The Lloyds TSB JFA Centre of Excellence squad finished a creditable 27th out of 72 teams in the four-day tournament, winning four matches, drawing one and losing three.
‘They played very well and really exceeded our expectations,’ football development officer Brian Oliver said.
On Saturday the youngsters were beaten 3-0 by a very strong Bordeaux team, members of which belong to the club’s professional academy.
Said Oliver: ‘We were 1-0 down at half-time.
They put us under a lot of pressure, and scored two more goals in the second half – they were certainly the better team – but Jordan Stratford played very well in goal and kept the score down to a reasonable level.’ Jersey then went on to meet the Réunion Islands’ team – and beat them 3-1 to finish their tournament on a high.
‘The lads played excellent football,’ Oliver said.
‘We were a goal down at the break, but we changed the team round a bit and they did a really good job.
Joe Parkinson scored the first, the second came from Ryan Connon and the third from Blake Derbyshire.’ He added that the youngsters had faced lots of challenges and learned a great deal from their trip.
‘From an educational point of view it was a very worthwhile experience, and one they won’t ever forget,’ he said.
Jersey: Harry Watkins, Jack Barlow, Jake Baker, Jamie Bowkett, Ryan Connon, Blake Derbyshire, Harrison Jukes, George Houzé, Kamen Nafkha, Thomas Dines, Andrew Gee, Joe Parkinson, Johnny Ward, Sam Dawkins, Jordan Stratford, Aiden Maguire.
They were accompanied by Ken Le Brun, JFA coaches Billy McEwan, Dave Walsh and Robin Cooley, and football development officer Brian Oliver.
Jersey U18s lost to Bournemouth Academy and Tauntons College in their last tour of the season over the weekend.
Jerseyman Brett Pitman scored both goals for Bournemouth’s under-18s who won 2-0.
Tauntons won 3-1 with Ryan Le Cornu grabbing the only goal for Jersey in Jon Welsh’s last game in charge.
