The new season is finally upon us and there could be several competitive debuts and returning faces, and a centurion, as Guernsey head to Thatcham Town.
Muratti goalkeeper and serial trophy winner with St Martin’s, Jason Martin, is included in a 16-man squad, having trained with GFC over the summer and making a pre-season appearance against Stansfeld.
Also included is forward Sam Murray, who has been prolific for Northerners in the Priaulx League. He also played against Stansfeld in pre-season after training over the summer. Young defender Tom Vaudin, who played well in all three pre-season matches, is included in a competitive squad for the first time.
As for those returning, Robbie Legg is included having not played competitively for the Green Lions since the start of last season (but has played this pre-season), but those returning after longer absences include the versatile Joe Alvarez, and forward Danny Hale.
Hale made his GFC debut in December 2013, playing a couple of games that season and a few more in 2014-15 but since has been plying his trade in the Priaulx League. Returning to GFC training this summer, he is having another go. If he plays, he will hit double figures for appearances for the club.
The same can be said for Joe Alvarez, who has 28 Green Lions appearances to his name. As a teenager, he made his debut for the Sarnians in our first season, then made a sizable contribution to GFC’s dramatic 2012-13 season as Tony Vance’s side reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase and earned promotion after an unprecedented jampacked end to the campaign. He last played for Guernsey towards the end of 2014 before suffering a serious knee injury. After battling that for a significant time, he returned to local football and has been there ever since. He rejoined GFC training this summer and had pre-season outings against Stansfeld and Hartley Wintney.
Everyone else travelling to Waterside Park are familiar faces from last season, including Ross Allen, who is involved for the first time this summer. Keanu Marsh is set to reach a century of appearances having finished last season on 99.
The full squad is as follows: Martin, Addison, Marsh, Vaudin, Fallaize, Dodd, Alvarez, Dodds, K Mahon, L Mahon, Loaring, Allen, Murray, Domaille, Hale, Legg.
Vance was pleased to have good numbers to pick from and had to leave players out, and will be looking to see if those not selected have the mentality to fight for a place.
The Green Lions will be looking for an improvement on their 14th-placed finish, and will be hopeful of doing so having had more of a pre-season this summer, compared to none last year, when GFC also had to wait until October to get underway. We finished the season with two draws and two defeats.
Thatcham were just two points further ahead in 12th, slipping past the Green Lions thanks to two 1-0 wins in their final three games. A 2-2 draw in November was followed by an excellent second-half displayed in the return fixture in February, when the Kingfishers were beaten 3-0.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 2pm. Fans unable to make it to Waterside Park can follow live coverage via our social media channels and GFCTV. The second half will be audio only due to broadcasting regulations, but highlights and a full match report will follow over the weekend.
