In effect, the game was all but won during the first ten minutes when Guernsey forced the pace and made Jersey concede more than one short corner.
Following two quick goals Jersey did raise their game and, towards the end of the half, had chances of their own through Aleisha Duffy-Breen and Becky Slater, but uncompromising defence by the Sarnians kept them out.
As coach Sarah Smith said afterwards: ‘Initially, we didn’t play as well as we had done in practice and, although we came back strongly, as much as I hate to say it, they did deserve to be 2-0 up at the break.
‘We paid the price in open play and from their slick passing.
‘However, they played a more physical game than we did but this was a young Jersey side, with lots of promise for the future.’ In fact, for the last 15 minutes of the game, with 12-year-old Emily Habin on plus all of the reserves, including Laura Ferrara on as left-wing, Jersey raised their game sufficiently for Duffy-Breen to slot coolly home, following a good passing move along the left wing.
Even though the game was now all but over, after Guernsey had doubled their score in the second half, Jersey ended the last quarter by bossing the game.
‘The longer the game went on the more we had our chances,’ said Smith.
‘Becky (Slater) had several chances, and if the game had gone on longer, we would have scored more goals.
During those last 15 minutes we forced more than one short corner and Aleisha deserved her goal.
‘I’m not too downhearted.
Guernsey held the ball up well and had the edge, but this young team shows a lot of promise.’ Squad: Ashleigh Goodwin (Lucinda Overbury), Charlotte Bowman, Lynsey Pitman, Rachael Sutton, Gemma Sutton, Aleisha Duffy-Breen, Becky Slater, Grace Bailey, Fiona Anderson, Laura Ferrera, Harriet Simon, Sarah Le Masney, Catherine Mcloughlin, Emily Habin, Alice Le Feuvre.
