Injuries overshadowed events at Footes Lane yet again on Wednesday night after defender Jack Domaille was stretchered off in the second half with a very serious looking knee injury.

The casualties are mounting up game by game it seems for Guernsey. Ryan-Zico Black was forced off with just four minutes on the clock too as the Green Lions were beaten 4-2 by a ruthless Faversham Town in Ryman South.

GFC were guilty of not taking opportunities at key times again but the visitors were the better side on the night and punished the Sarnians for not making the most of their openings – although Ben Bridle-Card had a blinder in the Faversham goal.

Things looked promising enough early on with Ross Allen nearly bursting through in only the second minute but a heavy touch enabled Bridle-Card – who was an unpassable wall almost the whole night – to rush out and claim.

Josh Standford curled a free-kick wide at the other end before Kyle Smith saw an opportunity deflected away before he could make a telling contact.

Standford and Dean Grant were then both off target in a short space of time around the quarter-hour mark, before Josh Addison was called into action for the first time in the 20th minute. The man who got the notdas the first replacement for the injured Chris Tardif dived left to palm behind George Monger’s distance effort.

Dave Rihoy went for the element of surprise from way out midway through the first half but Bridle-Card got down low to hold comfortably.

Addison then made another good stop in holding at his near post from Bola Dawodu, who had met Grant’s left-wing cross.

Jamie Dodd was presented with Guernsey’s best chance just two minutes before the visitors’ opener. Smith did well to earn himself the space to cross from the left byline, but Dodd nodded over unmarked six yards out. Less than five minutes later, the Green Lions found themselves 2-0 down.

Josh Steel had already made a vital block to deny Dawodu an open goal, but the resulting corner resulted in a Lilywhites attacker heading against the crossbar. The resulting melee led to the ball falling for visiting skipper Ryan Cooper to stab home.

Dawodu doubled the deficit just three minutes later when he had a simple finish past a defender on the line after Addison had initially saved from Monger on the counter-attack.

Guernsey came flying out the blocks straight from the resulting kick-off and substitute Marc McGrath, on early for the injured Black, whipped in a dangerous cross that found Dom Heaume. The number nine drew a great save from Bridle-Card diving to his left.

The away keeper was in action again three minutes later with a vital double stop – first from Smith’s curler and then Rihoy’s close-range rebound.

There was even time for Bridle-Card to save again before the half was out, this time as McGrath tried to slice one in with the outside of his foot.

Vance’s men started the second period positively enough, with Rihoy drilling wide from distance three minutes after the restart.

Sam Bewick’s curler dropped onto the roof of the net and Renford Tenyue sliced wide from the edge before Addison made another important stop, standing strong to beat away Grant’s shot from just inside the box.

Bridle-Card was just as effective at the other end to deny Rihoy again – twice, either side of a glaring miss from Grant, who scuffed when right in front of goal.

Allen did well to knock down a forward punt midway through the half but in bounced a bit too high for Smith, who hooked over.

Then came the worst moment of the whole night as Domaille went down on the byline in what initially looked like an innocuous challenge. But the defender looked in serious pain and had to be stretchered off after a lengthy stoppage. He was still receiving medical treatment long after the final whistle and was eventually taken to hospital.

Smith was denied by the immovable force of Bridle-Card after a good move down the right and McGrath dragged a volley wide of the far post as the Green Lions looked to put that latest major setback behind them and find a route back into the game.

But it looked as though it wasn’t to be GFC’s night and the game looked to be out of side when Grant held his run enough to stay onside and smash home with enough power to beat Addison, despite the keeper getting a hand to it.

That was with seven minutes to go and it looked to be game over. Substitute Matt Loaring’s first goal of the season a minute later looked to be mere consolation as he helped home Allen’s low shot across goal following McGrath’s free-kick into the right-hand channel (pictured).

McGrath then nodded wide when well-placed on 87 minutes. Had that gone in, perhaps there would have been enough time to really force a grandstand finish.

Addison had blocked powerful efforts from Grant and Standford either side of that, and Rihoy’s following effort to make it 3-2 came too late to make a serious impact. He netted from midway inside the penalty area after good work by Allen.

But there was still enough time for more action as Faversham rubbed salt into the wound with a fourth in what was virtually the last kick of the game. Substitute Oliver Wells tapped in from a yard or so out to stretch the gap back to two.

With the injuries mounting and the general mood sinking, Footes Lane is not a happy place to be at the moment. Vance has a real challenge on his hands to pick the players up from this latest setback before Saturday’s visit of Sittingbourne.

Best wishes from everyone at the club goes to Jack Domaille, who has started his GFC career so promisingly but looks to be set for a very lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Guernsey stay 21st in Ryman South. The rest of the midweek results were as follows: Godalming Town 2-1 Ramsgate, Hythe Town 1-2 South Park, Three Bridges 3-5 Lewes, Walton Casuals 3-2 Hastings United.

Guernsey: Josh Addison, Simon Geall, Jamie Dodd (c), Josh Steel (Matt Loaring 66’), Jack Domaille (Jacob Fallaize 73’), Thomas Dodds, Dave Rihoy, Ryan-Zico Black (Marc McGrath 8’), Dom Heaume, Ross Allen, Smith. Not used: Jordan Kelly.

Goals: Loaring 84’, Rihoy 90+5’. Booked: Geall, McGrath, Fallaize.

Faversham Town: Ben Bridle-Card, Ryan Cooper (c), Renford Tenyue, Daniel Carrington, Ryan Cheek, Sam Bewick, Kieron Campbell (Luke Griffiths 90+5’), George Monger, Dean Grant, Bola Dawodu (Oliver Wells 90+4’), Joshua Standford.

Goals: Cooper 37’, Dawodu 40’, Grant 83’, Wells 90+7’.