The U16 Boys Inter Insular is always a hotly contested fixture and this year was no different. Filled with confidence from their recent performances and Alex’s scouting report, this year’s group were ready to get Guernsey engraved on the trophy for the first time in 10 years.

The boys were out of the changing rooms in plenty of time, partly enforced by some pre-match nerves, and looked sharp in the warm-up. Coaches Steve and Mike imparted some last minute wisdom as well as a last minute tactic to confuse the Jersey team. Captain Alex stepped up and duly won the coin toss, forcing a change of ends and the match got underway.

The Guernsey boys immediately put pressure on the Jersey defence by pressing hard in the early moments, ably aided in this respect by Charles, whose tireless running and pressing were a feature throughout the game. Despite this early pressure the were to be no goals, with the forward line reduced to half chances, along with a couple of good breaks int the circle from Rupert, Byron and Joe. As the half went on, Rufus began to stamp his calm authority on the midfield, ably assisted by Joe, Joel and Byron to keep control of possession for most of the half.

Jersey did make some chances during the first half but they were mostly countered by some good saves from Olly, along with some quality defending from Raef and Alex. Most joy came for Guernsey through the wide defenders, with Sam, Charlie, Tom and Gulliver sticking to the game plan and getting some good play in the wide channels.

Two good chances came towards the end of the first half with Luca coming very close after Charles stole the ball off Jersey in the circle. This led to, arguably, the best chance of the game from a Penalty Corner. Everything went to plan, with Luca and Charles taking up great positions in front of the keeper. Unfortunately, we weren’t quite able to get the ball over the line and the half-time whistle went.

There was little to say at half time, other than more of the same and the boys, again, started in the same aggressive fashion as the first half. Byron began to assert more influence on the game and looked dangerous, playing some good passes into Rupert, Charles and Joel. The team continued to look most likely to score up the right hand side of the pitch. It wasn’t long before Byron played Joel through and he almost found the target with a fierce strike that Charles wasn’t quite able to get on the end of.

As the game progressed, the fight continued and the match began to become more physical. The Guernsey kept their heads and continued to play some attractive hockey. Olly didn’t have much to do in the second half. However, he was required a couple of times with about 10 minutes to go. With 5 minutes to go, individual brilliance made the difference for Jersey, as their standout player beat 3 of our players before smashing home from the edge of the circle. It was unfortunate, as Guernsey had been controlling possession and restricting Jersey well. It was the same player a couple of minutes later who broke through again, this time setting up a teammate for another rocket into the bottom corner.

With the goals coming late on, Guernsey were, sadly, unable to get themselves on the scoresheet and the game finished 2-0 to Jersey. There were some very disappointed faces on the Guernsey team, but they all recognised how well they played. It was a credit to both sets of players that the game was rightly recognised for the high quality, even contest that it was.

Olly Pratt was awarded Man of the Match by the Jersey players for his excellent saves, with Joe Culverwell given an honourable mention for his industrious performance in midfield.

The unofficial awards were given later on, with Rufus Bousfield Man of the Match for his calm and controlled midfield performance and Donkey of the Day given to Charles Whittaker.

Match Report by Steve Eulenkamp, U16B Lead Coach