Goals: Pinnock 13′; Cheadle 17′; Odunaike 34′, 75′ – Mahon 40′; Mackay 43′.

Another away trip, another defeat – but a young Guernsey side gave a decent account of themselves and threatened a heroic comeback before eventually going down 4-2 at Walton Casuals.

Liam Mahon netted his first-ever goal for the club and Angus Mackay hooked in before the break as the Green Lions made a game of it from being 3-0 down.

Matt Loaring was denied in a key moment at 3-2 but the Stags held on and made the game safe with a quarter-of-an-hour left.

Sixteen year-old Charlton Gauvain was given his debut late on – just days after signing for the club – and became our youngest ever player as well as being the 70th player to represent the Green Lions.

Guernsey looked threatening going forward but Jack Sammoutis was the first to have a go for the Stags within a minute as he let fly rom distance but sent the ball over. Cheadle’s shot whistled just wide of the near post in the fourth minute, but not before Kyle Smith had warmed the hands of Denzel Gerrar from the angle after a ball over the top.

Loaring couldn’t get enough pace on a shot that rolled through to Gerrar as the Green Lions continued to look dangerous going froward, but the visitors had Josh Steel to thank for blocking a shot from Malachi Hudson, who had jinked in from the left. The winger hit the rebound low and wide of Addison’s near post.

Mahon won the ball back in midfield and drove forward on 12 minutes but his swerving shot has gathered by Gerrar. Within a minute it was 1-0 to the hosts.

The home side put together a good team move and Sol Pinnock was put through to slot across goal under Addison for the opener in the 13th minute.

The Sarnians were nearly level within a minute as Smith got his head to Mahon’s free-kick but the ball struck the bar. Guernsey nearly forced the ball over the line in a scramble just it was eventually cleared away.

Football then showed its fine margins again as the Green Lions went from nearly getting level to being two behind. They gave away a free-kick 25 yards out and Jordan Cheadle curled a lovely set-piece into the top left-hand corner.

GFC didn’t learn from that as they gave away two more similarly dangerous free-kicks in similar positions, but Cheadle was to hit both well over.

Tony Vance’s side threatened to pull one back on the counter-attack but Pereira’s shot was easily dealt with by Gerrar. Addison then stood strong to beat the ball away from Sammoutis shot from the angle as he was put through.

It looked to be game over and another possible away drubbing for Guernsey as Walton made it 3-0 on 34 minutes. Angus Mackay miscued a defensive header and Gabriel Odunaike nipped in to poke the ball past Addison.

It looked like it would be a case of damage limitation from then on, but the game was suddenly thrown back onto a knife-edge in the space of three minutes.

First, Mahon whipped in a low free-kick from the left side of the penalty area that evaded everyone and found the far corner for 3-1 on 40 minutes.

Mahon was then involved again as his corner was aimed at the near post and Mackay hooked in a volley to haul the Green Lions right back into the contest. Vance’s side were suddenly in the ascendency and it was a shame the half-time whistle halted their momentum.

Casuals had the first sniff on goal in the second half as Daryl Coleman ran across the edge area but Addison parried away the shot.

A good move from Guernsey three minutes later saw the ball worked out to the right wing for Thomas Dodds. He was muscled off the ball but won it back brilliantly to feed Loaring. A through-ball then found Smith in the area but the angle was tight and he was unable to muster enough power in his shot to beat Gerrar.

The hosts shot have put clear daylight between the two teams again just before the hour mark as Odunaike was allowed too much space on the left. His low centre found Pinnock but the striker somehow miscued well wide from a good position.

The Green Lions were so close to levelling on 67 minutes in what would have been a brilliant comeback. Mahon’s free-kick was blocked but Smith got to the second ball first and headed for the byline. The forward forced his way past his marker and pulled back for Loaring in the centre of the area but a defender got back on the line to block the shot with Gerrar beaten.

Mahon then went for the element of surprise on 73 minutes with a potshot from distance but the ball drifted narrowly wide, with the wind perhaps having an effect.

Fifteen minutes remained on the clock when Casuals regained their two goal cushion. A cross came in from the right-hand side and an unmarked Odunaike was on hand at the far post to finish into an empty net.

The Stags had a good chance to make it 5-2 as Nicholson played in Odunaike again, but the Walton top scorer lifted the ball over the top.

Vijay Wiltshire made his second appearance for the club a few minutes before 16-year-old Gauvain took to the field for his record-breaking debut. The latter didn’t have much time to get on the ball but was involved in one attacking move in the last minute when he teed up Loaring in the box, but the midfielder scooped the ball over. Wiltshire’s cameo was a committed display as he kept the ball well and was strong in the tackle.

Pereira was very close to making it a very tense stoppage-time as a Loaring played him in. The forward poked it past Gerrar but there was not enough power on the effort and a Stags defender was able to get back and clear. Injury time, Pereira nearly got in again with an impressive bit of dribbling but the ball was pinched off him just as he was pulling his foot back to shoot. Another chance from the number nine saw him scuff an effort at Gerrar.

It was a spirited effort from a young side missing a virtual starting 11 of key players, and whilst they did not quite have enough to complete the comeback, Vance has plenty of positives to bring back to the island.

We remain 18th in Ryman South ahead of this weekend’s visit of Lewes, with the rest of the midweek Ryman South results as follows: Chipstead 2-0 Godalming Town, Hastings United 3-0 Greenwich Borough, Herne Bay 0-2 Hythe Town, Ramsgate 1-2 Sittingbourne, Three Bridges 2-3 Corinthian-Casuals, Tooting & Mitcham United 8-2 Molesey, Cray Wanderers 2-2 Horsham.

Walton Casuals: Denzel Gerrar, Rhys Paul, Dominic Ogun, Jake Nicholson, Max Fitzgerald (c), Jordan Cheadle, Gabriel Odunaike, Daryl Coleman, Sol Pinnock (Luke Holness 64′), Jack Sammoutis, Malachi Hudson (JP Rylah 81′). Not used: Sam Bello-Balogun, Harvey Cheadle.

Booked: Ogun.