The senior men’s team had not won a final at Springfield since 2014 until Saturday’s 2-1 success, and manager Dave Merris was full of praise for his troops.
‘I don’t think there’s enough words to actually say how unbelievably proud I am of this bunch of lads – they were absolutely outstanding,’ he said.
‘I’m absolutely over the moon and chuffed at every single one of them. They’ve done everything I know that they can possibly do today, so I’m extremely proud.
It was a scrappy start with most chances going Jersey’s way early on before Matt Loaring opened the scoring with a header before Ross Allen doubled Guernsey’s lead in the second half.
Not long after Allen’s goal Jersey pulled one back through Toby Ritzema, but Guernsey held on to their lead with Josh Addison being named man-of-the-match for making several crucial saves, including a Karl Hinds penalty.
‘It was a little bit scrappy to start off with, but we rejigged a few little things around, reorganised and then we kind of got ourselves back into the game,’ said Merris.
‘They conceded off a little bit of sloppiness, but after that we organised, we were disciplined and we did everything we could to get across the line. So it was brilliant.
‘It’s difficult to pick a standout when they’ve, as a group, just lifted the Muratti Vase, but Josh was outstanding, and Gil Hunter did unbelievably well against Lorne [Bickley] up front – I could go through everybody, they were just phenomenal.’
Guernsey captain Allen said that it was a special feeling to lift the Muratti Vase at Springfield.
‘I’m so glad that after so long we have come here and got the job done because too many times we’ve left something out here,’ he said.
‘It’s a special day for Guernsey football because to win two in a row after not winning for so long is a real feat.’
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