Goal: King 49’

Ten-man Guernsey were left frustrated at a 1-0 defeat to South Park at Footes Lane on bank holiday Monday.

The Green Lions were always going to be up against it having fallen behind in early in the second half before Charlton Gauvain was dismissed in mysterious circumstances a few minutes later.

A man light, they were unable to muster a response and go into another FA Cup-enforced break left to stew over what could have been.

The Sarnians made a bright start to the midday kick-off with Dave Rihoy getting a shot off with just five seconds on the clock, that he send high and wide.

Matt Loaring snatched at one to drag wide after benefitting from Keene Domaille’s good work and jinking into space, and then perhaps should have given his side the lead inside 20 minutes as Sam Murray held the ball up well on halfway and laid it off for a sprayed pass that got the number 11 in behind Ryan Healy. Loaring drove into the area but opted for power and aimed his shot a fraction too high.

GFC were spared a couple of close calls around 25 minutes as the visitors grew into the game. Healy snuck round the back to meet a free-kick but volleyed over, then the home side gave the ball away from the resulting goal-kick and Samuel King tried his luck from range. Josh Addison left it thinking it was going comfortably wide, but his heart would then skipped a beat as the ball bounce off the foot of the post.

King was at the heart of the Sparks’ efforts in attack, next sparing Tom Vaudin’s blushes by firing well over after the defender had run into traffic in midfield and then heading wide after a set-piece had been recycled.

A dozy moment from Gauvain saw him pass back to Addison without checking for danger, and Aidan Brown snuck in to pinch the ball. Good defending prevented him from tucking the ball in at the near post so he pulled it back for King, who found Guernsey captain Jamie Dodd in the way on the line to prevent the opener.

The second half was less than four minutes old when the visitors took the lead. The ball was played over the top down the left for Kevin Manuel Massango to run onto. His cross sat up nicely for Smith to stab it in from six yards to finally find a way past Addison.

Plenty of time for GFC to get back into it, but then came Gauvain’s dismissal. He later explained that an innocuous comment to team mate Dave Rihoy was both misheard and claimed to have been directed at the officials. The referee had to take his colleague’s word for it and Gauvain was off.

After that, South Park were able to control the remaining 35 minutes (plus nine added on) and Guernsey never really looked like levelling.

King should have made it two from the edge of the box but pulled his shot wide, then Tom Dodds made a vital block to deny Deondre Date whose weaving run took him into the box.

Benjamin Jordan and King again cleared the crossbar with a free-kick and header respectively, but it did not matter as they left the island with the spoils.

South Park: 1 Daniel Bracken; 2 Jack TUCKER; 3 Kevin Manuel MASSANGO; 4 Craig McGee; 5 Ryan HEALY; 6 Ethan KAISER; 7 Deondre DATE (14 James McELLIGOTT, 88’); 8 Connor GRAY (12 Kieran LAVERY, 75’); 9 Aidan BROWN (15 Jude MOLLOY, 76’); 10 Samuel KING; 11 Benjamin JORDAN. Not used: 16 Harry SMITH. 

Booked: McGee, Kaiser, Date.