Upton Park FC, one of 15 clubs who entered the first ever FA Cup in 1871/72, are set for their first appearance on Caesarean soil in 108 years, and will be chasing a second win in the Channel Islands in less than 12 months following their 1-0 success against Guernsey’s Island Games squad last June.
Little is known about the make-up of the visiting squad, but they are believed to have Charlie Sherringham – son of former England striker Teddy – in their ranks.
Jersey enter the match with one victory from one in 2018 – a 3-1 triumph over the Navy earlier this month – but injuries, unavailability and Combination fixture congestion have hampered recent preparation.
St Peter winger Harry Cardwell withdrew yesterday with hamstring trouble, while Adam Trotter (groin) has also been left off the squad list. Kieran Lester and Karl Hinds have come in as replacements.
‘We had a training session after the last game against the Navy, but it has been difficult since then with the weather and a backlog of club games,’ said Island coach Paddy O’Toole.
‘But St Paul’s played St Peter on Saturday, and the majority of the squad are based in those two teams, so you can say that match was a decent training session and good preparation for this game.
‘This is a good opportunity to give some of the younger players a go, and the older ones understand that. The lads who have been left out could always be dragged in again.
‘The Muratti is around 40 days away, and obviously we want to win it.’
The visiting club – winners of Olympic gold for Great Britain in 1900 – lend their name to annual inter-island fixtures between league winners in Jersey and Guernsey. In 1906 they donated the Upton Park Trophy for First Division contests to celebrate their tenth tour of the islands.
The London club, defunct from 1911, reformed as an amateur outfit in 2016, when West Ham United moved to the Olympic Stadium, and played the final game at the Boleyn Ground (Upton Park), against the Royal Engineers.
Jersey Wanderers beat Upton Park 6-2 when they last visited Jersey in 1910, after Wanderers players Pip Le Sueur (1906) and Denis Renouf (1907-10) made a number of appearances for them.
