Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance said at full-time that Eastbourne’s recent form had been something that he was wary of going into Saturday’s game, and that while it ended up being a comfortable win for his side, the visitors did cause some issues for them at Victoria Park.
‘I think they’re actually a good side and when we looked at the form guide, they’re top. I thought they caused us problems at times, but I think we contributed to that. I didn’t think we were sharp enough on the second ball, but then credit to them for that.
‘If you don’t win second balls and you lose the ball, you’ve got to be good in transition and I don’t think we were quite good enough in that sense. But in saying that, I can’t recall Josh having many shots to save, if any, so again, that’s a good reflection on the game.’
Vance’s side got off to a much brighter start than the visitors with an abundance of chances in the opening 10 minutes.
The goals came from Fin Patterson, substitute Will Fazakerley and Fin Du Port, as veteran defender Jamie Dodd made his 400th appearance for the club.
‘I thought the first 10 minutes I thought we were relentless, and we looked like we were going to really go for them, and then we got a bit sloppy and allowed them to relax and get back into it, and then it got a bit too tight.
‘There wasn’t much in the contest and we had to grind that result out in the end, so a good win,’ said Vance.
‘We had to be on it. We had to make sure that we did the ugly stuff, the basics. We know that if we can get our game right then we can beat anyone, and we can be really aggressive and relentless, and at times we’ve showed that.’
Vance praised young defender Gil Hunter for his performance on Saturday afternoon. The St Martin’s and Elizabeth College player is now building up his appearances as a regular presence for the Green Lions.
‘I think Gil Hunter again did really, really well. He’s a young lad coming into a different environment to what we get locally,’ he said.
‘To put it in perspective, Wednesday night I was here watching him play for Elizabeth College against our under-16s. This is a million miles different in terms of tempo and aggression, a million miles different from that game to this game, so that shows what he’s able and capable of doing, so, it’s good for him.’
GFC remain third in the SCFL Premier table with another home game to come this Saturday.
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