Dodd’s return a ‘big lift’

The GFC coach hopes his side complete a hat-trick of home wins tomorrow but he expects ‘The Terrors’ to be a step up from Northwood and Sutton Common Rovers.

‘It is going to be a nice, realistic test for us,’ said Vance.

‘I expect them to be better than Northwood; it is a game I am not fearful of but one we are not ready to play’ he said with the Green Lions’ shortage of competitive games in mind.

Vance says he is happy with the side’s first month back.

‘We have shown flashes of what we can do and I am pleased with some of the things we have shown after jumping back in at the deep end.’

Tooting and Mitcham United are an iconic name in English amateur football and their association with Guernsey football stretches back 62 years when the two clubs met at the Track for the Victory Cup.

That Easter Monday afternoon Guernsey’s finest won 3-2 with two goals from John Mahy and a 25-yard cracker from the legendary Les Collins.

A crowd of 2,066 watched that clash with then the defending Isthmian League champions, who had beaten both Bournemouth and Northamptron Town in reaching the FA Cup third round where, incredibly, they led eventual finalists Nottingham Forest 2-0 at half-time.

The Terrors eventually went out in a replay.

Guernsey FC last played ‘The Terrors’ on a November evening under the lights at Footes Lane five years ago.

The visitors that night thrashed the Lions 6-0 but, realistically, both teams are much changed.

One of the few GFC survivors from that night is keeper Josh Addison who along with the defenders in front of him must have found it a chastening night.

To be fair, GRFC had drawn 2-2 at Tooting earlier that season and, in January 2015, beat The Terrors 3-2 at Footes Lane, Marc McGrath hitting a brace that day.

Fast forward six years and today’s ‘Terrors’ are jointly managed by Ashley Bosah and Cornelius Nwadialor and arrive here on the back of three straight defeats, two in the league and the other in the FA Trophy.

But a sure sign of their potential was that last week they led league leaders Uxbridge 2-0 at the break, before shipping three second half goals.

Earlier, they also lost by a single goal to Bracknell Town who are second behind Uxbridge on goal difference.

Players to watch out for:

The recently re-signed Stefan Ilic, who is back for a third spell at the club.

Ilic made 25 appearances – with five goals – for the Terrors during the 2018-19 season, and then moved up a level to sign for Pitching In Isthmian Premier side Lewes.

He scored on his debut against Enfield Town, and made 28 appearances for the Rooks in total, scoring a further four goals.

He returned to Imperial Fields in February last year, making three appearances before the pandemic hit, and then moved up two steps to sign for National League South semi-pro outfit Welling United and indeed started this season with them.

Current joint top scorer Dan Williams came in from Chalfont St Peter in 2020.

He had a prolific season for the Saints, scoring 16 goals in 23 appearances, having originally joined the Saints on a dual-registration deal from Hendon, returning to the UK recently after three years in the USA.