GUERNSEY 2 (Murray 15’; Allen 64’)
BASINGSTOKE TOWN 3 (Brown 4’; Wilson 25’; Hodges 70’)
Guernsey went toe to toe with title chasing Basingstoke Town on Sunday but couldn’t quite find a way to a positive result.
Determined to put on a strong showing in front of their own fans for the final time this season, the Green Lions showed that they can compete with the best when they have the right resources at their disposal.
Twice they came from behind but to do it a third time was a bridge two far despite threatening to snatch something late on. Basingstoke now go into the final day level on points with Walton & Hersham and the title race is set up for a grandstand finish.
Joe Alvarez replaced captain Jamie Dodd in the only change for the Sarnians, but their afternoon could not have got off to a worse start as Deandre Brown latched onto Bradley’s Wilson’s lockdown and burst through the defence and found the net via the post inside four minutes.
That didn’t alter Guernsey’s starting game plan and they levelled on the quarter hour. Ross Allen ran across the line to collect Charlton Gauvain’s disguised free-kick, evaded the attention of Simon Dunn and Callum Winchcombe and drilled the ball in low from the byline. Benjamin Cook’s block diverted the ball onto the bar and it looped kindly into the path of Sam Murray to nod into an empty net.
Gauvain comfortably cleared the bar as he ran onto a loose ball on the edge of the box and smart saves from Josh Addison kept out two Brody Peart’s free-kicks. Peart was also denied by a Tom Vaudin block.
But the Hampshire side weren’t going to relent with three points a must for them. They went back in front on 25 minutes when Paul Hodges’ pullback found the run of Wilson to stroke home through a crowd of bodies.
Addison’s excellent reflexes denied Wilson just before the break and Peart somehow managed to put the ball over the bar from the yard out after Wilson had picked him out at the far post.
Addison was Wilson’s nemesis again in the second half, blocking and holding at his near post just before the hour.
The Sarnians found another level after that. Allen had already headed wide from Dave Merris’ corner before he got his customary goal to mark his 300th appearance. Kieran Mahon curled in a cross from the right and Allen timed his run to perfection as Scott Armsworth missed his interception, controlling with his chest as the ball bounced him and tucked it in just as he was losing his balance.
Hodges gave a warning of what was to come as he ran onto Cook’s flick on and cut in onto his left foot, but dragged it just the wrong side of the near post, so close that at first glance it looked like it had snuck in.
Hodges had his moment on 70 minutes with what proved to be the winner. After some penalty-area pinball, Brown laid off for Wilson to chip into the number nine’s path. Hodges lifted the bouncing ball over Addison for a beautiful lob.
Allen and Vaudin battled in vain to force substitute Brandon Wallace’s cross over the line among a crowd of bodies and Will Fazakerley rose above a crowd of bodies but headed narrowly wide in the closing stages. GFC couldn’t get the equaliser, but another bumper home crowd appreciated the effort they had put in against a side likely to go up, whether automatically or through the play-offs.
Guernsey remain 15th in Isthmian South Central but have six points left to play for and could still overtake Uxbridge on the final day.
The weekend’s other results were as follows: Ashford 3-3 Thatcham Town, Binfield 1-0 Chipstead, Chertsey Town 0-1 Merstham, Hanworth Villa 2-1 Bedfont Sports, Marlow 1-1 Uxbridge, South Park 3-1 Northwood, Tooting & Mitcham United 0-1 Leatherhead, Walton & Hersham 3-0 Southall, Westfield 2-2 Sutton Common Rovers.
Guernsey: 1 Josh Addison; 2 Tom Dodds; 3 Joe Alvarez; 4 Tom Vaudin; 5 Jacob Fallaize; 6 Kieran Mahon, 67’); 7 Charlton Gauvain (14 Matt Loaring, 70’); 8 Dave Merris; 9 Sam Murray (16 Brandon Wallace, 75’); 10 Ross Allen; 11 Will Fazakerley. Not used: 15 Keene Domaille; 17 Danny Hale.
Basingstoke Town: 1 Paul Strudley; 2 Marcus Johnson-Schuster; 3 Callum Winchcome; 4 Dandre Brown; 5 Scott Armsworth; 6 Billy Upton; 7 Bradley Wilson (14 James Clark, 90’); 8 Simon Dunn; 9 Paul Hodges; 10 Brody Peart (12 Stefan Brown, 63’); 11 Benjamin Cook (16 Nathan Smart, 86’). Not used: 15 Ben Mason; 19 Sam Argent.
Attendance: 859.
Highlights are available now on GFCTV.