BINFIELD 0
GUERNSEY 2 (Wallace 34′; Brady (og) 48′)
Guernsey will just not lie down and accept relegation, this time seeing off Binfield in a game rearranged for midweek at short notice to take the race for survival to the final day.
It is still out of our hands as we need the unlikely outcome of Metropolitan Police losing to already-relegated Sutton Common Rovers, who are unlikely to be keen to do us a favour. But Tony Vance’s side have done all they can, taking 11 points from their last six games to reel in the gap after the devastating blow of losing so late to South Park in March.
No matter what happens on Saturday at Harrow Borough and elsewhere, the Sarnians have restored some pride and ensured that if they do go down, it hasn’t been without a fight.
The visitors were boosted by the inclusion of Ben Acey in midfield, dropping down from his dual registration with Farnborough in the National League South to help out. GFC started brightly at Hill Farm Lane, knowing the onus was on them to take the game to their already-safe hosts, but it was Seb Sheppard who made the game’s first save to keep out the Moles on the counter attack, on his way to a first clean sheet for the club.
After a quarter of an hour, a well-worked opening for Guernsey created a chance for Brandon Wallace that Coleridge Fubler had to get down to in order to keep it out.
Charlton Gauvain burst forward down the right on the half-hour and delivered a low cross for Wallace, who sent his first-time effort just wide.
But the young wideman wasn’t to be denied any longer with a deserved goal for his recent form (he hit the bar twice in a man-of-the-match performance on Easter Monday), which came at the second attempt on 34 minutes and was his first of the season. His first chance was closed down but his second from the edge of the area took a deflection that sent it out of Fubler’s reach into the bottom right corner.
Sam Murray fired just wide of the far post after good link-up play between Ross Allen and Gauvain and so the Green Lions would have to settle for one at the break.
But they were able to put clear daylight between themselves and their hosts shortly after the restart to settle any nerves. Allen’s cross from the left caused a mix-up in the Binfield defence and Montgomery Brady turned into his own net to double the Sarnians’ lead.
Wallace turned provider to set up Gauvain but Fubler made a remarkable close-range save to deny Guernsey a third.
The rest of the contest was about game management while also trying to preserve energy for another mammoth effort on Saturday. The three points leaves us two from safety in what was our 200th league win.
Dave Merris became the club’s oldest player with his substitute appearance at 44 years, six months and 11 days, making him a day older than Matt Le Tissier was when he came on against Colliers Wood United in April 2013.
All we could have asked is for the lads to take it to the final day. It’s all to play for. COME ON YOU GREEN LIONS, ONE LAST PUSH!!!
BINFIELD: 1 Coleridge FUBLER JR; 2 Harvey GRIFFITHS (12 Malachi HENRY, 59′); 3 Theo PENNICOTT-BOWEN; 4 Luke WEYBORN (16 Logan COLES, 59′); 5 Montgomery BRADY; 6 Daniel LEWIS (c); 7 Rahzir SMITH-JONES (15 Riley ROBINSON, 69′); 8 Connor JEANES; 9 Ethan LINDO (18 Lynford SACKEY, 19′); 10 Jamie HILTON; 11 Rechan ESPRIT (17 Daqaio STEWART, 71′).
Booked: Pennicott-Brown, Brady, Jeanes, Hilton.
GUERNSEY: 13 Seb SHEPPARD; 4 Tom DODDS (18 Dave MERRIS, 74′); 5 Tom VAUDIN; 7 Charlton GAUVAIN; 8 Matt LOARING; 9 Sam MURRAY; 10 Ross ALLEN (c); 17 Brandon WALLACE (22 Fin PATTERSON, 90+2′); 21 Jacques CAUVIN; 24 Jacob FALLAIZE; 27 Ben ACEY (15 Seb VANCE, 58′).
Booked: Dodds.
Attendance: 145.