The GFA Aztech Academy U11s, under the banner of the Guernsey Schools U11 representative side, headed over to Jersey for the Schoolboy Muratti on Sunday 10th March. Full of confidence after months of preparation, they were more than up to the challenge and came away with a well-deserved 1-0 victory.
Coached by Ross Allen, Rob Jones, and school’s representative Richard Sutton, the Guernsey players thrived in their first island inter-insular, showing off the exciting talent that the Academy has coming through its junior ranks.
The match started out with both sides looking a threat on the counterattack. Guernsey started with more dominance on the ball, and territory in Jersey’s half, but Guernsey’s back three of Alfie Adams, Ben Pimlott, and Rafael Whalley had to be alert to some fast breaks from Jersey’s lively attacking threats. All three were excellent throughout.
Chances started to come and go for both sides. Hamish McLellan was causing problems down the right wing with his pace, and Jody Bachmann and Eduardo Nettleton worked well down the left and both had half chances to give Guernsey the lead, but the sides went in at half time at 0-0.
Early in the second half, substitute Archie Bisson missed a fantastic chance to give Guernsey the lead; but he didn’t have long to wait to get a chance to make amends. A beautifully weighted pass from Josh Ozanne set Bisson through again; and this time, after strongly working his way through into a shooting position, made no mistake with a tidy finish into the corner.
Jersey began to press with time ticking away, calling John Gilmour into some top class saves to keep them out. Bisson hit the post at the other end when again the ball looked destined for the net, and Buddy Leaman had two attempts to kill the game off that would have been a reward for his hard work leading the team from midfield.
As it was, the Guernsey substitutes came on to help see out the game. Riley Le Poidevin, Lincoln Knott, and Harrison Prior seamlessly slotted into their roles to help keep the team structure, and hold onto the lead, and even substitute goalkeeper Charlie Fysh came on up front to make an impact and keep Jersey pegged back.
The full-time whistle sounded to give Guernsey a rare victory on away soil that the players will remember for a long time. After a hard season working towards this goal, the players can now enjoy the remaining weeks of the season, and look to build on this success over the coming years.
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