Jersey Wanderers 3
Mvalo 20′, Risby 24′, Illingworth 54′
Grouville 2
Martins-Figuera 16′, Lloyd 64′
HT Score: 2-1
Attendance: 138
JEP Player of the Match: Jamie Watling
JERSEY Wanderers beat Grouville 3-2 in an enthralling matchup at Springfield Stadium to claim the Charity Cup.
A number of spectators travelled to Janvrin Road on Tuesday evening to watch a repeat of last year’s Charity Cup final. Jersey Wanderers faced league winners Grouville FC in hope to retain their pre-season silverware.
A new-look Wanderers side adopted a 4-3-3 formation, as did the men in blue. Kick-off ensued and both sides looked keen to make an early impact.
The first effort on goal came from the Wanderers skipper Josh Coutanche, a long-range effort was well saved by Luke Duncan. The red and white stripes continued to look dangerous early on, winger Casey Nixon was posing a real threat down the left-hand side.
Despite Wanderers’ early pressure, it was Grouville who found themselves with the early advantage.
A long ball found the run of Grouville’s dangerman on the day, Robert Martins-Figuera. After a tangle of legs with right-back Jay Newton, the ball broke kindly for the Grouville number 11.
One-on-one with Robbie Scott, Martins-Figuera slotted it into the bottom right corner. Grouville took the lead against the run of play.
However, it wasn’t long until the western side replied. Darryl Mvalo responded with an excellent finish to level the playing field just four minutes later.
Alex Durance found Mvalo’s run at the back post with a perfectly weighted cross-field pass, and Mvalo brought it down impeccably. His first touch was followed with a tidy second to bring it over his marker, eventually guiding his volley past the outstretched Duncan in goal.
The Wanderers didn’t stop there, left-back Noah Risby took matters into his own hands, rifling his side into the lead in the 24th minute to complete a speedy turnaround.
Durance picked up his second assist of the first half, his outside the boot pass found Risby in acres of space down the left flank. Risby danced his way past the defender cutting inside onto his weaker right foot. His effort was steered into the bottom left corner.
The blues were struggling to deal with the Wanderers attacking force, Nixon, Mvalo and Arthur Illingworth continued to cause problems for the Grouville defence. But some mistimed efforts and quality saves from Duncan, kept the score level going into half-time.
Grouville offered little in the first half, with their most threatening moments stemming from Callum Barry’s deliveries from left-back, but none were capitalised on.
The second half began with Wanderers in the driving seat. The first chance of the second stanza fell to Grouville’s goalscorer, Harrison Moon picked out the run of Martins-Figuera but his left-footed effort sailed narrowly over Scott’s crossbar.
Minutes later, it was Wanderers that found the found the back of the net. A marauding Mvalo powered through the Grouville midfield into the penalty area, where he was bundled over for what was a stonewall penalty.
Illingworth slid the penalty in the bottom right corner, despite Duncan getting a hand to it, to hand Wanderers a two-goal advantage.
Wanderers looked in cruise control until Grouville defender Connor Lloyd rose above the crowd to head home a second for Grouville.
Lloyd displayed his aerial prowess by meeting Martins-Figuera’s corner and powering his header past Scott with half an hour remaining.
With Grouville pushing for an equaliser, the defensive partnership of Max Corbett and Jamie Watling stood resolute to nullify any threat.
A number of headed clearances from the pair denied Grouville the chance to capitalise on their numerous set-pieces in the closing stages.
Wanderers turned to the bench for some fresh legs, Kamen Nafkha, Jack Hardisty, and Harry Scott were introduced. A mix of pace and experience helped see the game out effectively.
Grouville’s Carl Duncan and Max Rivers were brought on to offer the blues something different, but neither were able to make the significant difference.
A chaotic final ten minutes, which included seven added, saw route one football from both teams. Grouville full-back Callum Coote struck fear into the Wanderers hearts when his long-range bullet flew past the top-right corner.
A frantic end to a brilliant match saw the new-look Wanderers side victorious in the Charity Cup once again.
Wanderers’ manager Chris Gill was very pleased with his squad’s performance: “I’m really happy with the shift that the lads put it, not just today, but in the run in to the final as well.”
He continued: “We had to make some very difficult calls before the game because of the talent that runs through the squad and a lot of lads deserved to start.”
Gill was full of praise for their opposition: “Grouville were extremely well organised as you’d expect and we had to work hard to break them down, but I felt we were in control for the majority of the game, albeit the last ten minutes were chaotic.”
Wanderers will be hoping to improve on last season’s league performance, they were unable to build on their Charity Cup win last year, but Gill is confident that this year will be different.
“We’re pleased to have retained the cup, but our attention now turns to getting off to a fast start in the league Saturday and ensure we’re well placed to challenge on all fronts.” said Gill.
Jersey Wanderers: Robbie Scott (wore 13), Jay Newton (12. James Murphy 80), Noah Risby, Sean Lambert, Max Corbett, Jamie Watling, Josh Coutanche (c) (Durance 90+1, Newton 90+10), Alex Durance (14. Kamen Nafkha 70), Arthur Illingworth (Mvalo 82, 15. Harvey A’Court 90+1), Darryl Mvalo (18. Jack Hardisty 68), Casey Nixon (16. Harry Scott 70)
Grouville: Luke Duncan, Callum Coote (14. Carl Duncan 73), Callum Barry (15. Kingsley Bennett 80), Edgar Da Costa, Connor Lloyd, Charles Stewart, Charlie Payn (c) (16. Harry Ecobichon 86), Jules Gabbiadini, Diogo Velosa (12. Max Rivers 73), Harrison Moon, Robert Martins-Figueira (17. Calvin Antunes 90+1, Velosa 90+10)
