a good start to the Muratti season as well. Hopefully, it sets a precedent for the rest of the Murattis to come.’
Vance admitted that while it is impossible not to hear the talk of Jersey’s recent Muratti dominance, it also gave his side added incentive.
‘As players, you’ve just got to go out and do your best to win the game,’ he said.
‘You hear that, yeah, and we haven’t won those Murattis. I suppose there is that extra drive you get to want to prove people wrong.
Watch highlights from Sunday's U21 Muratti at Footes Lane
‘But I think it’s also there is some credit there to Jersey. When they started the Bulls, they had their U21s, their U18s and that’s really developed their younger players. I think we saw that kind of success around 2011, 12, 13 when we had GFC for the first time and we went on a little flurry of games.
‘It will go in circles, but hopefully this is the start again of that winning mentality, like we’re saying and picking up some results from Murattis.’
He also reveals that a twist of fate allowed him to lead the side on Sunday because if his original plans had fallen into place, he would have been on the other side of the Atlantic playing US college football.
‘I was meant to go this year, funnily enough, but I had problems with my visa and ended up staying. I suppose in a way, thankfully I did because I’ve been able to make a bit more of an impact and won that U21 Muratti, which I probably wouldn’t have been able to come back to if I was in the States, because that’s the height of the season right now for them.’
