Overview:
AN ACTION-PACKED week in the JFA Combination League proved critical, seeing titles decided as the season drew nearer to its conclusion.
Oliver Kidman reports…
Premiership 1
Grouville FC have etched their names in the history books, securing the club’s first ever Premiership 1 title with a hard-fought win over the youngsters of St Paul’s.
Despite entering as favourites, the Groove found themselves down 1-0 at half-time, after St Paul’s Sonny Cassidy’s strike put them ahead.
Coming out after the break, the boys in blue took control, with star-player Harrison Moon scoring his 17th league goal to equalise, as well as extending his lead in the golden boot race.
With the game very much up for grabs, Grouville’s Brad Le Mercier took his chance, netting in the 73rd minute in what proved the decider.
It was a tough battle until the end, but Grouville had done enough to secure the title, and completed a sensational league campaign undefeated.
Manager David Fitton was ecstatic following the game: “We want to dedicate this win to the late George Noel, Patrick Blond and David Whitel, who were loyal servants to the club.
“This means everything to the lads. As a club we’ve dared to dream and this is huge. This season is a real testament to the players.
“We’ve ground out results and won ugly when required, which is something we haven’t done previously.”
There aren’t any signs of Grouville sitting on their laurels however, with much still to play for.
Fitton added: “Trophies are still on the line, with the Jersey FA and Jeremie cups still up for grabs, so the squad must remain focused. Even though the league is secured, the squad want to achieve the unbeaten milestone.”
A new dawn is breaking at Le Boulivot, with junior prospects already proving themselves on the senior stage.
“Grouville have an excellent academy to develop young players,” continued Fitton.
“Over the past month, we’ve brought three U16s into the fold, all involved in the U16 Muratti. Looking at the talent we hold, Grouville FC has a bright future.”
While the title was decided, Sporting Academics hosted St Clement, attempting to build off last week’s result which captured their first point since the turn of the year.
After being neck-and-neck in the opening 45 minutes at 0-0, Accies crumbled in the second half to concede four goals. The Anchors’ Darren Coyle proved unstoppable, completing a hat-trick while his teammate, Ryan Campos, added his own in a 4-0 win.
St Clement now have a firm grasp of second place, three points ahead of St Paul’s with a game in hand.
JFA Bowl
Before that monumental day of football, Grouville Reserves faced St John under the floodlights in the Jersey FA Bowl semi-final.
Action was full throttle from kick-off, with the blues’ Elton Atat finding the back of the net in the fifth minute. However, St John never relented, culminating in an equaliser from Carl Duncan only six minutes later.
St John established more control, with Duncan adding another pair to claim an electrifying hat-trick and Christian De Oliveira putting away one more to come out 4-1 victors, booking their place in the final at Springfield Stadium.
Premiership 2
Premiership 2 delivered a thrilling slate of games, headlined by St Ouen’s clash with St John in the league decider.
St Ouen’s have had an amazing year as a club, with all their senior teams either champions, or on the cusp of securing their respective league titles. All the pre-game hype was warranted, as St Ouen’s Jay Curtis commenced the scoring after just six minutes.
That was all it took as the yellow-and-blues maintained the lead, despite valiant efforts from the visitors, to secure the title for St Ouen’s with a 1-0 win.
Meanwhile, Dragoes de Jersey maintained their stellar form as of late, winning their third match on the bounce to defeat Sports Club of Jersey 3-0.
Celso Joao Lira Dias starred for the third-placed side, striking a brace to make it 2-0 after 76 minutes.
Manuel Ricardo Nunes Dos Santos put Sports Club out of their misery, scoring in the 85th minute to secure a 3-0 scoreline at the final whistle.
As powerful as the attack has been for Dragoes, their defence deserve a lot of plaudits, securing three clean sheets in that span.
A five-goal duel between Rozel Rovers and First Tower United up at Mont Cochon wrapped up Premiership 2 action.
First Tower’s Jordan Jones was driven to turn the visitors’ luck around, after losing two on the bounce, to put a brace past the hosts.
But Rozel went all out to defend their home turf, with goals from George Sheehy, Pedro Da Assuncao and a last-minute winning penalty from Nathan MacDonald to finish 3-2.
Championship 2
St Ouen’s C have been dominant in Championship 2, still yet to taste defeat in the league.
After such a remarkable campaign, they finally got their hands on the trophy, no matter how anti-climactic, after finding themselves on the right side of a home walkover versus Sporting Academics Reserves.
St John Reserves were also presented with an away walkover against St Paul’s Reserves, climbing up to fifth place.
Over 35 Division
There was only one game in the O35s Division, with Grouville and St Lawrence battling it out at Le Boulivot.
The first-half was anyone’s game, as Grouville’s Stewart Daynes and St Lawrence’s Tom Le Sueur both netted to make it 1-1 at the break.
In the midst of it, the hosts just had that bit more in the tank, with the Blues’ Ross Gibson’s strike propelling them forward to win the game 2-1.
Women’s Division
Only one game took place in the Women’s Division, with Sports Club of Jersey looking for their first win in over a month, against Jersey Wanderers.
It’s been a challenging season for Sports Club, whose only points came in the form of a home walkover. Regardless of form, the bottom-placed side showed real grit in the first half, holding the red-and-white stripes to a 0-0 from the opening 45 minutes.
Yet Wanderers stormed forward as soon as the second half started, as Lauren Trachy, Samantha Reis and Hannah Lynam all scored in a 3-0 win.
Alexforbes & Hepburns Walking Football Division
Sunday proved another entertaining slate in the Alexforbes & Hepburns Walking Football League, with goals coming in their droves.
Trinity extended their lead at the top in style, beating First Tower 6-1* after goals from James Sutcliffe, Chris Hall and an electrifying four-goal performance from Noel Kernan.
Portuguese Football Club of Jersey cost themselves valuable points in the ever-intensifying title chase, losing to Madeira FC.
The game was all-out, with the Portuguese’s Stephen O’Brien and Madeira’s Mario Lino Gouveia Sousa making it 1-1 after just 14 minutes.
Madeira just had the edge in the contest, with Victor Santos finishing to make it a 2-1 final score.
While St John were awarded an away walkover versus Rozel Rovers, the most thrilling display had to go to St Ouen’s, who pounded Grouville with nine goals to jump up a spot in the table.
The Groove simply had no answers for St Ouen’s staggering attack, as Robert Lucas scored in the first two minutes.
What followed was a merciless bombardment, as Lionel Gomes scored a whopping four goals, fellow teammate Daniel Craven scored a hat-trick, and Matthew Smith finished another to grab a commanding 9-0 triumph.
* indicates no scorers submitted
