Guernsey U21 2
(Kelly, Du Port)
Jersey U21 5
(McColgan 2, Dunne 2, Yates)
Superstitious Sarnians will hope that playing a Muratti on Friday the 13th will be just a one-off.
Make no mistake about it, though, Jersey did not require luck to win the Ambassadeur Bowl at Victoria Park.
Although they twice had to come from behind, over the 90 minutes the Reds were the stronger side, mixing ability with physicality to impressive effect and running out deserving winners.
Guernsey gave their fans plenty to cheer in the first half, with captain Fin Du Port leading by excellent example which included a sublime free-kick to restore his side’s lead less than two minutes after they had been pegged back the first time, but once they fell behind after the interval the truth was that a comeback never looked realistic.
A disappointing night for the Greens also saw them finish the game with only 10 men as well, after Tom Solway was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident that left player-of-the-match Stan Dunne hobbling for a fair few minutes.
But it had all started relatively promisingly for the hosts.
Admittedly there was not much quality shown by either side in the opening exchanges and rather than it being a spectacle, initially it was what might be described as an ‘audible’, as the youthful home fans made the most of their opportunity to purchase vuvuzela horns on the way into Victoria Park.
While that din was causing merriment among many but irritation to others of more advanced years, the first chance fell to Jersey inside the first 50 seconds in almost comical fashion, as Max Johnson’s clearance rebounded off unwitting teammate Gil Hunter, giving Seaney McColgan a sight of goal and he was within a whisker of bending his shot inside the far post.
For the next 20 minutes, there were no clear-cut chances to speak of but Guernsey were looking to the pace of Tyrese Kelly and Fin Patterson to get beyond the Jersey defence, suggesting that they could cause them problems, while at the other end Max Wall just about managed to clear the danger when Joey O’Toole was put through down the middle.
Exactly midway through the half, though, Guernsey forged ahead.
Having been unable to clear Du Port’s corner properly, Jersey were punished when the Guernsey captain lofted another ball into the penalty area, Kelly allowed those of greater stature than him to compete for it and he was a grateful recipient when the ball fell to him to slot home from eight yards out.
Solway came up with a timely tackle just as McColgan was pulling the trigger just a moment later to maintain the lead before Jacques Cauvin fired not far over the bar at the other end in the 27th minute after opting to try his luck from distance after a driving forward run.
Jersey came up with their equaliser on 33min. and referee Ben Boardman played his part with a good advantage after Harry Scott had been tugged back. The Jersey forward continued his run and although he miscued his shot, the ball came to McColgan, who turned onto his cultured left foot and rifled home.
Parity lasted just 90 seconds.
Guernsey went straight back down the other end, George Goubert was bundled over five yards outside the Jersey box and Du Port stepped up to curl a right-footed shot over the wall and into the top corner – a peach of a goal that brought the biggest roar of the night.
From that point on, though, Jersey took the upper hand.
Within five minutes they were level once more as they were gifted another equaliser as those in green seemed to go AWOL when Tom Goncalves delivered a diagonal ball forward from the back and the only people around Dunne were fellow Caesareans as he had all the time in the world to control and slot home.
The visitors should have been ahead by half-time, but somehow McColgan hit the post when it looked easier to score and Wall was then alert to tip over Casey Nixon’s header.
Jersey had the momentum, though, and five minutes after the turnaround they took the lead for the first time when Damon Huckerby’s long throw from just in front of the Guernsey bench sparked a clinical counter-attack that ended with Scott unselfishly squaring to McColgan to side-foot into the bottom corner.
Wall parried a Dunne effort over the bar shortly afterwards, but there was nothing the Guernsey goalkeeper could do in the 56th minute when the same Jersey midfielder unleashed whatever the 3G-pitch equivalent of a daisy cutter is to doubled their advantage.
There was still more than half-an-hour remaining, but that fourth goal totally deflated the hosts.
The one chance they had to get back in the game came out of the blue in the 73rd minute when Johnson played a delightful threaded pass with the outside of his boot to put Goubert through on goal. He struck his shot sweetly, but it clipped the post rather than bulged the net.
Entering the last quarter-of-an-hour, Jersey captain Will Yates put the icing on the cake for his side as his 25-yard curler found the back of the net, despite Wall getting a decent piece of it.
With eight minutes remaining, Solway received his marching orders and Guernsey’s second-half ordeal was complete.
TEAMS
Guernsey: Wall, Cauvin, Hunter, Johnson (Tyrrell), Solway, Patterson, Du Port, Gilman (Batiste), Wallbridge (Prigent), Goubert (Jones), Kelly (Robilliard).
Jersey: Gladdish, Brodie, Goncalves, Queree, Huckerby, Yates (Brennan), Dunne, Nixon (Boyle), McColgan (L Gilroy), Scott (MacKenzie), O’Toole (C Gilroy).
Referee: B Boardman.
