In the most extraordinary game of the season, which went from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again on multiple occasions, the Green Lions found themselves 5-1 down to the ‘Musselmen’ after 40 minutes back in October before eventually prevailing 7-6.
GFC manager Vance watched the live stream of that game in a St Malo hotel and with the benefit of hindsight he can laugh about that experience now, even if he did come close to throwing his laptop across the room at the time.
‘I think people have worked out that we’re playing very expansively this year and that we’re going for it,’ he said.
‘We have scored 83 and conceded 47 so far, so you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out our style of play, which is entertaining, but I think even I draw the line at 7-6 and the situation we found ourselves in that night.
‘In saying that, you’ve also got to give huge credit and gain optimism from the fact that we could get back and win the game from that position as long as we dotted the Is and crossed the Ts of what we were doing – and luckily my laptop survived.
‘It was probably better I was not there on the night, but you are still invested in it and it was frustrating and shocking at times, but ultimately it is one to talk about and it got some traction at the time, so from a profile point of view it probably did us some good.’
That game was the sixth in a run of 20 consecutive defeats for Shoreham in all competitions and they sit bottom of the table.
However, they have changed manager since they last played GFC and have recently turned a corner with a draw against Midhurst & Easebourne followed by a convincing victory on the road over Seaford Town a week ago.
‘A 4-1 win at Seaford tells its own story – that is why you have to respect any team and Shoreham are fighting for their lives,’ Vance said.
‘We will not be going into this game underestimating them at all. We need to play our game but also be focused on them.’
Josh Addison will serve his suspension from his red card against Steyning Town today so Seb Sheppard returns in goal while GFC are also without young defender Gil Hunter, who is away on a school trip, and the work-tied Ben Solway.
GFC against Shoreham kicks off at 2pm today at Victoria Park.
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