JERSEY BULLS – 3 (Ritzema 4′, Sunley 29′, Bickley 70′)
HARROW BOROUGH – 0
Attendance: 982
Referee: Steven Marr
Player of the Match: Toby Ritzema
THERE is no denying that Jersey Bulls are the team to beat in this league, as they bounced back straight into the win column with a commanding 3-0 victory over Harrow Borough in front of a raucous home crowd at Springfield Stadium.
Although last week’s loss – which ended their 34-game league unbeaten streak – was a bitter pill to swallow, there was no sign of pain or anguish on the pitch today, as the Bulls came out firing to dominate the contest.
From kick-off, it was all about the Bulls. The boys in red were simply relentless in their pressure and, in just the fifth minute of play, the lead was already theirs.
Toby Ritzema was the one to pull the Caesareans ahead. Lorne Bickley’s initial shot may have been saved, but Harrow keeper Andrew McCorkell just could not hang on to the ball – an error that proved costly, as he spilled it directly into Ritzema’s path.
It was all smooth sailing from there, as Ritzema found the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Ritzema was simply transcendent in the opening half, so much so that it seemed every manoeuvre from the Bulls came through him and, just 25 minutes later, he was back in the midst of the action.
This time though, the Jerseyman traded places, going from goalscorer to playmaker. After utilising a bit of wizardry to beat the full-back, Ritzema delivered a pinpoint square pass right into the feet of James Sunley, who took the shot first time and tapped it home to double their lead.
There was a late scare in the 42nd minute, as a bobbling loose ball forced Euan Van Der Vliet to make an electric reflex save and push it against the post, but the Bulls really were in command and went into the half-time break 2-0 up.
The hosts showed no signs of slowing down as the second half commenced, finding themselves back in the final third within a couple minutes of play resuming. Once again, it was Ritzema looking for the pass inside, this time into Bickley, but the Harrow centre back made a last-gasp block to prevent the Bulls building on the lead.
However, things began to calm down and fatigue slowly caught up. Although the Bulls maintained control of possession, the attacking chances just were not presenting themselves, until Casey Nixon came on in the 70th minute.
You often hear the term ‘super-sub’ in football and I cannot think of a better description of the young Nixon, who made a huge impact on the game with his very first touch.
No sooner than the very first minute of him gracing the field, Nixon gathered the ball and played a grounded cross to none other than goalscorer Bickley at the back-post, who did not hesitate to smash the ball into the back of the net and make it 3-0.
That proved enough for the Bulls and, although they created a couple more chances, the score stayed at 3-0 when the final whistle blew.
For the full reaction and interviews from manager Elliot Powell and Toby Ritzema, then check out Monday’s JEP
Jersey Bulls: Euan Van Der Vliet, Jonny Le Quesne, James Carr, James Queree (c), Toby Ritzema, Joe Kilshaw, Lorne Bickley, James Sunley, Luke Watson, Jack Lumsden, Sammy Henia-Kamau. Substitutes: Harry Gladdish, Casey Nixon (for Ritzema, 70′), Miguel Carvalho (for Henia-Kamau, 60′), Luke Lister (for Bickley, 74′), Harry Curtis (for Watson, 83′)
Harrow Borough: Andrew McCorkell, Olu Akinode, Luke Brophy, Massimo Giamattei, Harry Nevins, Reuben Collins, Bola Okewoye, Lewis Cole (c), Quaye Vine, Adam Kolli, Tade Ibrahim. Substitutes: Gareth Chendik (for Okewoye, 65′), Will Bailey (for Ibrahim, 46′), Jayde Crotty (for Vine, 46′), Robert Bunn (for Cole, 78′), Jeremy Stewart (for Giamattei, 84′)
