Frimley Green are amongst a cluster of Combined Counties football clubs in the Farnborough and Aldershot area. Camberley Town is a couple of miles to the north whilst Cove is a similar distance to the west. They play on the local Recreation Ground which also incorporates tennis courts and a cricket pitch.

They have had a somewhat “yo-yo” existence in the Combined Counties’ League. Initially entering in 1981 they played in it for thirteen seasons, never finishing higher than eighth, before dropping out after finishing bottom in 1994.

After nearly a decade away they returned in 2002 but after escaping relegation in 2006, having finished eighteenth of twenty-one teams, they were demoted anyway as their ground failed to reach the required standard.

Frimley Green won the Division 1 title in 2013 and returned to the Premier Division for two seasons before finishing bottom again. A runners-up spot in 2019 saw them return to the Premier Division where the first abandoned season was more successful than the second, in which they had only three wins and two draws in the thirteen league matches that they completed.

Last season they went out in their first match of the F.A. Cup, but won through four rounds of the F.A. Vase before going out in the last sixty-four, which gave them exemption to the First Round this season. In the league they finished seventeenth with a 11-5-22 47-86 record, but never looked as though they might be relegated.

Jersey won 4-0 at Frimley in late January last season, with a hat-trick from Sol Solomon and another from Daryl Wilson before a crowd swelled by a large contingent of travelling Bulls’ supporters. That score was replicated in mid-April when Frimley came to Springfield. This time it was two goals from Jonny Le Quesne, supplemented by others from Jack Cannon and Jake Prince.

This season looks like another one of struggle. Frimley sit sixteenth in the league with a 2-3-7 15-26 record. They have gone out of the F.A. Cup, F.A. Vase and Surrey Senior Cup, all at the first hurdle. Last week it was the Vase, 0-7 at home to North Greenford United of the Combined Counties North, having been 0-6 by the interval. However, they did defeat Banstead Athletic in the first round of the League Cup.

Jersey’s squad was missing Jake Prince and Jonny Le Quesne after their dismissals last week with Miguel Carvalho and John Lloyd replacing them in the squad. Carvalho, making his full debut, and Ruben Mendes started instead of the dismissed pair, and Ben Le Rougetel replaced Kamen Nafkha. Nafkha joined Harrison Moon, Sammy Henia-Kamau, Sammy Sutcliffe and the returning John “J.J.” Lloyd on the bench. Fraser Barlow and Joe Kilshaw were still out injured.

Frimley Green made four changes. Cameron Miller, Freddie Jones, Jack Appleby and Andrew Hills coming in for Monty Everett, Freddie Loveridge, Rowan Smith and the suspended Zac Hawker.

On probably the last mild afternoon (19C) of a record-breaking summer and early autumn, Jersey kicked off attacking the Robin Hood End.

Jersey started strongly and soon took an early lead. Francis Lekimamati’s corner from the right, managed to find its way through the massed defenders to Luke Campbell towards the far post. It then only required a relatively simple volley from five yards for Campbell’s 25^th Jersey goal. Carvalho showed early intent with a shot on the turn which Nativ Yanko in the Frimley goal, diving to his right, pushed away.

Frimley Green equalised against the run of play. A long ball forward gave Freddie Jones room to pull the ball back from the right byline. It travelled a long way before being met on the edge of the box by Jack Appleby. From there he side-footed it into the bottom left corner just before Campbell could close him down. It all appeared far too simple.

Jersey regained the lead six minutes later from another Lekimamati assist. A Lorne Bickley flick-on set Lekimamati free down the right wing where he cut in and beat a couple of defenders before playing the ball across the face of the goal. Carvalho, charging in, finished off the move from three yards before Yanko could gather.

Before the half hour Adam Trotter scored the goal of the game. Bickley laid the ball across to him, which he hit without breaking stride, a curling shot from twenty-five yards into the top right corner.

Before the interval each side made a substitution for an injured player. Leyton Avenell coming on for Cameron Miller in the Frimley midfield and a couple of minutes later Lloyd replacing Giles, as Jersey led 3-1 at the break.

Jersey resumed their domination after the interval with Bickley brought down on the left edge of the box but the resultant free-kick was blocked for a corner. Carvalho then played in the overlapping Lloyd but his shot was comfortably held by Yanko.

Campbell became the only “booking” of a match so different in atmosphere to last week’s when he brought down Andrew Hills. There were soon howls of protest from the crowd when referee Maros Valko waved away penalty claims when Ross Ewen brought down Lekimamati. Another Carvalho break saw his low centre elude the onrushing Bickley and Lekimamati.

Frank Tobin was clattered into the grandstand fencing by Ewen as they tussled for a ball down the right flank but Tobin was soon to gain revenge when he created the fourth goal out of “nothing”.

Heading on a long clearance from Van der Vliet towards the right corner flag, it looked more likely that Ewen would mop it up. However, Tobin was by far the sharper, reached it at the byline, flicked it past Ewen and set it up “on a plate” for Carvalho to tap in for his second goal as Jersey went 4-1 up.

A flurry of substitutions ensued as Frimley brought on Ollie Joint for frontman George Keenan and Jersey introduced Sammy Sutcliffe for Tobin then Sammy Henia-Kamau for Mendes.

It was Henia-Kamau who assisted with the fifth goal in passing to Carvalho. Carvalho advanced and hit a sweetly struck shot into the top left corner from twenty yards to complete his hat trick and mark an astonishing full debut.

Frimley responded by replacing Ben Hughes with Harley Rogers and shortly afterwards Jersey replaced the carded Campbell with Nafkha.

Lloyd cut out a Frimley attack and fed Bickley. Bickley set off on a surging run down the left channel as Lloyd backed him up, turning Frimley skipper Ben Hutchings and scoring with a low cross shot from a dozen yards, with Lloyd on hand in case of a parried save.

This resulted in the last substitutions of the day with Frimley player/manager Nick Thumwood replacing their scorer Appleby, and Moon coming on for Lekimamati.

Moon soon caught Ewen in possession and set Bickley off on another run but his left footed shot from the edge of the box lacked the power and direction to trouble Yanko unduly.

With ten minutes remaining, Frimley substitute Joint collected a short pass on the right sideline before cutting in past Le Rougetel and Nafkha and unleashing a crisp left footed shot from twenty yards before Sutcliffe could close him down. The shot flew into the bottom right corner past the diving Van der Vliet’s left hand, meaning Frimley had scored with both their shots on target. It was also the first time this season that Jersey conceded two goals in a match.

There was still time for Henia-Kamau to have an 84^th minute “goal” chalked off for a marginal offside after he moved on to a clever pass from Moon. Henia-Kamau almost repaid the favour two minutes later but his cut back was just behind Moon.

Carvalho’s hat-trick was Bulls 9^th, 6 at Springfield, the other 3 away. This was the 6^th in a league match, there have been 2 in the F.A. Cup and the other in the F.A. Vase. He is the 4th scorer of a hat-trick and the youngest at 17 years 132 days.
It was also the third quickest only beaten by Lorne Bickley against Horsham Y.M.C.A. and Sol Solomon at Frimley Green last season.

14.08.19 A F.C. Deportivo Galicia 6-0 Karl Hinds (inc. 2 pens) 89th min

01.02.20 H Chessington & Hook U. 6-0 Sol Solomon 86th min

07.08.21 H Horsham Y.M.C.A. (F.A. Cup) 10-1 Lorne Bickley 39th min

07.08.21 H Horsham Y.M.C.A. (F.A. Cup) 10-1 Sol Solomon 90th min

26.09.21 H Crowborough Ath. (F.A. Vase) 5-0 Sol Solomon 90+1 min
15.01.22 H A.F.C. Croydon Ath. 6-0 Sol Solomon 90th min

29.01.22 A Frimley Green 4-0 Sol Solomon 51st min

12.02.22 A Sheerwater 8-0 Lorne Bickley 74th min

29.10.22 H Frimley Green 6-2 Miguel Carvalho 67th min

Jersey Bulls 6 (Lorne Campbell 4, Miguel Carvalho (3) 25, 57 & 67, Adam Trotter 28, Lorne Bickley 74);
Frimley Green 2 (Jack Appleby 19, Ollie Joint 80)

Attendance – 539

Programme – 24 pages, £2

Jersey Bulls – Euan Van der Vliet, Frank Tobin (wore 12), Jay Giles, James Queree (c), Luke Campbell, Ben Le Rougetel, Francis Lekimamati, Adam Trotter, Lorne Bickley (wore 16), Ruben Mendes, Miguel Carvalho
Substitutes – 2. John “J.J.” Lloyd (for Giles 34), 9. Harrison Moon (for Lekimamati 75), 14. Kamen Nafkha (for Campbell 70), 19. Sammy Henia-Kamau (for Mendes 64), 21. Sammy Sutcliffe (for Tobin 60)

Red/White/White; GK All Yellow

Gary Freeman (Manager), Dan Seviour (Coach), Richard Hebert (GK Coach), Steve Martin (Physio.)

Frimley Green – Nativ Yanko, Sam Hutchings, Ross Ewen, Cameron Miller, Ben Hutchings (c), Louie Rogers, Freddie Jones, Jack Appleby, George Keenan, Andrew Hills, Ben Hughes
Substitutes – 12. Ollie Joint (for Keenan 59), 14. Leyton Avenell (for Miller 32), 15. Harley Rogers (for Hughes 68), 16. Nick Thumwood (player/manager) (for Appleby 75), only four substitutes

Nick Thumwood (Player/Manager), Kris Hatton (Coach), Roland Barker (Coach), Mark Gorman (Coach), Steve Lynch (Physio.)

All Dark Blue (dark orange design to shoulders); GK All Green

Formations
Jersey Bulls (4-1-4-1 R to L) 1; 12-4-5-3; 6; 7-8-10-11; 16
Frimley Green (4-5-1 R to L) 1; 2-6-5-3; 7-10-8-4-11; 19

Referee – Maros Valko (Lambeth) A Slovak who moved to England in 2013 and played for Thamesmead Town in the Isthmian League until 2017. Upon retiring as a player he took up the whistle in 2018 and was on the line at Springfield in 2019 when the Bulls met Dorking Wanderers reserves. Last season he was also on the line for the first meeting with Sutton Common Rovers in the F.A. Cup., and then refereed the match with Knaphill at Springfield in December.

Assistants –Phil Paice (Woking) on the dug-out side. Officiating for 20 years, formerly with the Isthmian League. In the middle for our match v Bagshot in September 2019 and on the line for our first visit to Walton & Hersham in February 2020. Also on the line three times in a month for our trips to London Samurai Rovers (Div. 1 Cup), Sheerwater and Camberley Town in January/February of last season.

Gavin Colllins (Aldershot) – Has been officiating in the Combined Counties League for 26 years. On the line at Springfield for our League Cup clash with Fleet Spurs in January 2020. Also ran our lines twice in a week in October 2021 for our visits to Badshot Lea and Farnham Town.

Cautions – Luke Campbell (JB) 51

Corners – Jersey Bulls (3) 4; Bearsted (0) 2

Player of the Match Award – Miguel Carvalho