GUERNSEY retained the Muratti Vase with a 2-1 victory over Jersey at Springfield Stadium, despite the hosts dominating large periods of the 108th edition of the historic inter-island clash.

In front of a sizeable crowd at the Springfield Stadium, Jersey flew out of the blocks and should have been ahead long before Guernsey opened the scoring.

Toby Ritzema was at the heart of the early danger. The winger forced a strong save from Josh Addison inside the opening ten minutes after excellent work from Karl Hinds, before another one-on-one opportunity was denied moments later after Joe Kilshaw slipped him through.

Jersey continued to carve Guernsey open. Hinds saw a penalty saved midway through the first half after Ritzema had been brought down in the area, while Ritzema himself flashed a header narrowly wide from a Jay Giles corner.

The Caesareans were left to rue those missed opportunities when Guernsey struck against the run of play in the 34th minute. Ross Allen’s clever lay-off found Matt Loaring arriving in the box, and the defender headed into an empty net to stun the home support.

Despite continued pressure from Jersey, including a disallowed Jonny Le Quesne effort for handball just before the break, Guernsey carried their lead into half-time.

Jersey struggled to rediscover their first-half rhythm after the restart and were punished again just before the hour mark.

Will Fazakerley delivered a dangerous ball across goal which found Allen unmarked at the back post, with the Green Lions captain sliding home from close range to double the visitors’ advantage.

The hosts finally found a breakthrough on 63 minutes through Ritzema. Le Quesne floated a cross into the area and Ritzema showed composure to take a touch, shift onto his right foot and slot beyond Addison.

Jersey pushed hard in the closing stages, with substitute Casey Nixon injecting energy late on, but Guernsey defended resolutely to see out the contest and secured consecutive Muratti triumphs.

The victory marked Guernsey’s 48th Muratti success and their first away victory in the fixture since 2014.