Match Report

Jersey continued their travels with a visit to the Spectrum Leisure Complex in Guildford where their opponents play on a pitch surrounded by an all-weather athletics track. Other facilities nearby include a swimming pool, an ice-skating rink, a ten-pin bowling alley and squash courts.

The original Guildford City folded in 1976 but another arose 30 years later and joined the Combined Counties League. Two successive titles in 2011 and 2012 saw them promoted to the Southern League but the second season there saw them relegated back. Since then they have generally been a lower mid table club but still one of the better supported teams in the division.

This season they went out of the F.A. Cup to Walton & Hersham, just as they had in the F.A. Vase last season. However, they gained revenge the following week by inflicting Walton’s first defeat of the season in a 4-3 thriller. Since then, they have changed manager twice. Their U23 coach, Tristan Rees, took over from Paul Barnes and was in charge when they lost 0-2 at Springfield on 13th November. He took them to the third round (last 64) of the F.A. Vase where they became the second of four successive shoot-out victims of Southall, who lost in the quarter-finals today.

Rees was in turn was replaced by Nikki Bull on 2nd February. Bull played over 300 matches for Aldershot Town before becoming manager of Margate and then Leatherhead. His revamped team started with three closely fought matches, two wins and a loss, but a fortnight ago they lost 1-7 at home to Beckenham Town and last week went down 1-5 at Walton & Hersham. The latter saw the Guildford goalkeeper, Mike McEntegart, dismissed late in the first half after conceding two separate penalties, and towards the end of the match Walton’s Harry Mills completed a hat-trick of penalties for the second time this season.

The Jersey team showed only one change to that which drew at A.F.C. Croydon Athletic on Tuesday evening, with Fraser Barlow moving up from the bench to replace the unavailable Jake Prince. Frank Tobin and Karl Hinds, who missed the Croydon trip, were substitutes, along with Rai Dos Santos.

Guildford were much changed since their visit to Jersey with only their captain Antonio Simeone, and Nathaniel Mensah starting in both matches. They had two other Springfield starters, Ethan Nelson-Roberts and Kyrell Palmer, on the bench. Additionally, James Glover, an unused substitute at Springfield, was in the starting line-up. The other eleven squad members did not visit Jersey. Luka Ziger, in goal, was replacing the suspended McEntegart whilst Necati Gench and Jeremie Bellune were making their Guildford debuts.

Guildford now sit in 9th place, at the head of the mid-table teams, with a record of 10-6-12 45-53 after those last two matches had severely dented their goal difference.

It was a lovely sunny Spring afternoon with the sun shining in to eyes of those in the dug outs on the far side of the pitch. Guildford kicked off on a hard dry pitch, which made it rather bumpy, attacking the car park end to the right of the grandstand.

Within ten minutes Sol Solomon had curled a free kick just wide of the left post, and dominating possession, Jersey had six corners in the next ten minutes. From one, a Lorne Bickley headed flick was only just wide of the right post, and another, from the other side, was headed on to the same post, although a foul had been given.

Midway through the half, Harrison Livingstone had a shot for Guildford which took a deflection off Luke Campbell, and Euan Van der Vliet had to get down smartly by his left post to push the ball away for a corner. On the half hour Bickley stepped over a Giles cross which set Fraser Barlow up for a shot which flashed over the bar.

The pressure eventually paid off when a Solomon/Mendes-Pestana 1-2 let the latter cross to the far post where Bickley volleyed home from a couple of yards. Four minutes later a Jay Giles midfield pass put Solomon clear thirty yards out. He capitalised on the space and after a couple of paces curled the ball into the top left corner.

Before half-time Solomon cut in from the left and, having done the hard work, shot wide of the left post. Joe Kilshaw and Kamen Nafkha also spurned chances, before the half time whistle gave Guildford a break from their tormentors.

Either side of the hour Jersey made the game safe with two Barlow goals. The first started with a Solomon 35 yard free-kick that was met beyond the left post by Giles who played a low volley across the face of the goal. Ziger got a hand to it but could only push it into Barlow’s path for him to tap in. His second came when Solomon chipped the ball forward for Bickley. His attempt was blocked by Ziger but again Barlow was on hand to apply the coup de grace.

With the game safe, Jersey made a double substitution with Karl Hinds and Rai Dos Santos coming on for Mendes-Pestana and Barlow. Shortly afterwards Solomon picked up a knock and the remaining substitute Frank Tobin was brought on at right-back with Jonny Le Quesne now pushing further forward.
It was Le Quesne who was to score the fifth. Nafkha cut in from the left and although his pass to him was behind Le Quesne he turned well and shot in to the bottom right corner from six yards. Giles achieved a hat-trick of assists when his thirty-five yard free-kick was headed home from close in at the far post by Campbell to notch up the half dozen.

Rai Dos Santos scored his first Jersey goal when he added the seventh. Le Quesne broke down the right and crossed to Dos Santos near the penalty spot from where he picked his spot. The remaining few minutes were spent looking for an eighth in order to match the Sheerwater result of four weeks ago. It was not to be, in a match where Guildford rarely managed to get out of their own half.

Guildford City 0, Jersey Bulls 7 (Lorne Bickley 32, Sol Solomon 36, Fraser Barlow (2) 57 & 61, Jonny Le Quesne 75, Luke Campbell 78, Rai Dos Santos 86)
Attendance – 162

Programme – £2, 36pp

Guildford City – Luka Ziger, Adam Green, Necati Gench, Yannick Monga, Antonio Simeone (c), James Glover, Jeremie Bellune, Harrison Livingstone, Reece Deakin, Harry Laflin, Nathaniel Mensah
Substitutes (none used) – Ethan Nelson-Roberts, Fariz Khallougi, Zachary Seys, Billy Connor, Kyrell Palmer

Nikki Bull (Manager), Koo Dumbuya (Coach), Mick Quinn (Physio.) TBC xxxxxx

Red & White wide striped shirts/Black shorts with red side panels and lower part of legs/Red socks; GK All Pink
Jersey Bulls – Euan Van der Vliet, Jonny Le Quesne, Jay Giles, James Queree (c), Luke Campbell, Kamen Nafkha, Fraser Barlow, Joe Kilshaw, Lorne Bickley, Ruben Mendes-Pestana, Sol Solomon.
Substitutes – Karl Hinds (for Mendes-Pestana 66), Frank Tobin (for Solomon 70), Rai Dos Santos (for Barlow 66), only three substitutes
Blue/Blue/White; GK Yellow

Gary Freeman (Manager), Paul Renton (Assistant), Dan Seviour (Coach), Richard Hebert (GK Coach) xxxxx Bickley (Physio.)

Referee – Tolga Inanc (Battersea) of Turkish heritage, works at H.M. Treasury. Promoted to Level 4 in July 2018.

Assistants – Aiden Farrelly (Hanworth) (dug out side) on the line for Jersey matches this season at both Molesey and London Samurai Rovers. Was due at Springfield for the reverse fixture v Guildford but the match officials fell foul of boarding delays that day and did not make it on to the ‘plane. Jason Giddings-Townsend (Blackwater) (grandstand side) his first Jersey match

Cautions – Bellune (GC) 54, Campbell (JB) 56, Green (GC) 90

Corners – Guildford City (2) 3; Jersey Bulls (7) 10

Player of the Match Award (commentator) – Fraser Barlow (JB)

Club Information

Club Colours

Home Ground

Team Management:

Background

Executive Summary

Advantages of Jersey Bulls

Shop

Match Report

Subscribe