Guernsey 4-4 Basingstoke Town
K Mahon 18’; Allen 54’, 76’; Le Tissier 85’ – Brown (pen) 20’, 43’; Lynch 28’, 74’.
It was an eight-goal thriller at Footes Lane on Sunday afternoon as Guernsey and Basingstoke Town shared the spoils at the end of a pulsating second half.
The Green Lions recovered from a 3-1 half-time deficit, and even had momentum to try and win it at the death, although they had the returning Callum Stanton to thank for a couple of huge saves in the dying minutes.
Supersub Glenn Le Tissier picked the perfect moment to get his fist goal for the club, netting the vital late equaliser within moments of coming on.
The second-half rally was a good response to a first half that had started well enough in terms of scoreline, but the hosts struggled more and more as the first 45 went on.
There were a couple of early warning signs as Stanton comfortably fielded a volley from the edge of the area by Conor Lynch after a ball forward had evaded Jacob Fallaize, while Simon Dunn dragged wide after good work from Benjamin Cook, who had intercepted an ill-advised crossfield ball from Charlton Gauvain.
Guernsey’s opening goal came from their first meaningful chance. Ross Allen did brilliant to chase and then challenge Bradley Wilson midway inside the Basingstoke half. Kieran Mahon picked up the loose ball and fed Tom Jackson, making his home debut, on the right, who in turn helped it on to Gauvain, who delivered into the area. The defender at the far post made a hash of his clearance and Allen, who had sprinted into the area from his position of winning the ball back, ran onto it but got his connection completely wrong, scuffing his shot to his left. Luckily, Kieran Mahon, who had also piled into the area, was in the right place to tap the ball in.
Wilson had been furious at the referee’s denial of a free-kick, but he got the decision when it mattered most for his side as, just two minutes later, he went to ground over the outstretched leg of Thomas Dodds on the right byline, and Michael Hayden pointed to the spot. Stefan Brown buried the penalty with power to Stanton’s left and it was back to square one.
Captain Jamie Dodd saved his side four minute later, backpedalling to head clear from under his own crossbar after Wilson had picked the ball up on the left side of the area and looked to pick out the far corner with a cross-come-shot.
The pressure from the visitors was building as Guernsey’s play looked a little pedestrian, and they turned the game around on 28 minutes as Lynch chased a headed knockdown from a long kick upfield from the goalkeeper into the right channel and, with the GFC defence a caught on their heels, shot across goal and found the far, the ball bouncing in off the far post.
Guernsey weren’t helped by losing Charlton Gauvain, who had collided with visiting stopper Paul Strudley no thanks to a late offside flag from the assistant referee, to injury, and they would go in at the break a further goal behind. They gave the ball away sloppily, couldn’t clear their lines, and the ball was slipped into Brown, whose early shot didn’t give Stanton time to react and the ball found the far corner.
Some stern words were needed to shake the Green Lions up, but the second half didn’t start too cleverly either. Luckily, Wilson spooned well over after moving across the edge of the area and letting fly, while Stanton stuck out an arm to turn the ball over from Anton Rodgers’ free-kick, that had been awarded after another loose ball had forced Tom Jackson into a foul, and the referee’s notebook.
From then on, things improved and Guernsey clawed one back within a minute. Fallaize showed great vision to spot the run of Allen and thread a pass through midfield to the edge of the area. Allen timed his run perfectly to avoid the offside, despite the visitors’ protests, and tucked it past Strudley to haul his side back into the contest.
The momentum was with Guernsey now, as Thomas Dodds, Dave Rihoy and Liam Mahon all let fly from distance, with all three unfortunately off-target.
Amongst all that, Matt Loaring was left wondering how he didn’t scored as he threw himself at a beautiful Liam Mahon delivery, but only managed to head it straight at Strudley.
It looked like those missed opportunities would be the nail in Guernsey coffin as they fell behind to two goals behind with just over 15 minutes to play. Dodds slipped in attempting to play a crossfield ball and possession was squandered. The ball was played out to the Basingstoke left for Wilson, who drove down the line and picked out Cook in the area, who in turn fired the ball across goal, with Lynch perfectly placed to turn it in from a couple of yards out.
But two mintues later, it was game on again. Dodds recycled a cleared corner, with the ball played out to the right and delivered by Liam Mahon. After a brief scramble, it was picked up by Dodd, whose shot was saved but the rebound fell to Allen, who duly dispatched his chance to set up a grandstand finish.
Nathan Smart headed a corner straight at Stanton at the other end and the Guernsey stopper than fielded a weak shot from Brown, but they were small breaks in the hosts’ momentum.
Tony Vance’s side completed the comeback with five minutes on normal time remaining. Substitute Glenn Le Tissier couldn’t have picked a much better time for his first goal for Guernsey, stroking home on the volley at the far post just a minute after coming on as Dodd’s long throw was helped on by a Basingstoke defender.
The wind was with Guernsey now in pushing for a winner, but in going gung ho, they left gaps that could easily have resulted in them losing after all. They had Stanton to thanks for a huge save on 87 minutes, standing his ground to block with his feet after substitute McKoy Palmer had drifted in behind Dodd and Ben Le Tocq to meet a high ball.
Wilson was then left with his head in his hands with little over a minute of the 90 to go. Palmer drove down the line and hit an early cross to the far post. Wilson was completely unmarked a few yards out and should have buried a late winner but instead blazed the ball over the bar. He fared no better three minutes into injury time as he dragged a shot wide from 25 yards.
There was still time for a couple more changes as Allen chased down a delivery to the far post and knocked it back across goal, but Dodd could only volley wide of the near post.
Stanton was the hero again with virtually the last kick of the game blocked with his legs at the near post after Wilson had run into the area unchallenged again.
After that frantic finish, both sides had to settled for a point at the end of an exciting afternoon. The point was enough to move the Sarnians off the bottom of Isthmian South Central, having drawn level on points with Staines Town with a better goal difference, and sets them up for another big game on Wednesday against Binfield.
The weekend’s other results were as follows: Ashford Town 2-4 Westfield, Bracknell Town 2-0 Thatcham Town, Chalfont St Peter 0-1 Chertsey Town, Chipstead 0-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Hanwell Town 3-0 Uxbridge, Northwood 1-0 Marlow, South Park 2-1 Sutton Common Rovers.
Guernsey: 1 Callum Stanton; 2 Thomas Dodds; 3 Jamie Dodd (c); 4 Tom Jackson (14 Matt Loaring, 59’); 5 Jacob Fallaize; 6 Kieran Mahon; 7 Charlton Gauvain (16 Dave Rihoy, 37’); 8 Liam Mahon (15 Glenn Le Tissier, 84’); 9 Kyle Smith; 10 Ross Allen; 11 Ben Le Tocq. Not used: 12 Keanu Marsh; 17 Tyler McKane.
Booked: K Mahon, Jackson, Dodds.
Basingtoke Town: 1 Paul Strudley; 2 Daniel Williamson; 3 James Howarth; 4 Robert Sheridan; 5 Nathan Smart; 6 Anton Rodgers; 7 Simon Dunn (12 McKoy Palmer, 72’); 8 Benjamin Cook; 9 Stefan Brown; 10 Conor Lynch (16 Daryl Wollers, 85’); 11 Bradley Wilson. Not used: 14 George Reed; 15 Jack French; 17 Joel Halliday.
Booked: Dunn, Lynch.
Attendance: 773.
Highlights will be available on GFCTV Soon.
