Guernsey’s management team has spoken in the past of breaking their season down into chunks, and they end February month with a vital mini-chunk with two tough games that could shape the outlook of their run-in.
The Green Lions begin that two-game period with a trip to fellow promotion hopefuls Horsham YM in a fifth versus third clash on Saturday followed by a visit to Victoria Park by title-chasing Haywards Heath Town next Saturday. Win both and they could consider themselves in the title race, but fail to win either and the rest of the campaign becomes about securing a play-off place.
This weekend is as tough as they come, with Horsham holding out for a 3-2 win at Victoria Park in October. The Sarnians struggled to deal with their pacy, direct approach as they took a 3-1 lead in the first half. A brilliant Ross Allen free-kick just before the break set up an exciting second half but Tony Vance’s side couldn’t break through despite their best efforts.
Another win for the hosts would put them just a point behind GFC. The YM are bang in form, having won their last five and getting a draw against Haywards Heath prior to that. But Guernsey are on one of their best ever runs themselves with 12 wins in 13 games and are the league’s joint-top scorers with 90 goals. They are chasing an eighth victory in a row, which would be their best run since the final seven games of our 2012-13 promotion season (astoundingly all managed in a 10-game period) and the opening game of the following campaign.
Seb Vance and Matt Loaring remain out as they recover from injury while Gil Hunter and Frazer Maginnis are still away and Ben Solway is work-tied. Fin du Port is a new addition to the injury list after he went down having rolled his ankle in the closing stages against Shoreham last weekend. The club will be able to better assess the injury once the swelling has reduced. Josh Addison returns after suspension and luckily Tony Vance is in a position where he is having to leave people out rather than scramble around for a squad.
Simon Arnold could reach a half-century of appearance for the club while Will Fazakerley is searching for a 30th goal that would take him clear of Craig Young in the all-time list.
Saturday’s match kicks off at 2pm. Fans not making the journey to Goring’s Mead can watch the first half live on our YouTube channel or listen to the full 90 minutes on our @GuernseyFC X space, as well as keep up to date with our social media posts. A full match report will follow.
