AS the Bulls cruised to a 6-0 FA Vase victory over the weekend, to keep their dream of an appearance at Wembley alive, league leaders Abbey Rangers stumbled to a home defeat against Farnham.
However, Rangers are the least of the Caesareans’ worries, with third-placed Badshot Lea five points ahead having played the same number of games.
What lays ahead is a crucial run of five league fixtures in the space of 17 days, beginning with an away trip to Guildford today.
It was a period in the season that broke them last year as the congested fixtures, coupled with a need to play their home fixtures on the mainland, scuppered any promotion hopes.
There seems to be a different sentiment in the Bulls camp this year.
Gary Freeman has not been frightened to strengthen when possible, as he recently proved, adding long-standing Jersey star Luke Watson into the fold.
The 35-year-old replaced Adam Trotter off the bench during their cup demolition of Romford and duly scored 60 seconds into his Bulls debut, with his first touch.
‘It feels great to be a part of the Bulls,’ said Watson.
‘Me and Gary had a chat about what we both wanted to get out of me coming into the set-up and hopefully I can bring some more experience to the squad.
‘One area we perhaps lack in is finding goals from the midfield and I’ve always prided myself on that.
‘It was nice to score with my first touch and, hopefully, I can keep on contributing and inspiring some of the other midfield lads to help add to the goal tally.
‘If we can be a team that can score goals from any position, we become a difficult prospect to face.
‘Opposing sides will struggle to contain us if that is the case at the back end of this season.’
Previously, the side leant heavily on record scorer Sol Solomon’s production, but with his departure, others have blossomed.
The youthful duo of Sammy Henia-Kamau and Miguel Carvalho have gelled seamlessly, while fellow youngster Sammy Sutcliffe has looked assured at the back, offering vital cover to the experienced tandem of Luke Campbell and James Quérée.
And centre-forward Lorne Bickley has thrived as the main target, sitting on 20 goals after 21 appearances and heading the race for the golden boot.
Watson et al next face a stuttering Guildford side, with just one win in seven and that came back in November.
Meanwhile, the Islanders come off the back of a superb second half to comfortably progress in the FA Vase.
With attentions now firmly back on league duty, today presents an golden opportunity to begin a crucial run of games with a win.
Jersey Bulls squad: Euan Van Der Vliet, James Quérée, Jay Giles, Luke Campbell, Sammy Sutcliffe, Adam Trotter, Ben Le Rougetel, Joe Kilshaw, Jonny Le Quesne, Luke Watson, Francis Lekimamati, Jake Prince, Lorne Bickley, Miguel Carvalho, Sammy Henia-Kamau.
