Match Preview: Isthmian South Central Division
Guernsey Vs Basingstoke Town
When: Sunday 16th April 2023 Kick-off 2pm
Where: Footes Lane Stadium, St Peter Port, Guernsey. GY1 2UL
Guernsey (Nickname – The Green Lions), Avg 2022-23 Home Att 614
Well two wins over the Easter period, the last a two-nil win at nearby neighbours Thatcham Town, brings us to our last and the furthest away game of the season, as we fly or take the boat to the tiny island of Guernsey.
Our first meeting at Winklebury back at the beginning of December, was a bit of a one-sided contest as we put eight unanswered goals past them on the day. Goals by Ben Cook, Brody Peart, two from James Clark, an own goal, and then a late hat-trick by Bradley Wilson, the scorers on the day.
Our Opponents
The Green Lions or Sarnians as they are called, are located on the island of Guernsey, and continue to be managed by Tony Vance since the club’s inception in 2011. The well-known Le Tissier family have strong connections with the Community Club with Mark Le Tissier still the current Chairman.
Guernsey who visited Winklebury back in early December were then spiralling to the bottom of the table, had a lack of playing squad and were fighting to keep things going. However since the middle of February, in-line with the return of record goal-scorer Ross Allen in late January, they have turned things around and have won five, drawn five and lost just twice. More importantly one of those draws was that goal-less draw last Saturday at home to league leaders Walton & Hersham, which gave us one foot back in the title race.
They now sit in a more comfortable (15th) place, with a record of Pld 35 Won 10 Drawn 10 Lost 15 Pts 40.
With the return of Ross Allen, he leads their goal-scoring chart with twelve, eleven since January and he will be the main player to mark this Sunday. Sam Murray has now added ten goals, and joined the club last summer. Will Fazakerley (a former Leicestershire cricketeer) has added three goals. Danny Hale, another forward who has played most of the season, has added two goals.
The midfield is led by Matt Loaring who has added five goals and is regarded as an attacking versatile midfielder, who joined the club in 2015. He did have previously have trials at Watford, Leeds Utd & Grimsby. Thomas Dodds has cemented his role in midfield over the past few years and can also play in defence if needed. Kieran Mahon, brings bite to the Guernsey midfielder with bundles of energy and sharp in the tackle. Liam Mahon is the younger of the two brothers and a regular in the side. Charles Gauvain missed over five months of the season with a long-term injury, but finally returned to the team in March and has won a place in the starting side. David Merris, is another midfield option who has played for clubs such as York City & Harrogate Town, and joined the Sarnians in October 2022.
The defence has Jacob Fallaize who has been at the club since 2015, apart from a short stint in the US. With him will be centre-back Jamie Dodd, who is the club’s all-time appearance holder. Keanu Marsh who was the regular right-back, but suffered a serious injury in the Walton game, and will likely miss the rest of the season. Thomas Vaudin has been a regular in the Guernsey defence this season. Seb Vance, son of Manager Tony Vance, made his first appearance for the club last week.
Josh Addison, is now the regular in goal and having been at the club on-and-off for the last few seasons.
Our Basingstoke Town Side
The wins over Southall and then Monday’s win at Thatcham Town, keeps us on the heels of Walton with just two league games remaining. It was good to see Bradley Wilson find the net, not once, but twice on Monday, and hopefully this should give him the confidence to push for more goals in whatever games we are still to play this season.
These two wins gives us an amazing league record which would win most leagues at our level if not for Walton & Hersham’s similar season. Our record now sits at Pld 36 Won 27 Drawn 2 Lost 7 with 83 Pts. Although our goal-scoring has somewhat dried up in recent weeks, we have still found the net 83 times this season, whilst our defence, the best in the league, is the stingiest, allowing just 34 goals on the season.
We made a number of changes for the Thatcham game, some enforced, some to rest players, which included Brody Peart’s start on the left, and he ignited the offence alongside Bradley Wilson’s more central role. Paul Hodges did his usual creative play just behind Wilson, which allowed George Reid more freedom on the right. How we set-up on Sunday afternoon will be interesting to see, as Stefan Brown, an active substitute in the last two games, had probably one of his most influential games last season on the Footes Lane pitch, and he could be a surprise starter this Sunday. Sam Argent an unused sub at Thatcham, could also play an important part this weekend.
Well with Simon Dunn taking a partial rest, as he was a oncoming second-half substitute, he is likely to return as captain against a much more stronger physical Guernsey side. Young D’Andre Brown who captained the side in Michael Atkinson’s continued absence could well earn a further start this weekend. Ben Cook is likely to start in his normal advancing role, as Atkinson is unlikely to play any part Sunday. James Clark is likely to be fit and an option for Dan to use if need be.
The defence will see the return of Billy Upton following his one game ban and will partner Scott Armsworth in the centre-back pairing. Nathan Smart who made some important interventions at Thatcham, will however likely be back on the bench this weekend. On the right unless Ben Mason is given a start, it will once again be Markus Johnson-Schuster on the right, with Callum Winchcombe on the left. Mark Scott got the start in goal at Thatcham, but unless I am unaware of an injury, then Paul Strudley was given a rest, and is likely to return to the goalkeepers role this Sunday.
The weather is currently changing out in Guernsey, so it will be interesting to see how heavy a pitch we will have to play on, having had the Guernsey rugby team playing on it on the day before.
With a number of Stoke fans already making the trip today, including my group, let alone on Saturday, there should be a huge yellow and gold presence at Footes Lane Stadium cheering on Dan and the players. By the time we enter the pitch this Sunday, we will know if Southall have done us a favour or not, but the three points must be the first factor to concern ourselves with.
Safe journey to the Management squad, players and all travelling Stoke fans. Mine’s a pint!
Match Preview by Martin French..
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