It’s fair to say the Guernsey girls started shakily, with inter insular nerves high Jersey had possession of the ball for much of the first 10 minutes of the game. Guernsey’s attacking efforts were quickly neutralised by the Jersey defence. A run of short corners followed for Jersey, with Claudia Bailey charging down the Jersey attackers to deny them their first goal. It was third time lucky, when a short corner routine left the ball with an unmarked Jersey defender who managed to convert and take them to 1-0 lead.

Soon after, a Jersey attacker danced the ball past the Guernsey defence and wound up for a shot. Taking an unfortunate deflection off a Guernsey player the ball travelled to a post-lurking Jersey attacker-seeing an easy tap in and Jersey double their lead.
At this point the Guernsey girls began to relax and the comeback was on. With long balls into space from Bailey and Matilda Bachmann to on running Chloe Ingrouille and Holly Roberts and nice individual play from Jess Mahy and Lara Veillard in the middle, Guernsey’s attacking presence was becoming more dominant and purposeful. With a free hit awarded just outside the D, Veillard capitalised on taking it early and sent the ball onto a perfectly timed Roberts who got a shot away. Saved by the Jersey keeper, Ingrouille followed up the rebound to tap the ball into the back of the goal.

Veillard and Bachmann continued to utilise the speed of Ingrouille and Beatrice Moakes upfront to mount pressure on the Jersey defence. One final effort saw Darcy Stevens send the ball from the back to Ingrouille, who carried the ball up the pitch – skilling defenders on her way- amounting in a shot at goal which was eventually saved by the Jersey keeper. Despite not scoring again before half time, Guernsey’s attacking presence gave the girls a real sense of belief.

Starting to execute the game plan, the second half saw Guernsey come out with greater purpose. Excellent passing and defensive work from the backline created opportunities for those higher up the pitch and neutralised any Jersey attacks. The girls were now playing like the stronger of the two teams, managing to conjure up a well-earned short corner for their efforts. A robust and well executed routine between Holly Jones and Veillard, saw Veillard score, bringing the scores level at 2-2.

The tension increased, with the Jersey coach being shown a yellow card- Jersey were down to 10 players. As Jersey held strong, Guernsey were unable to capitalise on this player advantage. Both teams had some last-ditch efforts at goal, with none coming into fruition. The final whistle blew, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw. A fair result for a hotly contested game. Jersey retained the trophy following their win in 2024.

Match Report by Daniel Griggs, U16 Girls Lead Coach.