Bulls' sprint finish maintains tilt for the top

Miguel Carvalho’s creativity again proved decisive for Jersey Bulls, with his late assist steering the hosts to a 3-0 lead at Springfield Picture: GEORGE MARRIOTT

JERSEY BULLS overcame a ‘flat’ first half to put on yet another second-half clinic at Springfield.

The ill-disciplined mainland club finished the match with ten men, in a feisty affair that also featured four yellows and a sin-bin.

The Islanders dominated proceedings from the outset, but again lacked the endeavour in the final third during the opening period, before a flurry of goals from Luke Campbell, Jake Prince and Francis Lekimamati inside the last 20 minutes.

First-team coach Dan Seviour said: ‘It was quite a familiar first half, honestly.

‘We felt like our play was a little flat and slow at times and we didn’t really pressure them enough. But, the positive was that we were not giving Cobham any real chances to threaten our goal.

‘We have a lot of trust in our players and we told them at half time that we have raised our standards before and we have to do that again.

‘Full credit to them because we were much better with the ball and that pressure eventually turned into goals.’

The Bulls have entered a make-or-break juncture of the season – one that ultimately sealed their fate last campaign – but Seviour believes lessons have been learned.

‘Every game is difficult for different reasons,’ he added.

‘Some teams will take the game to us, others will tuck in and invite us to break them down. I feel like we are a much better side at being able to manage those different situations and we have given ourselves an opportunity to fight for promotion, and that’s our ultimate goal.

‘We had three different scorers today, which was brilliant. There is a trust between the players that anyone can grab a goal given the chance and the more goal contributions we have from different outlets, the harder we become to stop.’

Seviour’s sentiments were echoed by opening goalscorer, and man of the match, Luke Campbell.

‘I think there is a belief in the camp that no matter what the time is on the clock, we will get the goal we need,’ he said.

‘For us, it was another clean sheet where Euan [Van Der Vliet] didn’t have a save to make.

‘We have been a lot better at winning the games we should this season, in comparison with last. We struggled a bit trying to pick through sides who tucked in and defended well, but it’s all a learning experience and we can use that to build on in the back end of this season.

‘There is still a long way to go, but we are progressing and the way we have managed to take apart sides in the second half is a really strong trait to have.’

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