The wait is finally over for the 2026-27 season. It’s the Green Lions vs the Lions as Guernsey kick off the campaign by welcoming Pagham to Victoria Park on Saturday for another assault on the Southern Region Premier Division.
After falling at the final hurdle in last season’s play-off final, the Sarnians are keen to get off to a good start. Many opponents are an unknown entity at the start of the season due to player turnover, but Tony Vance’s side will be prepared for a tough game against a side who beat them twice in the league last season (Horsham YM also achieved this but we got revenge in the play-off semi-final). The West Sussex side were also the first side away side to win at Victoria Park last season.
Ross Allen is unavailable and Matt Loaring has a knee injury, bringing the average age of the squad down a bit, but we could see our next debutant with defender Archie Drillot in contention for a place in the matchday 16, fresh from helping Northerners win the Priaulx League title. There are a few other knocks with Jacob Fallaize and Brandon Wallace also out. Teenagers Alfie Torode and Dylan Graham could feature.
Having bagged an outstanding 33 goals last term, Sam Murray would require an even more stellar season to become only the third player to hit a century of goals for the club – he needs 36. Will Fazaklerley needs 13 to reach 50, with Charlton Gauvain slightly closer to a half century with 41 to his name.
Pagham finished seventh last season but were only three points off a play-off spot, winning five of their final six matches to stay right in the hunt. That run included a 5-0 home win against a depleted GFC side in April. Guernsey stumbled towards the line with three straight defeats but a win on the final day of the regular season secured a home play-off semi-final.
Saturday’s match kicks off at 1.30pm. Fans unable to make it to Victoria Park can keep up to date with our social media posts and a full match report will follow on the website over the weekend.
With a busy afternoon anticipated at Victoria Park, please refer to our information page for details of how to travel to the ground by foot, bike, public transport or our Park and Stride initiative.
