JOHN STUART has played at Commonwealth Games level, but said he had never been as nervous as watching this year’s thrilling Gilson Cup. ‘Was the 15-15 draw in Jersey the most exciting Gilson match ever?’ he said.
Not even on the number of games won could the two islands be split.
ﾓThere were sweating palms, underarms and racing hearts and lots of effort put in,’ said Stuart, the GBA president, ‘and that was by the spectators.
‘It must have been a lot worse for the players. I don’t recall a more exciting and such a closely fought match. Both teams showed true grit.’
Guernsey captain Quentin Petit was also a relieved man afterwards.
‘I was proud of every player in my team. They all played out of their skins.’
But there was some disquiet in the Guernsey camp over the appearance of Solenn Pasturel.
‘ We are not happy with one of the Jersey selections as we feel that the eligibility rule has been infringed and we may have won but for that,’ said chairman of selectors Angela Stuart.
‘But it was a great match and our team all lifted their game to earn this draw.’
After 27 years of Guernsey domination, Jersey had won the previous two encounters.
Expectation of a Sarnian victory was high until the untimely withdrawal of Glenn Macfarlane and Darren Le Tissier, but on the plus side Guernsey were fielding their strongest women’s team in several years.
They were spearheaded by England-ranked Elena Johnson, who is maturing into a very strong and capable player.
There was a welcome return for Bridget Podger and with debutant Gail Lloyd the team showed real strength in depth, which is so vital in such encounters.
Stalwarts Sarah Garbutt and Wendy Trebert cemented this aspect.
Guernsey edged the initial men’s doubles 2-1 and they stretched that lead by winning two of the three women’s doubles which followed.
But the second round of men’s and women’s doubles were dominated by the hosts and before round three the score was locked at 6-6 and it was still even at 9-9 after the next round of rubbers.
After the first round of mixed rubbers the match score had moved along to 12-12 and the winning post was in sight for both teams.
Ultimately it was left the mixed B section to decide the result.
Guernsey’s Petit and Lloyd played brilliantly to win both their rubbers, including a three-setter against Dunford and Kim Ashton.
But it was their excellent win over Carter and Pasturel that secured the 15th match for Guernsey.
Could they win one more and win outright?
The task was left in the hands of Andy Orme and Trebert, who were up against the Dunford/Ashton pairing in the last rubber on court.
At one-game all, both sets of supporters were hoarse from yelling support, but it was the Jersey pair who edged the vital game to tie the match all round.
‘This was a terrific achievement in the tricky playing conditions at Jersey’s Gilson Hall,’ said Stuart. ‘At least we have stemmed the Jersey tide.’
Article posted on 27th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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