In a tightly contested match with very few chances, it was first-half volley from Jack Cannon which made the difference in his sides 1-0 win at their St Saviour ground.
The win puts St Paul’s three-points ahead of Wanderers at the top of the Premiership with a game in hand. And although they still have seven matches left to play, having only dropped two points all season, they are likely to get the job done.
Elsewhere, two of the Premiership’s in-form teams – St Peter and Grouville – had to settle for a point apiece as they cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw.
Both teams had won their last four league games and went into the match full of confidence but it looked as if St Peter were going to take all three points, despite playing for much of the match with just ten men. A stunning goal from distance by Toby Ritzema had put the hosts in the lead on 57 minutes, only to see Lorne Bickley snatch victory away from them deep into injury time.
St Peter had lost Sol Solomon midway through the first half after he was shown a red card for kicking out at an opponent and even had to do battle with just nine men for ten minutes when Peter Vincenti was sent to the sin-bin. In the end, they could count themselves unfortunate not to hold on for the win.
Rozel Rovers lifted themselves off the foot of the table after enjoying the first win of the season, with a 1-0 win at St Brelade thanks to a Tom McAlister strike. They leapfrogged over parish rivals St Lawrence, who suffered a 6-1 home loss to St Clement, thanks to doubles from Rai dos Santos, Karl Hinds and Connor Maher.
In the Championship, St Ouen Reserves consolidated their place at the top of the table, winning 2-1 away to second place St Peter, courtesy of goals from Ben Andrews and Riki Spriggs. Scott Welsh replied for St Peter.
First Tower United stay in third after beating bottom side St Lawrence Reserves 4-0. Stephen Byrne helped himself to a brace, with Joe Parker and Dylan Rawlinson also scoring. St Clement Reserves made light work of St Brelade Reserves with a 3-0 win, thanks to two goals from Scott Laverty and a strike from substitute Asher Moyse, while Rozel Rovers Reserves (scorers unknown) made hard work of a 4-3 win over Jersey Wanderers Reserves, who scored through Harrison Moon, Luke Coutanche and Leonardo Figueira.
Sports Club stay top of Division I, thanks to a 2-0 win at bottom club St John Reserves, with goals from Fabio Marques and Hugo Vieira. Dragoes move up to second place despite being held 1-1 at St Brelade C. Daniel Figueira put the away team in the lead in the first half, only for Richard Guillaume to level things up just nine minutes later.
Grouville C edged out a 4-3 thriller against St Paul’s Reserves. Player-manager Stevie Ashton scored twice for Grouville, as did Andre Nunes. Ricky Figueira, John Lloyd and Cameron Edwin Gibb all scored for St Paul’s.
A five-goal haul for Matt Rawlings helped St Clement C enjoy a comfortable 7-0 win over Sporting Academics Reserves. Paul McLaughlin and Rob Telfer also scored. Jersey Wanderers C scratched against St Peter C.
St Ouen Over-35s knocked league leaders St Paul’s O-35s out of the Jayson Lee Memorial Trophy with a stunning 4-0 quarter-final win. Andrew McGinnigle scored twice in the win, with further goals coming from John A’Court and Ben Burton.
In the O35 Division, St Lawrence and St John both edged out 2-1 wins over Beeches and St Martin’s respectively. Charles Franks and Robert Searle scored for St Lawrence, while Chris Swanton scored twice for
St John – Michael Conway with the St Martin goal.
In the Jersey Women’s League, Rozel Rovers asserted their dominance in the division with a 6-1 over St Lawrence. Macey Wyse and Eve Watson each scored doubles, while Leah Morris and Hannah Campbell added to St Lawrence’s misery. Meanwhile, Jersey Wanderers eased to an 11-0 win over Grouville (scorers unknown).
