THERE was no shortage of drama as the Wheway Memorial Trophy took centre stage in Jersey football over the weekend.
All eight Premiership 1 sides were in action as the inter-island cup competition got underway, with penalty shootouts, late drama, and some long-awaited wins marking the first round.
Earlier in the week, St Brelade had taken three points in Premiership 1 with a convincing 3–0 win over Grouville at Les Quennevais, thanks to goals from Leighton Gilroy, Tom Harris and Ryan Le Cornu.
But when the two sides met again in the cup, it was Grouville that had the final say.
Archie Drummond gave the Blues an early lead after 20 minutes before an own goal levelled the score. The game finished 1–1 after 90 minutes, forcing extra time.
Blake Derbyshire restored Grouville’s advantage just four minutes in, only for Kushal Frankson to equalise in the 103rd minute.
With nothing to separate the teams after 120 minutes, the tie went to penalties, and Grouville held their nerve, winning 3–2 in the shootout to claim their first victory of the season. They will now host Guernsey side Vale Recreation in the next round.
Elsewhere, St Clement produced a spirited comeback to edge past Jersey Wanderers after a tense penalty shootout.
The two sides had already met twice this season, both ending in 2–1 wins for Wanderers, but this encounter followed a different script.
Goals from Darryl Mvalo and Kamen Nafkha gave Wanderers a 2–0 half-time lead, before St Clement responded after the break through Karl Hinds and Reece Jackson.
Extra time brought more twists, Harry Scott looked to have sealed it for Wanderers with a fine solo effort ten minutes from time, only for Hinds to strike again five minutes later.
Penalties followed, and in a gripping contest from the spot, St Clement triumphed 7–6 after nine rounds of kicks. The Anchors will face Guernsey’s Sylvans in the next stage of the competition.
Madeira also booked their place in the next round with a controlled 2–0 win over St Ouen at Les Quennevais.
Diogo Velosa opened the scoring after 28 minutes before Delfino Figuera doubled the advantage 13 minutes later to give Madeira a comfortable lead at the break.
St Ouen’s hopes of a late comeback were dashed when Jonathan Le Blancq was shown a straight red card two minutes from time, rounding off a frustrating afternoon for the visitors.
The final Wheway Memorial cup fixture saw St Peter narrowly lose out to St Paul’s. St Paul’s edged past St Peter in dramatic fashion, securing a 2–1 victory thanks to a stunning late strike from Aimar Vieira.
Just as extra time seemed inevitable, Vieira produced a moment of brilliance in the dying minutes, rifling a long-range effort into the top corner to send St Paul’s through to the next round.
St Paul’s will host St Martin’s AC of Guernsey in the next round of the cup. The Quarter-Finals are set to be played on January 17th.
Elsewhere in local football, league action continued with a number of fixtures played over the weekend.
Springfield’s Friday night football returned with a Portuguese derby. Premiership 2’s Dragoes de Jersey lost 4-0 to Sports Club of Jersey.
Celso Freitas, Carlos Quintal, Guilherma Dias, and Agrela Rodrigues found the back of the net on Friday night meaning Sports Club are now level on points with league leaders Rozel Rovers and Sporting Academics.
In Championship 1, Jersey Wanderers Reserves laid claim to a statement 8-2 win over St Peter Reserves.
Zac Traynor scored a brace whilst Dom Roscouet, George Salaun, Rob Howe, James Cannard, Jack Browning, Jay Mallinson all got on the scoresheet to make it four wins in succession for Wanderers.
Grouville Reserves crept into first place after a narrow 3-2 victory over neighbours St Clement’s Reserves. Tony Passego added to Sonny Teelings’ brace to overcome the hosts.
In the Cherry Godfrey Women’s Division, Rozel Rovers made it clear that they are once again the team to beat this season as they secured an 11-0 victory over Sports Club of Jersey Women.
Last season’s player of the year, Emily Le Page, made her mark netting four goals with a first half hat-trick. Holly Sundby also scored three, as Skye Da Silva scored twice off the bench.
Leah Morris and Tiffany Sundby added to the tally to close the gap on their opponents at the top of the table.
