Ben Hunter started his tenure as first-team coach with a lot of early success as Saints lifted the inaugural Spirit Cup, the Rawlinson Cup and the Martinez Trophy at the beginning of the season, but come the spring they lost their Priaulx League crown to North, who also beat them on penalties in the Guernsey FA Cup final, and suffered Stranger Cup defeat to Sylvans before St Paul’s inflicted more heartbreak in Saturday’s Jeremie Cup final at Blanche Pierre Lane.
‘We won those three trophies – I know they don’t mean enough when it comes to the end of the season, but we started really well, we were positive and then as soon as we lost the league, it just kind of just went a bit [flat],’ said Hunter.
‘Apart from the Wheway, we’ve been in every cup final you can be in the season, but it’s getting across the line and we just don’t have that about us at the moment.
‘We’re going to have to learn for next season, hopefully.’
Hunter admitted that the Jeremie Cup final loss was hard to take after his side fought back well after falling behind to Sonny Cassidy’s opener for St Paul’s to level through the head coach’s brother Louis from the penalty spot.
However, with the game in the balance in the 82nd minute, Louis Hunter was sent off for handball in the penalty area and Callum Gilroy scored the resultant spot kick to give the Jersey outfit the lead before their captain Matthew Davy completed a 3-1 win in the dying moments.
‘I thought we started a bit slow, but we got back into the game, we changed shape and I thought we came into it,’ said Ben Hunter.
‘They’re a good team, credit deserved, but I think we were in the game, we came out second half and I thought we were the better team. I said at half time, just get that one chance, and we’ve got to take it. We missed a few half chances, we weren’t clinical enough.
‘We dominated the parts of that second half, and then the sending off just killed us.’
In contrast, St Paul’s boss Robbie Whittaker was thrilled with his young side’s success.
‘We started off well, I thought first 20 minutes we’re on the front foot, then they came into it and what pleased me most was we dug in, we got our shape right and we were hard to break down, so we limited them to I think one chance in the first half. We created quite a few, we should have scored a few more, I think,’ he said
‘Second half we started a bit slow, lost our shape a little bit, but then got the goals at the right time, so delighted for the lads.
‘Delighted to be back in this cup, I said to them it’s a massive cup competition this. I’ve been lucky enough to win it, I think, three or four times as a player and to win it now as a manager’s dream come true really.’
He agreed that the red card was pivotal, although he joked that Gilroy’s spot kick was ‘the worst penalty I’ve ever seen in my life by the way’ with Max Wall coming agonisingly close to keeping it out.
‘I couldn’t actually see the handball, there was a player in my way, but everyone else said it was a blatant red, so that changed it,’ said Whittaker.
‘I thought our youngsters, their fitness shone through there, so we’re obviously going to be on the front foot – they were chasing and leaving gaps and down to 10 men so hard on them, they’ve put up a great fight.’
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