Relatively small for a number one, what he lacks in size Le Monnier more than makes up for in agility, springing into action when needed to thwart his opponents.
It was a frustrating night for St Saviour who dominated the ball in the second half without ever really looking like breaching the St Clement rearguard. In the end, the losing coach Andy Sheppard was left to lament another lost opportunity, having suffered defeat at the same stage 12 months ago.
‘We’ve done absolutely everything but score,’ he said.
‘I felt we dominated the game. We were the more forward-thinking team and their ‘keeper’s had one of those days. He’s pulled off two or three top-class saves [but] congratulations to St Clement, they took their chance.’
By contrast, his counterpart Jerry O’Shea was in an understandably jubilant mood after his young St Clement side dragged out a close win.
‘I said to the boys at the start we were in it to win it,’ O’Shea explained.
‘It was nip-and-tuck. Fair play to St Saviour, they gave us a right good game there and our lads were buckling at the knees towards the end.’
St Clement’s win was even more remarkable considering their main source of influence, outfield at least, was two 16-year-olds called dos Santos – Rai and Jay – unrelated apart from being pedigree footballers. Their fathers, Ali Santos and Nelio De Freitas, respectively, both represented Jersey with distinction in Murattis and Island Games and at first glance there seems to be little reason why their sons cannot follow in their footsteps.
It was Rai’s fine finish that set up victory for his parish. As early as the tenth minute, he received the ball on the right side of the penalty area and casually curled his effort past a flat-footed Brad Rolland in goal. Most of St Clement’s best moves began and ended from Jay to Rai, both showcasing a maturity on the ball that belies their tender years.
At the opposite end, St Saviour huffed and puffed but they couldn’t blow a goal in as they found Le Monnier in stubborn mood. Matt Rondel, James Walsh and Kriss Fogg all had good chances in the first half to pull St Saviour level at point-blank range, only to see efforts turned away. In the second half, St Clement sat deep as their young players began to tire. St Saviour dominated territory and possession but looked completely bereft of ideas. Instead, it was substitute Sol Solomon for St Clement who had the next best chance of the game, striking straight at Rolland when he should have done better.
St Clement did eventually get the ball in the net a second time but it was ruled out for offside after ball pin-balled around the St Saviour penalty area. Never mind. It was all so circumstantial as the game petered out, St Saviour unable to muster any more energy for the fightback.
The Trinity Shield – the oldest football competition in Jersey – was in St Clement’s hands again, their second in succession and 16th overall. If the dos Santos boys keep up residence in the parish it should be theirs for many years to come.
