- St Paul’s shot-stopper helps his side earn the point they needed to win the Premiership title for the sixth time in eight seasons.
- Lester scores again to move three goals clear in the JEP Golden Boot standings.
- St Clement relegated following defeat, while St Lawrence pick up third win in five games to give themselves hope of survival.
A STUNNING save from goalkeeper Jimmy Styles helped St Paul’s retain the Premiership title last night as they gained the solitary point they required in a 1-1 home draw against JTC Jersey Wanderers.
At a blustery St Saviour, Kieran Lester’s 27th goal of the season – a close range header after Luke Watson nodded the ball across the face of goal from a corner kick – put Saints ahead in the 48th minute only for Wanderers to quickly respond with a thunderous equaliser from 18 yards by Kamen Nafkha.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Paul’s (c) | 18 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 60 | 10 | 50 | 45 |
| Jersey Scottish | 18 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 75 | 16 | 59 | 44 |
| Jersey Wanderers | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 36 | 26 | 10 | 37 |
| St Ouen | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 30 |
| Trinity | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 29 | 36 | -8 | 26 |
| St Peter | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 31 | -13 | 17 |
| St Brelade | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 20 | 39 | -17 | 14 |
| St Lawrence | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 52 | -36 | 14 |
| Rozel Rovers | 17 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 36 | -16 | 13 |
| St Clement (r) | 17 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 48 | -34 | 10 |
Remaining fixtures: St Clement v Rozel Rovers; Trinity v St Peter (both 28 April).
The action continued to sway from end to end: Bradley Rimeur should have put Wanderers ahead but he nodded over the crossbar; and Saints captain Jack Cannon had a penalty kick saved by the legs of goalkeeper James Loughray.
Styles then kept Reuben Pestana at bay with a terrific mid-air stop with his right hand after Pestana powered the ball towards goal from an angle.
St Paul’s, with three under-18s in their defence, needed a win or a draw to avoid a title play-off with Jersey Scottish and when they managed to hold out their joy was clear for all to see.
Wanderers, beaten 6-0 by Saints just ten days earlier, gave as good as they got this time and central defender Clayton Romeril, a former St Paul’s player, had an excellent game.
Brannan, who lifted the title for the first time as a manager, said: ‘We beat Wanderers easily recently and it knew it would be a really tough game and it certainly was.
‘People were telling me that the league was done and dusted but I never believed that.
‘Wanderers are littered with players of Island quality so we knew they would produce quality if they clicked and they did.
‘We got what we needed and nothing more because Wanderers were superb throughout and they certainly gave us a good game.
‘It’s a proud moment to win my first title but I’ve got to put the praise on the squad because they’ve been superb from day one and I believe I’m the luckiest manager/coach to be working with such a fine group of talented players.’
Premiership leading goalscorers (league and cup)
27: Kieran Lester (St Paul’s)
24: Darryl Wilson (Scottish – 6 with Trinity)
21: Karl Hinds (Trinity)
Stalwart Jack Cannon said: ‘That was tough; we made hard work of it at times and myself included by missing the penalty which was a crucial moment.
‘The boys have again shown great character as they’ve done throughout the season; we had to overcome a couple of setbacks along the way and I’m delighted we’ve won the league again.
Commenting on juniors Luca Margaroli, Scott McClurg and Jonny Le Quesne playing their part, Cannon added: ‘That’s what St Paul’s is all about; youth team players coming through and playing key roles in first-team games.
‘They have the trust of the senior players and they are in there on merit as well.’
Meanwhile, St Clement were relegated to the Championship after they were defeated 3-0 by the home team at Trinity, where Jack Griffin, Karl Hinds and Barry Keith were on target.
Rozel Rovers dropped into the second relegation position following a 2-0 home defeat by St Lawrence, the latter who won for the third time in five matches. Saints, who were promoted as Championship runners-up last season, will remain in the Premiership if Rozel fail to get a point in their final league game, away to St Clement next Tuesday evening.
Last night’s results mean that St Brelade will remain in the Premiership.
When teams finish on the same number of points, head-to-head results are taken into consideration to determine relegation positions, with points against each other taken first, followed by goal-difference.
Michael Donoghue and Matt Westwood were on target for St Lawrence against Rozel, while St Peter and St Ouen finished goalless at St Peter.
