Alderney 1
Concanen (pen)
Guernsey 2
Du Port (pen), Fazakerley
Behind to a first-half penalty, Alderney then scored one of their own around the hour mark to leave Guernsey manager Dave Merris and his players with more than a few concerns before striker Will Fazakerley found the net after a goalmouth scramble with 13 minutes to go to seal victory.
Since Guernsey went up to Mount Hale in 2016 there has only twice been more than two goals between the hosts and their visitors, be they of green or red persuasion, though this was the first 1-2 scoreline since the remarkable fixture of 2017, when all three goals of the game were scored in the final few minutes before Jersey squeaked through.
There was blue-and-white pride at full time.
‘It was an incredible performance from every man. They did more than we could ever have expected,’ said Alderney assistant manager and chairman Rob Kirkland.
‘They competed for every ball and to be in the game from the first to the last minute against a team like Guernsey is a testament to them.
‘We had the wind in the first half but about halfway through we thought we could be in with a chance. You have to respect whatever team Guernsey sends here but we were thinking "they’re not coming up with much".
‘When the opportunity was there for us to play we did put together some nice moves and we made two or three chances.
‘There’s something special about this island and about a Muratti weekend,’ said the school teacher, who moved to the island three years ago and immediately hooked up with the football club.
Unsurprisingly Guernsey dominated possession early on but once again were soon resorting to long throw-ins in a bid to breach a defence bolstered by Alderney’s record appearance holder, 47-year-old Jason Atkins, who has not made a league appearance for the past two seasons but is always there on Muratti day.
Further forward, former player-coach Josh Concanen made a difference, having not featured in league action for the club this season, and he forced Josh Addison into a save within the first quarter.
Lead coach Alan Adamson, who had his two stalwart boys, defender John and captain Andy, in the side, bemoaned the defensive decision that saw Niall Hainsworth felled in the box and allowed Fin Du Port to give Guernsey the lead from the penalty spot after half an hour, sending goalkeeper Jamie Laband the wrong way, and a later one which conceded a free kick in a dangerous position from which Fazakerley found the net.
Alderney’s retort came around the hour mark when Jermaine Parry was fouled in the box and Concanen, always confident from 12 yards, scored.
‘It was a great game,’ said Adamson. ‘I’m so pleased for the guys. I’m not pleased in that we lost, but they were fantastic in what were horrible conditions. They know they played well and that they had a chance to win the game, and I think we were well worth a draw over 90 minutes.’
Guernsey manager Dave Merris agreed the match was something of a battle.
‘Alderney put us under a bit of pressure and tested us. Conditions didn’t help with how we wanted to play, but the end result is the most important thing,’ he told the BBC.
‘We had a good strong squad here and we will go to Jersey with confidence. It’s going to be a completely different situation to here but the mindset that we’ve established here, dealing with the conditions and the frustrations about the game, we can take that to Jersey as a positive and we’ve got the confidence from last year’s Muratti too.’
STARTING TEAMS
Alderney: Laband; Maloy, Atkins, J Adamson, Mills; A Adamson; Lawrence, Parry, Concanen, Connor; Walker.
Guernsey: Addison; Solway, Dodd, Drillot; Maginnis, Hainsworth, Mason, Du Port, Le Lacheur; Fazakerley, Hunter.
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