On Saturday, little more than 100m away from the spot of that wonder strike at the Track in which now Jersey manager Jack Cannon was one of the opponents Allen beat on his 70-yard run, fittingly he will lead his Island out for the first ever men’s Muratti at Victoria Park.
What he would give to be scoring the winner at Guernsey’s new home of football in front of what is expected to be in excess of 2,000 fans.
‘I actually watched that not long ago and, yeah, I couldn’t believe it was 12 years ago or whatever it is,’ said the now 38-year-old Allen.
‘I’ll take obviously some good vibes from across the road at the Track and hopefully bring that down here.
‘I don’t mind if it’s a one-yard tap in to get the victory. I had that moment in 2013, so to get another one down here would be pretty special.’
Guernsey need to overturn recent history to get their hands back on the Vase, which has not been lifted by a Sarnian since Craig Young did so at Footes Lane in 2017.
However, all of Jersey’s five successes since – with two years lost to the pandemic – have come via either the odd goal or a penalty shoot-out, so Allen is fully aware that just one moment of magic could swing it the home side’s way.
He emphasised that the spring form of the Green Lions and St Martin’s in inter-island competition bodes well for a reversal in fortunes for a squad made up largely of GFC regulars and five Saints.
‘Of all the ones [Murattis] I’ve played in, I’ve never played in a defeat with more than a goal difference, so it’s always going to be tight.
‘Those games we’ve lost, it’s usually heartbreaking, and the ones we’ve won have been close as well, so we know it’s going to be a battle,’ he said.
‘I think we’ve had some really positive momentum from GFC point of view and I know the other boys involved from local clubs have had positive seasons as well, so I think the momentum is really with us from the last couple of months.
‘If you go back six or seven weeks, maybe that wouldn’t have been the case, but despite relegation for GFC, I think everyone’s got a really positive attitude on the way we’ve been playing and what we can do and take into this big game.
‘So the confidence is high, which hasn’t always been the case, so I think that’s really exciting.
‘I’m super-confident, super-ready to get out there again, with a really, really enjoyable group of lads to play with, a young, eager group to go and learn and improve and perform on the big stage.’
As for the captaincy, while it is a new experience for Allen from a Muratti perspective, he has long been a leader for both the Island and Guernsey FC and he revealed it just adds to his motivation.
‘There’s probably been a few in the past where we obviously had more natural, vocal captains, but I think my role’s obviously changed over the years and that’s something that I’ve had to take on with the likes of Cockers [Sam Cochrane] and Doddie [Jamie Dodd] now not being involved, it naturally comes down to some of the experienced names in the team.
‘So I’m very honoured, very proud to be able to do it, especially the first one down here.
‘Aside from the game, that’ll be a really nice memory in my career.
‘But it’s going to give me an extra lift to help lead the boys and do everything I can and we can to to go out there and get the victory.’
Close Finance Muratti Vase final squads (Victoria Park, 3pm)
Guernsey
Ben Solway, Brandon Wallace, Charlton Gauvain, Callum Le Lacheur, Fin Du Port, George Mason, Jacob Fallaize, Jacques Cauvin, Josh Addison, Louis Hunter, Matt Loaring, Ross Allen, Sam Murray, Seb Sheppard, Seb Vance, Simon Arnold, Tom Dodds, Tom Vaudin.
Jersey
Harry Gladdish, Ewan Brodie, Sammy Sutcliffe, Fergus Boyle, Tom Goncalves, Jay Dos Santos, Jamie Mourant, Karl Hinds, Jonny Le Quesne, Joe Kilshaw, Adam Trotter, Connor Maher, Fraser Barlow, Kieran Lester, Francis Lekimamati, Luke Campbell, Callum Gilroy, Pierce Roche.
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