Sheerwater FC
0 - 7
Combined Counties League Premier Division South
Jersey Bulls
Tuesday October 11, 2022, 7:30 pm
Eastwood Centre
Combined Counties League Premier Division South
Jersey visited Sheerwater where they had won 8-0 in mid-February. That completed a league double after a 4-0 win at Springfield twelve months ago, the Bulls first match at home for nineteen months. On both occasions the interval margin had only been a single goal.
Sheerwater had briefly joined the Combined Counties League in 1978, before dropping out, having finished bottom in their fourth season. After twenty years in various Surrey leagues they returned in 2003 to Division 1, but generally finished in the bottom half. However, they won Division 1 the season before the Bulls joined it and have been a lower mid table team in the Premier Division for the past three seasons.
Last season Sheerwater ended ninth with a record of 16-5-17 71-81 but this season are sitting nineteenth, albeit having played the least matches of any side. Their six league matches have only seen fourteen goals as they stand 1-2-3 5-9.
An opening four goal defeat by Raynes Park Vale was followed by a win at bottom club Banstead Athletic. After that there were draws with Alton and Fleet Town and odd goal defeats to Redhill and Camberley Town.
In the F.A. Cup they beat Banstead again, a match transferred to Sheerwater due to the poor state of the Banstead pitch, before a 1-2 defeat to North Greenford United of the Combined Counties North. In the F.A. Vase they put out Sandhurst Town, one of the front runners in Combined Counties Division 1, before going out on “penalties” to Brimscombe and Thrupp of the Hellenic Premier Division.
Having played at their Recreation Ground until 2018 Sheerwater spent the next three seasons sharing at National League neighbours Woking. During that period their new 3G Eastwood Centre ground, part of a multi-leisure facility, was being built in the grounds of Bishop David Brown School.
The school is notable for being the alma mater of Paul Weller and other members of The Jam. The new ground was opened last season with a friendly against Woking. It holds 600 but has not yet reached a quarter of that for any of their league or cup fixtures.
This was the third date for this relatively early season fixture. The first was put off in August as Sheerwater could possibly have been involved in a F.A. Cup replay and the revised date, a fortnight ago, clashed with Jersey’s trip to Italy for the U.E.F.A. Regions Cup.
Jersey, sitting seventh in the table, were looking for a win that would lift them above Raynes Park Vale and within two points of the quartet at the top of the table, all of whom have 22 points from a varying number of games.
Jersey welcomed back captain James Queree and the U18 captain Miguel Carvalho to the squad but Joe Kilshaw was still injured and Kamen Nafkha was also absent.
Top scorer Lorne Bickley was out injured and Luke Campbell was work tied although they were both initially named as substitutes on the team sheet. Goalkeeping coach Richard Hebert was subsequently substituted for Bickley before kick-off just in case Euan Van der Vliet was injured.
Jonny Le Quesne, Jake Prince and Adam Trotter, all substitutes on Saturday, started, as did Queree who was back as captain. They replaced Campbell, Nafkha, Bickley and Ruben Mendes, the latter on the bench with Carvalho and Sammy Henia-Kamau.
Sheerwater manager, Pete Ruggles, left at the end of last season after seven years at the club. He was promptly appointed at Guildford City and all his backroom staff moved with him. Five Sheerwater players joined them.
Michael Herbert, the former Sandhurst Town and Woodley United manager was Ruggles’ replacement. Not one of the players who opposed Jersey last season is still playing at Sheerwater, although a couple of them had played against Jersey before, but for other clubs.
On a chilly, and later misty, early autumn evening, Sheerwater who had made four starting changes from their last outing, kicked off attacking the School End.
Sheerwater looked to attack early on and their main efforts were channelled through skipper Danilo Cadete in midfield towards their tall striker Cameron Edwin. They encountered a resolute Jersey defence and found their opportunities limited.
Fraser Barlow, playing in his favoured central role in the absence of Bickley, was picked out by a magnificent Trotter pass, but forced wide, shot across the face of goal with no one there to capitalise.
Jersey opened the scoring before the quarter hour when Trotter dispossessed Will Shaw and put Le Quesne free on the left. His low cross was seized upon by Barlow at the near post and tucked away before any defenders reacted.
Le Quesne found the ‘keeper and Prince was only just wide before Prince set up the second goal. An incisive pass through the defence was well read by Francis Lekimamati who finished the move with a low cross shot from a narrow angle on the right.
Le Quesne and Barlow further tested the Sheerwater defence before Le Quesne and Giles over-elaborated in defence giving Edwin the chance to put in a low cross shot. This was parried only as far as Hugo Silveira near the penalty spot but he rushed the excellent chance and Jersey were relieved to see it go past Van der Vliet’s left-hand post.
Barlow picked up a knock on his right ankle and after a lengthy assessment he was replaced by Ruben Mendes just after the half hour.
Within a couple of minutes of the change, Queree hit a long ball forward which Mitchel Cooper attempted to head back to his ‘keeper Harvey Rackley-Hayes. Prince anticipated this, seized on the dropping ball, cut in on to his right and tucked the ball in to the left corner before Cooper could recover.
A fourth almost came when Sammy Sutcliffe showed some surprisingly deft touches up front and his cross was headed back across the face of the goal by Queree just beyond Lekimamati.
The fourth did arrive just before the interval. Giles, Trotter and Mendes combined to feed Le Quesne just in the opposition half. Aware that Rackley-Hayes was on the edge of his box he beat him from forty-five yards. It was certainly no fluke as he had hit the bar from fifty-five yards in the opening game of the season at Farnham Town.
For the second half Jersey replaced Frank Tobin with Sammy Henia-Kamau for his second senior appearance in four days. Before he had barely settled in Prince scored his second and Jersey’s fifth.
Receiving a short throw in from Giles near the left corner flag he worked his way along the byline before cutting in on to his right foot and beating Rackley-Hayes from a narrow angle.
Henia-Kamau then became Jersey’s youngest scorer with the sixth. Receiving a
glorious right to left cross field pass from Lekimamati, he fired in to the top left corner from twenty yards out.
Two minutes later the youngster set up Prince with an opportunity for his hat-trick but from the right of centre he dragged his cross shot just wide of the left post.
Another teenager, the under 18 captain, Miguel Carvalho was brought on to replace Trotter and he was soon terrorising the opposition defenders with his quick feet and darting attacks.
Henia-Kanau was instrumental in the seventh and Lekimamati’s second, reversing the roles involved in the sixth goal. His low cross from the left byline was missed by a defender and Lekimamati reacted quickest to curl it beyond the exposed ‘keeper.
Cadete was thwarted by Queree and then Ben Le Rougetel after a jinking run down the left and Owen Sims hit a powerful half volley into the right-side netting as Sheerwater searched for a consolation. At the other end Henia-Kamau with a quick turn tested Rackley-Jones as did Prince from twenty yards and Carvalho continued his teasing tormentations.
In the closing minutes Cooper turned a training ground free kick routine just wide of Van der Vliet’s left post before Prince put in a cross shot that just eluded the onrushing Henia-Kanau.
Carvalho then set up Henia-Kanau for what would have been a record equalling eighth but he just missed the top right corner as he attempted to curl it in. As it was Jersey had to settle for seven different assists for their goals, rather than eight.
Sheerwater 0; Jersey Bulls 7 (Fraser Barlow 13, Francis Lekimamati (2) 21 & 67, Jake Prince (2) 33 & 47, Jonny Le Quesne 45, Sammy Henia-Kamau 59)
Attendance – 128
Programme – 36 pages, £2
Sheerwater – Harvey Rackley-Hayes, Owen Sims, Jamie Lofthouse-Smith, Luke Cox, Joe Gritt, Mitchel Cooper, Danilo Cadete (c), Callum Coen, Cameron Edwin, Hugo Silviera, Will Shaw
Substitutes – 12. Jack Cleevely (for Coen 60), 14. Will Frank (for Cadete 75), 15. Andre Smith (for Shaw 51), 16. Matt Stockill (for Silviera 51), 17. Justin David (for Edwin 68)
Blue (White Sleeves)/Blue/Blue; GK All Light Blue
Michael Herbert (Manager), Mark Dunckley (Assistant), Tom Cooper (Coach), Jack Long (Physio.), Ollie Royan (Chairman), Sean Wallace (President)
Jersey Bulls – Euan Van der Vliet, Frank Tobin (wore 12), Jay Giles, James Queree (c), Sammy Sutcliffe, Ben Le Rougetel, Francis Lekimamati, Adam Trotter, Fraser Barlow, Jonny Le Quesne, Jake Prince
Substitutes – 17. Sammy Henia-Kamau (for Tobin 46), 18. Luke Campbell (not used), 19. Miguel Carvalho (for Trotter 64), 21. Richard Hebert (not used), 23. Ruben Mendes (for Barlow 31)
Red/White/White; GK All Yellow
Gary Freeman (Manager), Kevan Nelson (Assistant), Richard Hebert (GK Coach)
Formations
Sheerwater (4-4-2 R to L) 1; 2-4-5-3; 11-6-8-7; 9-10
Jersey Bulls (4-1-4-1 R to L) 1; 12-5-4-3; 6; 7-8-10-11; 9
Referee – Bimi Sherifi (Shepherd’s Bush) Born in Kosovo and re-located to London aged two. Qualified in 2016, initially with the Amateur Football Association and now in his fourth season with the Combined Counties League. He was in charge of the Horley Town fixture at Springfield on Easter Monday.
Assistants – Ian Kitchen (Knaphill) dug out side & Nicholas Pye (Woking) covered side – both on their first Jersey games.
Cautions – Le Rougetel (JB) 34
Corners – Sheerwater (1) 4; Jersey Bulls (1) 4
Player of the Match Award (twitter voting) – Jake Prince
Jake Prince 21, Francis Lekimamati 20, Jonny Le Quesne 9, Sammy Sutcliffe 3
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