In isolation this was a very creditable result on the road against play-off hopefuls Raynes Park Vale, but the bigger picture is that the Green Lions are still six points from safety in Isthmian South Central having now played the same number of games as all the teams around them with just five matches to go in their campaign. Their far inferior goal difference virtually makes that gap seven points.
However, their latest performance showed that they are not giving up without a fight as they took the lead in an end-to-end contest and stood firm when coming under pressure deep into nine minutes of injury time.
After a delayed start, the match began in the same vein as it was to go on with neither side having prolonged periods of pressure.
The visitors created the more notable chances in the first quarter-of-an-hour with Dan O'Donovan nearly spilling Brandon Wallace's effort into Sam Murray's path, but the home goalkeeper was able to dive on the ball before the striker could get his toe to it, and then centre-back Jerry Puemo showed a good turn of foot to dispossess Ross Allen just as he was lining up a shot.
Seb Sheppard was then called into action twice in the space of four minutes at the other end, tipping Michael Elechi's curler over the bar before getting down quickly to block a well-struck attempt from Tobi Joseph.
Vale's best move of the half ended with Trevan Robinson unable to keep his header down at full stretch from Joseph's cross, but GFC responded well with Charlton Gauvain warming O'Donovan's hands from distance before the keeper just beat Murray to Jacques Cauvin's right-wing cross at the near post.
The deadlock was broken on 35min.
Unsurprisingly it was Allen who scored it, once again from the penalty spot, but it was a well-worked move that earned him that chance with Murray holding up the ball well and then finding Cauvin's run with a clever back-heel. As the wing-back burst into the box, he was tugged back for one of the more straightforward decisions the referee had to make.
GFC held that lead until half-time and there would be little between the sides after the break, too, though clear-cut chances were at a premium.
The best fell to Vale just after the hour mark and Robinson made no mistake, showing his desire to reach a dangerous cross from the left and turn it in from inside the six-yard box.
In the final quarter of the game, Ben Solway made an important intervention to poke the ball away from a crowded penalty area to keep the scores level and GFC nearly snatched a second goal of their own 10 minutes from time, but Gauvain's wicked inswinging free-kick just evaded Matt Loaring's near-post run and ended up in O'Donovan's hands.
GFC are back on the road on Saturday when they face already-relegated bottom side Badshot Lea.
Teams
Raynes Park Vale: O'Donovan, Diallo (Richards 92), Puemo, Cook, Cox, Figueira (Samuels 68), Splatt, Lawson (Green 68), Elechi, Joseph (Bailey-Allen 68), Robinson.
Guernsey FC: Sheppard, Cauvin, Solway, Fallaize, Dodds, Wallace (Maginnis 75), Loaring, Du Port (Ward 93), Gauvain (Vance 83), Allen, Murray (Arnold 75).
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