And so, ahead of several of these top juniors joining their senior counterparts at the Home Countries Championships in Dublin from tomorrow onwards, there were certainly positives to be taken despite Jersey’s general dominance at the GTTA Centre.
Caesareans filled the top four positions through Callum Allaway, Theo de Poerck, John Le Fondre and Oscar Karwowski after a combination of the same-island round and Sunday’s showdown between the Greens and Reds.
Guernsey’s Oskar Cleal and Barney Groves took the next two positions, having been the top qualifiers at the local round in late September.
And at just 12 years old, Luke Evans finished a very creditable seventh.
Micah Cohen (ninth), Xavier Ingrouille (11th) and Ollie Sparkes (12th) completed the Guernsey placings.
‘Our team are a little bit younger, a little bit more inexperienced, but I think they really did show their quality,’ said Alex Robinson from Guernsey’s coaching team.
‘They are up against a really tough Jersey side who were on top of them from the very outset.
‘We had some great results – Barney picking up a couple, Oskar picking up some tough wins as well – so I think they really did play well and everyone showed some of their best table tennis, but in the end Jersey seemed to be a better outfit today and sadly so that was the way it went.’
Previous junior stand-out Robinson, who has recently returned to the island and is Elizabeth College's head of outdoor adventurous activities, joined fellow stars Josh and Lawrence Stacey in stepping forward to boost the Guernsey youngsters’ coaching.
‘We came in with the right attitude,’ he added.
‘It looked a bit shaky at the beginning of the week and there was a lot of doubt, but we had a quick chat, a quick catch-up with the guys and I think they changed their attitude, turned it round, and really gave it their all out there.’
After intriguing qualification events, four players had entered as joint-leaders with five wins out of a possible six.
With six matches to be played on the day, each against players from the other island, it was hard to predict a winner.
The first round proved how competitive it would be.
After Guernsey’s top qualifier Groves stormed into a 2-0 lead against Jonty Porter, the young Caesarean battled back well in the next two sets, though Groves was unlucky as various net cords and mis-hit winners went his opponent’s way at crucial times, including at match point in game four.
Porter showed good composure to win the decisive fifth set to deliver the first upset of the morning.
On the next table, Cleal started strongly to overcome Kevan Moreira in five sets, with his cross-court backhands firing particularly well.
Groves recomposed himself to also defeat Moreira, plus the dangerous Karwowski, while Cleal claimed an excellent win over experienced 18-year-old Le Fondre.
Ultimately Jersey’s top two of Allaway and De Poerck were too strong on the day, and though Groves took a set end from each, a combination of strong serving and positive stroke play ensured they finished top and on equal points.
Other highlights for the Sarnians include strong wins for Cohen and Sparks over Moreira, while Evans showed some sparkling attacking play against familiar age-group rival Porter in a 3-1 victory.
Jersey’s overall dominance was far from unprecedented – they had in fact taken five of the top six spots last year.
‘We’re really pleased overall,’ Jersey coach Luc Miller said.
‘To get all three of the top three places is always an impressive performance, and to get fourth place as well, it’s positive.
‘It’s always good for them to play against different people.
‘We always enjoy a bit of healthy inter-island rivalry, but I think everyone managed the expectations and the pressure today quite well.’
The coaches also welcomed the competitive opportunity ahead of re-igniting their inter-island rivalries in Ireland, for which Robinson feels this was ‘really good prep’.
‘Naturally, when we go to these sort of tournaments, Jersey are often our closest competitors,’ he said.
‘For those juniors who are going along to that, I think the experience they’ve gained today will probably be invaluable.
‘We’ll be able to take that forward and maybe get a different result over in Dublin but again, even if they come up against stronger competition, this was quite a good insight for what it will be like over there. Hopefully they’ll come back with some good results.’
Unfortunately, recent Senior Group Tournament winner Groves will miss the Home Countries (AKA Home Nations) trip due to exam commitments.
But at a senior level, Guernsey will be spearheaded by Garry Dodd, who claimed his 11th Channel Islands Championships singles crown in the spring.
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