JERSEY Bulls extended their unbeaten run to eight games on with a solid home victory over high-flying Abbey Rangers.
Goals from Miguel Carvalho and marksman Lorne Bickley either side of the break lifted Elliot Powell’s men to fourth, with several games in hand over those above.
Powell was “delighted” with his side’s performance, in what proved a physical encounter at Springfield Stadium.
“This was a tough match for us,” said Powell. “In the first ten minutes, they really came at us hard.
“They were looking to make a statement and put us on the back foot, but I thought we coped with it superbly and really dominated the key moments.”
The physicality from both teams was apparent from the off, especially with the referee keen to allow play to flow freely.
It took the Bulls just seven minutes to carve an opening, Karl Hinds cut in nicely on the left and slotted in Toby Ritzema. However, Abbey goalkeeper Shay Honey was quick off his line to make a smart save.
The game moved steadily along, physicality still very much the key from the away side, resulting in the first booking after 18 minutes for defender Del Davies.
The Bulls had another good chance just after the half-hour mark, as the in-form James Sunley whipped in a free-kick which Ritzema again met, but his header just cleared the bar.
Just three minutes later, however, the deadlock was broken by a piece of individual brilliance. Hinds was clipped on the right edge of the box, 20 yards out, and it was screaming out for a left-footed curler into the top corner. Up stepped Carvalho.
His strike curled with venom, soaring straight into the top corner and sending the Springfield faithful into delirium.
It looked as if the Bulls would take that lead into half-time, but the visitors had their own chances just before the break.
Taking inspiration from Carvalho, Abbey attempted their own top corner free-kick, but this time the flying Euan Van Der Vliet just got his fingertips to the ball, tipping it onto the bar for a world-class save.
Just one minute later, he produced another moment of genius, this time from much closer range, as a corner came in and the header from six yards out was parried away one handed by the Bulls shot-stopper.
“For Miguel to step up and produce a moment like that in front of the home fans in a tight game was fantastic and just what we needed at that moment,” continued Powell.
“Let’s not also forget Euan there at the end of the first half, both of those saves were absolutely outstanding.
“That would have been frustrating to concede just before half-time so he deserves a lot of credit for both of those moments.”
Returning for the second-half, both teams seemed to be feeling each other out again. If the Bulls had one blip from the first-half, it was seeing the superb Sunley hobble off and replaced for the restart by the returning Rai Dos Santos.
Rangers turned to reinforcements, making three substitutions in quick succession with roughly 20 minutes to go.
All five changes were used by the visitors in their desperate attempt to try and snatch an equaliser.
However, just moments after their last change crossed the white line, Honey handed the Bulls the win on a silver platter.
A terrible clearance fell kindly to Hinds, who squared an easy pass to Bickley who, in acres of space, slotted home to score the Bulls’ second and his 99th career goal in red.
Tensions continued to rise towards the final whistle, with Dos Santos finding himself in the midst of a scuffle after being clattered into, both men earning themselves a booking.
However, Jersey closed the game out professionally to claim their fifth win of the season, another clean sheet and a move up the table to fourth for their hard work.
“I thought we were really professional from start to finish,” added Powell, barely hiding his smile. “Considering our injury list and the issues surrounding that, for the boys to still be producing performances and wins is full credit to them. We’ve had to ask some lads to play new positions due to this, Joe Kilshaw had to slot in in defence and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t had to do that before, but he was outstanding.
“To secure another home win, especially with a clean sheet is massive for us. We have spoken about making Springfield a fortress and we need to win these home games.
“The teams around us are continuing to win and we need to make sure we keep pace with the lads at the top.
“We’re going into another busy period with three quick games coming up, but the confidence is really high in the group at the moment.”
The Bulls’ next clash is an away fixture this Saturday against second-placed AFC Whyteleafe.
Jersey Bulls: Euan Van Der Vliet, Joe Kilshaw, Fraser Barlow, James Querée (c), Sammy Sutcliffe, Luke Watson, Toby Ritzema (off 96 mins), Karl Hinds (off 88 mins), Lorne Bickley, James Sunley (off 45 mins), Miguel Carvalho (off 92 mins)
Substitutes: Jack Boyle (on 88 mins), Kieran Lester, Rai Dos Santos (on 45 mins), Seaney McColgan (on 92 mins), Tomas Goncalves (on 96 mins)
Abbey Rangers: Shay Honey, Del Davies (off 73 mins), Jerry Antwi (off 82 mins), Ross Nunn, Tanaka Gabaza, Alexandros Andre, Jordan Ikala (off 78 mins), Brad Marshall, Luke Robertson (c) (off 67 mins), Finley Warren (off 64 mins), Alfie Burton
Substitutes: Milo Derham (on 78 mins), Ahkim Brown (on 82 mins), Tremayne Wooliscroft (on 73 mins), Kelvin Karanja (on 64 mins), Stuart Mortimer (on 67 mins)
