Without a Muratti for a second year and denied access to Gibraltar 2019 due to a lack of facilities, the Island squad are being forced to look long-term for competitive fixtures, but following a tough outing against Crawley Wasps there are hopes that regular UK visits will maintain enthusiasm.
Wasps – unbeaten leaders of London & South East Premier – finished 6-1 up at home on Sunday afternoon, having led 5-0 at half-time. Megan Wood claimed Jersey’s consolation, after being played through by new captain Holly Muirhead.
‘After the first half we were all a bit disappointed – the players knew they didn’t do everything we wanted them to do,’ said Seviour.
‘But we got the reaction we were looking for in the second half. They all stepped up to the plate and did us proud.
‘These kind of games are exactly what we want. We had the opportunity to go over there and play a team who are clearly doing well in their league, and it gave us the chance to try a few new things.
‘We’re on a learning curve. This is the starting platform for a long term plan for this squad and we’re looking to build something for the Guernsey Island Games [2021]. We’ve just got to bridge the gap with fixtures, and I think other teams within Crawley’s league will be what we look at off the back of this.’
Seviour, who runs the team alongside Jodie Botterill, added: ‘The stand-out player for us was Holly, I think. She’s our new captain and she took on the role fantastically.
‘We found it difficult to get settled in the first half, but Holly took it upon herself to bring the team up.
‘Anita Tavares came on for her first appearance and was really positive – very direct with the ball – and we also had Tiffany Sundby who played really well for us at left-back.
‘We said that we won’t worry about the scoreline. It’s about getting on the pitch together, enjoying it and learning from it.’
Jersey Women: Sara Luce, Amy Tierney, Ella Brennand, Megan Wood, Natasha Keen, Louise van der Vliet, Jennifer Cullen, Sophie Botterill, Sylvia Spinola, Rosie Corbett, Tiffany Sundby, Holly Muirhead, Ines Cipriano, Alex Fajardo, Anita Tavares, Sam Silva.
