“ALL the way.” That was player-coach Tom Sibley’s answer when asked how far his Jersey team could go.
Judging by the first-half performance at least, there are no reasons to doubt him.
Dominant, fluid, clinical.Cambridge could not live with their hosts for the first 35 and probably had wondered what had hit them during the half-time break.
The heavy showers that poured down had, thankfully, subsided by the time the match started, but the wind whipped across the pitch and Jersey, in turn, whipped up a whirlwind of their own, constant movement, a carousel of interchanging play that left the visitors chasing shadows.
“[We were] ruthless, which is what we’ve been training on, what we worked on. Counter-attacks and scoring goals,” added Sibley.
“We’ve got a really strong squad this year. And part of that is recognising that people will come out of position, filling in and giving that fluidity.”
The match was all but won in the first half, with all of Jersey’s goals coming in that period.
Captain Tom Millar sparked things off. A well-worked short corner saw Sibley drive the ball towards the goal and his skipper flicked the ball into the net.
The second came quickly. Another short corner. This time Sam Dunstan patiently worked an opening, before drilling the ball home.
But it wasn’t just from the set-piece that Jersey were a danger. Sam Habin scored the third from open play, finding space in the shooting circle, before firing in with devastating efficiency from an acute angle.
By now, Cambridge had lost their way and were resorting to long, high and hopeful balls forward, which the Jersey defence dealt with easily.
In possession, the home side patiently picked their opponents off and a fourth goal was inevitable. Dunstan laid the ball off to Sam Watling whose scuffed effort was turned in by Habin.
Their performance had warmed up the crowd so much that one brave soul thought it appropriate to indulge in a Calippo. Job done. Or so it seemed.
But Jersey will take a lot of learning from the second-half performance, too.
Cambridge changed tack and pushed their hosts back. The first-half fluency for the home side started to desert them. It all got a little scrappy.
Eventually, Cambridge scored when Ben Hudson swept the ball in from a short corner.
Piers Brandie, a spectator throughout the first half, was forced into action and made two or three big saves.
It was a sign for Sibley’s team not to take anything for granted, not to get too complacent.
“In the second half [Cambridge] stepped through and pressed and we weren’t as clinical as we were in the first half,” said Sibley.
“But as I said to the lads at the end of the game, ‘I don’t want our best performance of the season to be the first game of the season’.
“We felt the first half we couldn’t have asked for more [but] that second half showed we have a heck of a lot to work on. But we can build on that. They’ll be one of the strongest sides in the competition with a couple of very experienced players, so it’s a great win and a great result.”
Jersey: Piers Brandie, Joel Dudley, Jack Stevens, Anthony Kay, Bobby Minty, Peter Millar, Jamie Watling, Matt Boote, Sam Watling, Tom Millar (c), Sam Dunstan, Sam Habin, Jack Tait, Jamie Bolton, Tom Sibley.
Cambridge: Chris Duncan, Sam O’Shea, Mike Landshoff, Dougie Rice (c), George Hall, Jim Mansfield, Pip Dickinson, Dan Hinton, Charles Benton, Dan Brown, Will Stock, Henry Campbell, Ben Hudson, Tom Butler, Dave Overton, Simon Cox.
