ON a blockbuster day at the home of Jersey Hockey, the Caesareans well and truly stole the bragging rights over their Sarnian counterparts at the U14 and U16 Boys and Girls inter-insular contests.
Victories in the U14 Boys, U14 Girls and the U16 Boys, with a retention of the crown in the U16 Girls at Les Quennevais, meant that all four of the trophies would remain on Jersey soil until 2026.
Jersey U14 Boys – 4
Sam Le Boutillier; Kobi Helmholt-Kneisel; Rafi Hern; Willoughby Spry
Guernsey U14 Boys – 2
POTM: Kobi Helmholt-Kneisel
Bill Aston reports …
The Walkers Jersey U14 Boys contest against Guernsey turned out to be an end-to-end thriller, keenly fought by both sides.
It was the visitors who started brightest. They pressured the home defence from the off, closed down the ball carriers and pressed high in the Jersey half.
After four minutes Guernsey won a penalty corner and converted their pressure with a sweetly struck shot.
Jersey looked rattled and continued to struggle against the Guernsey press, but saw out a tough opening ten minutes.
Jude Pirouet came on in the centre of Jersey’s defence and added solidity, allowing Jersey to relax into the game.
Playing short passes, opening up space for each other, Jersey’s midfield started to shift the momentum.
From a quickly taken attacking corner, Rafi Hern drove hard around the back of the green defence and slotted the equaliser from a tight angle.
The pressure continued and Jersey won a penalty flick which was saved by Max Rochester in Guernsey’s goal and the rest of the first half was played at fast pace with both sides creating chances but resolute defence keeping scores even.
At half-time, composure was called for from the Jersey coaches and the boys responded. The hosts came out with better focus, looked more relaxed with their first touch and team work and took control.
They took the lead with a good individual goal from Kobi Helmholt-Kneisel, who spun and finished well.
A well-placed aerial ball from Charlie Bore freed up Hern, who drove round the back and created a golden chance that was well saved.
But the resulting corner saw Rufus Aston pick up the ball on the edge of the Guernsey area and thread a pass diagonally to Hern, who played an unselfish ball across to the far post for Sam Le Boutillier to finish.
Jersey were flying and won another penalty corner soon after which was finished with a drag flick from Willoughby Spry.
At 4-1 it could have petered out into a slow finish but full credit to the visitors who continued to drive forward with pace and purpose.
This paid off six minutes from time and they pulled back a goal to make it 4-2.
They continued to push for another with a few close chances thankfully sliding past the Jersey posts.
Jersey U14 Boys: Rufus Aston, Theo Bell, Charlie Bore, Thomas Cotillard, Rex Frigot, Herbie Hampton, Kobi Helmholt-Kneisel, Rafi Hern, Leo Holbourn, Sam Le Boutillier, Ben O’Mahony, Jude Pirouet, Jaxon Reddington, Indy Simpson, Willoughby Spry, Nat Winchester
Jersey U14 Girls – 3
Clara Muller; Bethannie Wood; Lexi Edward
Guernsey U14 Girls – 2
POTM: Bethannie Wood
Neil Merritt reports …
Jersey’s captain Florence Kelly won the toss and elected to take the push back.
The whistle blew, and after the opening two slightly concerning minutes of pressure from Guernsey, the Jersey girls took command, and with an obvious nod to the weather that morning, they played with a composure, coolness and calm which truly belied their age and the occasion. Clearly no nerves whatsoever.
Having taken command, Jersey applied heavy pressure on the Guernsey lines, with several strong moves up the right, orchestrated by the superb right-midfielder and vice-captain Freya Thorogood, sending quicksilver Bethannie Wood away to outstrip the defence with her pace and skill time and time again.
It felt it wasn’t going to be too long before Jersey would score, such was the pressure applied to the Guernsey back line as they defended their D.
Each time Guernsey managed to rebuff the Jersey attack, they sent the ball up-field through towards the Jersey central midfield of Florence and Hannah Follain, who quickly closed their counterparts down to win back the ball for Jersey.
Both girls played with such authority and presence throughout, and they ceaselessly started off new attacks transferring the ball safely and intelligently to the free players while under serious individual pressure.
Out on the left, a similar scenario developed. The young Clara Muller, who had an outstanding match at left midfield, hassled the Guernsey players and won the ball back for Jersey almost monotonously. She made strong and sensible passes including picking out Isabella Frost playing up on left wing. The talented Frost utilised her skills with aplomb, driving the ball far up the left side with serious determination and grit, causing the Guernsey defence constant headaches.
It wasn’t long before the Guernsey goal was breached. Nearing ten minutes, Jersey’s pressure forced a rushed Guernsey clearance straight to Muller positioned just outside the top left of the Guernsey D. She instinctively ran the ball straight into the D and unleashed a terrific strike into the goal.
Guernsey were never going to lie down though. They started to press with some skilful and fast players causing problems for Jersey.
When they managed to breach the midfield, the Jersey defence were astonishing.
Morgan Benander at right-back was inspired, delivering a masterclass, letting nothing through. She was not alone, with the cool Esme Williams at left-back doing exactly the same with terrifically timed challenges.
Substitutions were made. There was no change in the effort and pressure which Jersey applied.
Lola Gomersall slotted into the central midfield and took up where Follain left off. She ably supported and attacked excellently from all areas in the front line during the match. Elina Durbano-Yard moved to centre forward and Lottie Fox seamlessly to left-back.
Gomersall, with her drive and determination, did not give up winning and pressing the ball. Guernsey had by then grown into the game after Jersey’s strong first period.
However, it was on 24 minutes when Gomersall executed a perfect pass to Wood within the Guernsey D, who, after a bit of stickwork, scored by pushing the ball into the right side of the goal.
Half-time came all too quickly. The coaches commended the girls on their play. Kelly, who had been brilliant in the midfield alongside Hannah, again showed her captaincy credentials with an adroit observation of the cross-pitch transfer which became the focus of improvement at the half-time talk.
The second period began with Jersey in full flow.
It was clear, however, that Guernsey had very different ideas about how they wanted the second half to go, and they worked well to get more balls reaching the Jersey back line, primarily through a change in tactics for their 16-yard hits and wing play.
Jersey kept pushing with more forays both up the right and left sides of the pitch. Durbano-Yard demonstrated her excellent positional understanding as she worked tirelessly on both flanks, making incisive passes to teammates, and getting quickly into supporting positions to provide attacking options. The hosts defended resolutely when Guernsey replied in a similar vein. It was a Guernsey short corner that epitomised the Jersey resolve.
The Guernsey injector sent a near perfect ball to the striker at the top of the D. Before the striker could do anything, Jemma Wery had already reached her, dropped her stick and her body into the strongest possible tackle position and took the ball away in a fluid movement. It was a jaw-dropping moment from a coach’s perspective.
Wery, utterly outstanding in a central defensive position all game, had virtually made short corners redundant for the opposition.
But, as is the way of inter-insular matches, circumstance changed how the match had been progressing.
Guernsey capitalised on a rare Jersey defensive error eight minutes into the second half. A miscued cross-pitch pass dropped to the Sarnian near the top of the Jersey D, and gently the ball was moved down and pushed slowly into the goal just inside the left post.
Credit to the girls, they just shrugged that off, and two minutes later, it was Jersey’s turn to score. Fantastic play down the left from Williams to Muller then to Frost up on left wing gave her the opportunity to use her skill and ball control to drive into the D strongly. After her close ball work near the Guernsey ‘keeper, the ball rebounded off a defender’s stick and reached Edward, who had positioned herself perfectly near the penalty spot and found the bottom-left corner.
Just minutes later, it was 3-2.
Another miscued defensive pass to get the ball transferred out to the right from being trapped down in the left corner was intercepted and this time the ball was bundled somehow into the centre of the goal under Claudia Rumen’s kickers. Jersey were stunned.
At this point, Guernsey were buoyed by their good fortune and the Jersey team were flagging.
The available energy driving the engines in the midfield was, unsurprisingly, getting low.
Guernsey progressively managed to break the Jersey lines more easily.
Jersey’s formation was changed to a 4-4-2, to counter the flagging energy in the midfield and to employ an extra central defender to contain the Guernsey midfield surges. The additional defender then allowed the steadfast Fox at left-back to focus on launching extremely well-timed tackles and interceptions on the Guernsey winger, backed up by Williams, to shut that door to the Jersey D. It worked.
The game became scrappy as time went on, with tired legs and bodies on both sides, resulting in many more interceptions, inaccurate passes and less structured play.
Rumens, playing well in goal, was called into action on several occasions, managing the ball away expertly each time with deflections off the pads and strong kicks out of the D.
Similarly, Jersey also had several visits into the Guernsey D including earning a rash of well-executed short corners which were well defended by Guernsey.
Jersey held on to reclaim the trophy, with Wood named Jersey’s player of the match by the opposition.
Jersey U14 Girls: Morgan Benander, Elina Durbano-Yard, Lexi Edward, Hannah Follain, Lottie Fox, Isabella Frost, Lola Gomersall, Scarlett Haynes, Florence Kelly, Clara Muller, Claudia Rumens, Freya Thorogood, Jemma Wery, Esme Williams, Bethannie Wood
Jersey U16 Girls – 2
Anais McDermott; Farrah Firby
Guernsey U16 Girls – 2
POTM: Anais McDermott
Vicky Barclay reports …
Jersey started the game on the front foot with fast and skilful forward play creating numerous goal scoring opportunities and a succession of penalty corners.
Anais McDermott opened the scoring with a good finish and, not long after, Farrah Firby applied the final touch to a well-worked penalty corner routine.
With Jersey well on top it looked like they would lead 2-0 at the break but, following the first period of sustained Guernsey pressure, a goal was pulled back just before half-time as the ball managed to trickle over the goal line following a scramble in the D.
With that late goal inspiring the Guernsey girls they came out strong in the second-half.
Jersey’s defence initially repelled everything thrown at them.
However, eventually an equaliser was conceded following the awarding of a somewhat fortuitous penalty corner, which was dispatched clinically with an excellent routine.
Guernsey had their tails up at this point and Jersey found it much harder to gain sustained forward momentum. With Amy Guthrie in the Jersey goal called upon to make several outstanding saves the game eventually petered out.
Certainly, a game of two halves but with a final score of 2-2, Jersey retained the trophy.
Jersey U16 Girls: Addison Barclay, Farrah Firby, Kate Follain, Amy Guthrie, Lola Hotton, Poppy Hughes, Phoebe James, Megan Jerrard, Lucy Kirby, Eva Mallett, Anais McDermott, Molly McKeon, Isla Rafferty, Hannah Rigby, Tallulah Spry, Bella Woodruff.
Jersey U16 Boys – 2
Ed Hodgson; Riley Brennan
Guernsey U16 Boys – 0
POTM: Ed Hodgson
Dom Simpson reports …
Jersey’s Walkers Boys U16s came out deserved 2-0 winners in a highly competitive inter-insular against a well-organised and physical Guernsey side.
Guernsey moved the ball well in the first half, troubling Jersey with some good passing and movement and their robust defending. Jersey always offered a threat though, particularly through the pace of Jake Le Boutillier and Riley Brennan.
Both sides earned several penalty corners, two of which provided the highlights of the half.
First, a well worked one-two between Ed Hodgson and Oliver Ferguson from a Jersey corner forced Guernsey ‘keeper Oliver Pratt to make a great save from Hodgson.
Shortly after, Jersey’s Will Wilson went one better with a fantastic double save to deny Guernsey and keep the game goalless at half-time.
In the second-half Jersey began to exert more control on the game and chances began to flow.
Midfield pressure from Zane Simpson, Louis Bell and Ferguson forced several turnovers which Hodgson, Brennan and Le Boutillier looked to capitalise on.
All had chances but more good saves from Guernsey’s player of the match, Pratt, kept Jersey at bay.
At the back, Harry Cutting and Hugo Gomersall provided a strong platform, well supported by Beau Johnstone-Scott and Harry Le Brocq, cutting out danger swiftly on the occasions Guernsey did get forward.
Jersey’s player of the match, Hodgson was increasingly influential and, with ten minutes to go, another strong run from a midfield turnover led to a penalty corner.
In a replay of the first half, Hodgson and Ferguson combined well again and this time Hodgson made no mistake with a powerful finish low into the bottom corner to the raucous delight of the home crowd.
Jersey remained in control and, shortly after, Hodgson forced another turnover before playing Brennan in with a neat reverse stick pass.
Brennan drove forward and unleashed a powerful strike past Pratt for a goal his energetic performance deserved and a scoreline more reflective of Jersey’s dominance in the second-half.
Jersey U16 Boys: Will Wilson (GK), Beau Johnstone-Scott, Harry Cutting, Hugo Gomersall, Harry Le Brocq, Zane Simpson, Ed Hodgson, Riley Brennan, Oliver Ferguson (c), Louis Bell, Jake Le Boutillier, Josh Winstanley, Ben Viera, Lucas McAllister, Rufus Aston.
