THERE are nine matches of local football to look forward to this weekend across the four divisions, with 16 teams kicking off at 2pm on Saturday, with one women’s fixture on Sunday morning, as the league tables start to take shape.
Premiership 1
Premiership 1 features just one pairing, though it will be played twice in quick succession. St Brelade First host St Clement First tomorrow evening before the sides face each other again on Saturday in the reverse fixture.
Both teams have made near-identical starts, each recording one win and one defeat from their opening two matches.
With both having already come up short against the in-form Jersey Wanderers, this double-header offers a crucial chance to close the gap on St Peter, who sit second with seven points from three games.
St Clement will look to call upon top goalscorer Karl Hinds who has netted an incredible ten times in his last four outings.
Premiership 2
A busy round of Premiership 2 action sees three games that could change the complexion of the table.
Rozel Rovers will look to maintain their 100% record at home to Trinity, who are yet to win or lose, with three consecutive score-draws.
The Seagulls proved their resilience with a ten-men victory over Sports Club of Jersey last gameweek, helped over the line by their youngsters, Rozel are already proving a formidable force in Jersey’s second division.
Sports Club of Jersey welcome Sporting Academics First to Les Quennevais this Saturday. ‘Accies’ have only featured once since the start of the season, in what was a ten-goal thriller against St Lawrence First, winning 6-4.
With the reinstatement of new goalkeeper Sam Lemon, who missed their opener through injury, Accies will be confident headed into Saturday’s fixture.
The final Premiership 2 fixture brings together two sides still searching for their first win of the campaign.
St Lawrence First have been lively in attack, scoring seven goals in their opening two matches, but defensive lapses have cost them, with nine conceded at the other end.
They welcome St John First on Saturday, who themselves found the net three times against Trinity last time out. All signs point to another fixture packed with goalmouth action.
Championship 1
Championship 1 hosts just one fixture this gameweek, with Grouville Reserves hosting St Clement Reserves.
Both sides have made respectable starts to the season as they sit one point apart in second and third after three games. St Clement are without leading goalscorer Taylor Roche following his dismissal in their Friday night match at Springfield.
Nonetheless, both sides will be hungry for all three points as they can both leapfrog leaders St Ouen’s Reserves with a win on Saturday.
Championship 2
Championship 2 looks set for an exciting round of fixtures. First off, First Tower United welcome second placed Grouville C in a bid to climb the table.
First Tower have won just won of their opening four matches, suffering heavy defeats to St Paul’s Reserves and St Ouen’s C, Tower will be raring to go this weekend. Meanwhile, Grouville have enjoyed a solid start with two wins from three and are certainly going to be confident headed into the tie.
St Ouen’s C team are in red-hot form as they are set to host Rozel Rovers Reserves this weekend. St Ouen’s have scored 14 in their last two games, with Kacper Smilek and Shane Carre each on four goals so far this campaign.
In contrast, Rozel let in 11 goals to St Paul’s Reserves in their last fixture and will be hoping to set the record straight against tough opposition.
Finally, Trinity Reserves host St John Reserves on home turf. Both teams have collected just three points so far this season, but a balanced contest offers each a chance to climb the table.
St John’s Christian De Oliveira has already netted five goals in three league matches this season, and he will be keen to exploit Trinity’s porous defence.
Cherry Godfrey Women’s Division
Sunday morning is a repeat of Sports Club of Jersey Women’s first ever win over St Peter Women.
Following their 3-1 win thanks to a hat-trick from Vanessa Ramos, Sports Club will be full of confidence headed into the return fixture this weekend.
St Peter are yet to get points on the board this campaign having lost all three of their opening fixtures. The stage is set at Les Quennevais at 10:30am.
