| GUERNSEY | 3 | – | 0 | STAPLEHURST MONARCHS |
| Fallaize 33′ Allen 45+1′ Solway 61′ |
Guernsey cruised into the second round of the FA Vase with a comfortable win over step six side Staplehurst Monarchs at Victoria Park on Saturday.
A Jacob Fallaize header and a Ross Allen penalty in the first half put the Green Lions in control at the interval, with Ben Solway’s first goal for the club sealing the win after an hour.
The outcome was never really in doubt with the hosts controlling the game. The visitors defended resolutely but didn’t look like troubling the favourites, other than one half-chance in the second minute that saw Ollie Lankshear fire a bouncing ball over the bar from the angle.
A few half chances followed in a fairly quiet first half-hour before Fallaize bagged for the second game in a row. This time he ran to the near post to meet Charlton Gauvain’s inswinging corner and headed past Steven Lawrence shortly after the half-hour.
Fallaize almost repeated the trick three minutes later as his looping header beat Lawrence but bounced away off the top of the crossbar. Just a minute later, Gauvain latched onto a ball down the right and his pinpoint cross was perfect for the run of Callum Le Lacheur but his shot from point-blank range was kept out by the reactions of Lawrence.
Guernsey’s second couldn’t have come at a better time as Fin Patterson wriggled past a couple of challenges on the edge of the box but was felled by a trip. The referee decided the offence had taken place just inside the area, and Allen sent Lawrence the wrong way from the spot as he stroke the ball confidently into the bottom right corner.
The second half was a familiar pattern as the Monarchs tried to keep the hosts at arms’ length. But that only lasted until the hour as Solway got free in the area to head home another Gauvain corner and put the result beyond doubt with his first goal in green.
The Lions had a few good chances to put further gloss in the scoreline. Gauvain could only scoop straight at Lawrence as he ran onto a through ball and attempted an early lob. Wallace then chased his own pass down the line and cross for Sam Murray, who was facing away from goal and improvised with a backheel towards the target. It almost crept in but Lawrence just about scrambled it behind.
Callum Le Lacheur should have made it four on 80 minutes as Wallace put him through, but fired his low shot straight at Lawrence, who also managed to get a touch to substitute Seb Vance’s follow-up, slowing it’s momentum enough for a defender to clear off the line.
Le Lacheur had another chance, this time picking out the corner from Solway’s delivery but the flag went up for an offside earlier in the move.
Allen also nearly bagged his second as he met a great ball from substitute Frazer Maginnis, but like Le Lacheur earlier his effort was straight at Lawrence, who parried.
The second round will take place on the weekend of Saturday 8th November. The draw will be announced on Monday afternoon.
GUERNSEY: 1 Josh ADDISON; 2 Niall HAINSWORTH (22 Fin PATTERSON, 5′); 4 Tom DODDS (3 Jamie DODD, HT); 7 Charlton GAUVAIN; 9 Sam MURRAY; 10 Ross ALLEN (c); 11 Brandon WALLACE (23 Frazer MAGINNIS); 12 Fin DU PORT (6 Seb VANCE); 15 Ben SOLWAY; 17 Callum LE LACHEUR; 24 Jacob FALLAIZE (18 Dave MERRIS).
STAPLEHURST MONARCHS: 1 Steven LAWRENCE; 3 James DELANEY; 4 James WEST (15 Ted HODGES); 5 Sam SHARP; 6 Scott JONES; 7 Toby SARGEANT (18 Jerome LEE); 8 Brad WEBB (c); 9 Ollie LANKSHEAR; 10 Omar EL MANTAWY (15 Hayden EXALL (2 Meshac OGAZ)); 11 Kieran PALLET (14 Sam HARNS); 12 Sam SWIFT.
Booked: Hodges.