THERE were a number of people who turned out at Springfield on Saturday to watch one player in particular – and he wasn’t a Bull.
For the first time in their infant history, the Jersey Bulls players lined-up against a familiar face from the Island.
Tom Blampied had only ever played for St Peter, a crucial cog in defence during their JFA Premiership title-winning campaign last season. But a transfer to the London office of his employer in September saw him look to sign for a decent club near where he was living and that club happened to be Colliers Wood United.
Blampied played well at the back, but was helpless in stopping Bulls winning 3-0, despite playing with an extra man for nearly the entirety of the game after Harry Curtis’s early red card. Bulls were back to their best and, although Colliers Wood threatened on occasion, it was a welcome return to form for the home side ahead of their fifth round FA Vase tie with Falmouth Town.
Unfortunately for Blampied and his teammates, the defeat leaves Colliers Wood rooted to the bottom of the division staring relegation in the face. But Blampied is enjoying his football there, especially knowing that he has a game every week, unlike for St Peter when all it took was 14 games to complete a league season, compared to 38 in his team’s – and Bulls’ – division.
“It’s different not knowing the players you come up against,” said Blampied. “In Jersey every game you have a rough idea what players are going to do what, what style they are, whereas in the UK I don’t know who I’m going to be up against.
“Physically, there are lot more games, sometimes two times a week, and having that is so much better. In Jersey, it’s tricky when you only have a game every other week. I don’t think 14 games is enough, really, for any player.”
Saturday’s match, however, was an anomaly in the sense that he did know exactly what players he was up against and was more than familiar with the 3G surface at Springfield having played in a number of cup finals at the stadium for St Peter last season, winning the JFA Cup and the Upton.
“It was a bit weird playing here against a Jersey team, especially wearing this blue colour. I’m used to playing in red for St Peter,” he added.
“But it was a special occasion. It was nice to come back to the Island and a big crowd supporting the Jersey lot, but it did feel they were supporting me at times too.”
Unfortunately for Colliers Wood, having some inside intel on their opponents did not quite give them the advantage they had hoped for, but it was always going to be difficult for Blampied to contain Lorne Bickley, scorer of all three goals, whatever their game plan.
“It was always going to be a battle and I knew that. We were fortunate with the [Curtis] red card otherwise it could have been a few more,” Blampied admitted. “We played well and had a lot of the ball, but it was a fair result on the day.
“We’ve got a young team and we are fighting for survival at the bottom.
“It’s definitely a step up in standard, and you get the chance to progress which you don’t get in Jersey” though he also believes his Premiership-winning St Peter side would hold their own in the league, though not quite challenging at the top as Bulls are.
“I certainly think we could have handled ourselves.”
