“We don’t fear anybody in the league, so we go into every game hoping to get three points.”
Jamie watling (jersey bulls)
JERSEY Bulls travel to Kent this Saturday for a 1.30 pm kick-off against Sheppey United in the Isthmian South East Division, looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
After a brief pause in their packed fixture schedule, the Bulls are back in action and ready for a mid-table clash at Holm Park, home of the Sharrocks Stadium.
Both teams currently sit on ten points, but Jersey have the advantage of three games in hand. A win on the road could lift them into the top half of the standings.
Sheppey United have been formidable at home, claiming nine of their ten points so far this season, adding extra weight to the Bulls’ challenge. The Ites are no strangers to big results — two seasons ago they reached the FA Cup First Round, where they faced League Two side Walsall.
Centre-back Jamie Watling, enjoying his first season at the heart of the Jersey defence, said: “It’s obviously a step up from local football. The main thing for me is that you play with people that you’re not used to week in, week out. That forces you to adapt within the game, and the standard is higher — the first touch and work-rate are just a level above local football.”
Reflecting on the recent busy schedule, Watling added: “We’ve had plenty of fixtures, playing twice a week regularly, so it was nice to have a break last weekend. We had a social on Saturday, which was good for team bonding. But now our focus lies on Saturday.”
The Bulls remain unbeaten in the league, with Watling breaking down their start: “It’s a good start to the season, the unbeaten record is something we want to continue. Getting promoted last season, it would be easy to set the expectation of just surviving, but we know the quality we have and we want to shoot for the stars.”
After the impressive away win at league leaders AFC Croydon Athletic, Watling is confident the Bulls can compete at the top: “We showed with that win at Croydon that we can compete with the top teams. If we can sneak into the play-offs, that would be amazing.”
The Bulls go into tomorrow’s game in 13th place, though they have only played six matches compared to several sides who have already featured ten times. If they can maintain their impressive away form, a climb up the table is well within reach
So far, four away matches have yielded two wins and two draws, a record bettered by only a couple of their league rivals.
Archie’s Predicted XI
The squad will be fit and ready following their short break since Sittingbourne early last week. With almost a full squad, missing full-back pairing Jay Giles and Jonny Le Quesne, manager Elliot Powell has some tough decisions to make.
Euan Van Der Vliet is the only named goalkeeper in the squad, so one must assume that he starts in goal. In the absence of Le Quesne, I anticipate the right-back void will be filled by captain James Queree.
I expect Luke Campbell and Jamie Watling to be the central defensive pairing. With the left-back spot up for grabs, Powell has preferred Fraser Barlow in that position of late, so for that reason he is my choice.
With the defence done, we move onto the difficult task of picking a midfield three. With a number of top class midfielders it is difficult to chose, but for me Mr. Reliable, Luke Watson, is a definite in the holding role.
Ahead of Watson I have Toby Ritzema in the 8. With James Sunley earning his first start in a free roam number 10 role, where the technical midfielder can make the difference.
That means Joe Kilshaw and Adam Trotter are dropped to the bench, which feels wrong to say, but that is a testament to the talent in the squad.
The front three for me remains the same, Dos Santos, Bickley, Carvalho to from left to right to lead the line.
Jersey Bulls Squad: Adam Trotter, Euan Van Der Vliet, Fraser Barlow, Harry Mackenzie, James Carr, James Queree (c), James Sunley, Jamie Watling, Joe Kilshaw, Lorne Bickley, Luke Campbell, Luke Watson, Miguel Carvalho, Rai Dos Santos, Toby Ritzema
Isthmian South East Division Standings
