Northerners 7
Drillot, Domaille, Rihoy Lamb 2, Young 2
Rangers 0
Northerners could not have asked for a better afternoon to reclaim the Priaulx Cup.
The sun shone brightly on Northfield for their last home game of the season, their supporters – young and not-quite-so young – turned out in their droves and the atmosphere had an air of celebration about it long before the first whistle, let alone the final one.
Without meaning any disrespect to Rangers, when you need a win to get the party started, coming up against a side who have not won all season meant that there was a certain inevitability about the outcome as soon as North had been given a walkover by their neighbours Vale Rec two days earlier.
That Thursday forfeit was far from ideal, but the form Charlie Le Prevost’s men have been in of late also meant that the three points they took from it were hardly fortuitous.
When Saturday afternoon came, though, they had the game won in the space of two-and-a-half extraordinary first-half minutes.
The hosts had created a couple of early chances, but having not taken them against energetic and willing visitors, when the first 10 minutes went by without a goal to settle any nerves, you just started wondering whether it might be a frustrating afternoon for them.
By the time the clock read 12min. 26sec. though, they were three goals to the good following a flurry of activity.
In front of his proud father Ian, the former Island goalkeeper who has six Priaulx League winner’s medals, birthday boy Archie Drillot got the ball rolling as he met Ryan Lamb’s inswinging corner with a thumping header that found the back of the net via the inside of the post.
Within 30 seconds, Keene Domaille had doubled their lead with a simple finish from a few yards out having been picked out by Dave Rihoy’s square ball into the six-yard box.
While the Guernsey Press reporter was still making note of that goal, Rihoy unleashed a shot of his own that took a big deflection that sent the ball looping into the Rangers net and the match was virtually over as a contest.
From then on, it was just a case of how many North would score.
The first half had not even reached the midway point before they added a fourth, with Lamb showing a good turn of pace to accelerate clear of the defence having won the ball back for his side, and his shot went across goalkeeper Tom McColl and in off the far post.
McColl made a fine save to deny Jake Martin just after the half-hour and Rangers managed to reach the interval without further damage.
After the turnaround, both sides started to ring the changes and although North created a couple of decent opportunities, there were no addition to the scoreline in the third quarter.
Rangers then lost McColl to a shin injury and with no replacement goalkeeper, defender Owaine Mansell volunteered to go between the sticks.
He was soon picking the ball out of the net having been beaten by a purposeful strike from Craig Young, albeit one that McColl would have likely saved.
There was to be no stopping Young’s second, though, which was an absolute peach of a strike into the top corner that drew gasps of appreciation from the crowd.
As the game entered the 90th minute, admittedly with plenty of stoppage time still to be played, Lamb applied the coup de grace.
From a free-kick right in front of the clubhouse, he whipped a cracker around the wall and into the far corner to put the cherry on top of the North cake.
n There was a shock in the Offshore Group Guernsey FA Cup quarter-finals as the Rovers Third team beat the club’s first team 4-2 at Port Soif. Brad Smith netted a brace for the victors with Luc Mansell and Dale Webb also on target. Keir Donaldson and Steffan Timms scored in response for the first team, who had fallen 4-0 down in the first half.
Meanwhile Sylvans and Vale Rec drew 1-1 in Saturday’s other Priaulx League game at St Peter’s. Bertie Beddow gave the visitors the lead before Tiago Rodrigues equalised for the hosts, with both goals coming in the first half.
TEAMS
North: Miller, Blond-Roques (S Mourant), R Marsh, Drillot, Lamb, Rihoy, L Mahon, Martin (Smith), Prigent (Young), Wilson (Jackson), Domaille (Le Tissier).
Rangers: McColl (Robilliard), Evans (Le Messurier), Belnavis, A Mourant, Canada (Mills), Mansell, Stumpf (Webb), Setters, Sherbourne, Henriques (Sykes), Thomas.
Referee: G Jennings;
Assistants: G Fern, L Pattimore.
