Mickys taking each other very seriously

By Aaron Scoones

Mick Le Prevost, left, and Micky Ogier will pit their wits against each other tonight. (Pictures by Brian Green, 0280353 and 0294427)

BOTH Micks are confident of winning tonight’s Fletcher Sports Guernsey FA Cup at Foote’s Lane.

Mick Le Prevost’s North beat Priaulx champions Bels 2-1 the last time they played in the Jeremie Cup semi-final two weeks ago.

But Bels coach Micky Ogier does not believe much should be placed on the result. ‘We should have won the match,’ he said. ‘We should have been 5-0 up in the first half.

‘The chances were there and I think we’ll put them away [tonight]. If we put them away, we’ll win the game.’

But Le Prevost is also bullish.

After struggling with injuries most of the season, the 2006-07 Priaulx champions have been on a winning streak of late.

The return of last season’s Priaulx and player’s player of the year, striker Simon Tostevin, has helped.

‘We’re getting back to the squad that we want and we’ve not lost for nine games,’ said Le Prevost.

‘We’re on a bit of a roll and hopefully we can keep that going [tonight].

‘Bels aren’t in the best of form at the moment. They’ve not been winning.

‘We’re the team who have been playing well. It’s all starting to develop now. It’s good, but it’s come at the end of the season.

‘But they are a good team. They are Priaulx champions.’

Le Prevost was naturally delighted with his team after their victory in the Jeremie.

North had gone into the first half 1-0 down after Marc McGrath had put the blue-and-whites ahead.

Then goals from Tostevin and Kieran Mahon during the second 45 minutes gave North the honours.

‘We took a lot of positives out of the game,’ said Le Prevost.

‘I had a bit of a game plan after I saw them play Sylvans. I altered the team a bit and we got the result.

‘We want to try and do that again [tonight].’

North will be without long-term-injury victims AJ Saunders and Gavin Le Page.

Footballcv Academy player Mahon, who is looking to secure a professional deal with League One side Northampton Town, will not feature as he was not registered in North’s FA Cup squad.

There are also doubts over Paul Page, who has an injured foot, and under-18 wing sensation Matt Loaring, who is under the weather.

However, Le Prevost expects them both to be fit for the final.

Bels, who rested Leighton Chainey, Scott Bradford, Joby Bourgaize and Sam Cochrane for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Vale Rec in the Priaulx, have a clean bill of health.

They have not been hit with anything like the injuries that have inflicted North this season.

However, one noticeable absentee is Simon Marley who, when injured early in the season, was deregistered from their FA Cup squad and apparently has not been allowed back in.

Bels captain Chainey said his team were firing on all cylinders and looking for revenge.

‘We’re well up for it after losing the Jeremie,’ said the centre back. ‘We want to get our own back.

‘The games between us are always quite close. Whoever takes their chances is going to win the game and I like to think we will.

‘If we’d taken our chances in the first half of the Jeremie, we would have gone on and beaten them, but we didn’t. They had a couple of missed chances as well.

‘I think it’s going to be pretty even.’

While North and Bels rarely see eye to eye, Le Prevost agrees that tonight’s final is going to be decided on who capitalises on their opportunities the most.

‘It will be a great game and at the end of the day, it’s about whoever takes their chances,’ he said.

‘There will be lots of chances at both ends from two good attacking teams.’

* THE final kicks off at 7.30pm at Foote’s Lane.