This Is Guernsey

By Gareth Le Prevost

Simon Tostevin suffered a serious injury in last season’s Jeremie Cup final. (0525233)

SIMON TOSTEVIN has a Deloitte Jeremie Cup winner’s medal, but it came at a high price.

In the second half of last year’s 2-1 final victory against Trinity, the North striker’s season came to a painful and abrupt end as he picked up the knee injury which cruelly ruled him out of the Upton and the Muratti.

He did not return to first-team action until January. Tomorrow he has the chance to add another winner’s medal to his collection and would love to do so against Grouville, as long as he comes through the 90 minutes unscathed.

‘Hopefully, it will end on a better personal note than last year’s final did,’ Tostevin said.

‘I don’t think I appreciated what I had done at the time.

‘I landed awkwardly and I felt my leg give way. The pain was quite severe, but it died down after five seconds so I tried to run it off. But it didn’t feel quite right and I came off.

‘I knew I had the Upton the following week so I didn’t want to make it worse but, as it happens, I did that anyway a few days later trying to prove to Mick [Le Prevost] I was fit.

‘He put me and a couple of others through a fitness test and the first time I turned at pace, my leg collapsed. That was a horrible feeling – it felt like my leg had gone in two.’

North are likely to be unchanged from their Guernsey FA Cup victory last week.

The chocolate-and-blues are enjoying an excellent run of form, but will not be taking lightly Grouville, conquerors of St Martin’s in the semi-final.

‘Grouville are a good side from what we know. They may be struggling in their league this year, but we played them twice last season, winning one

[in the Jeremie] and losing the other [in the Wheway], and both were tough games,’ said Tostevin.

‘As long we play to our potential, I’m sure we’ve got a good chance of winning. I think we’ve shown over the last six or seven games that we’re still as good as, if not better than, Bels.

‘If Matt Loaring and Glyn Dyer are on song, we really tick as a team.’

* The match is at the Corbet Field, 2pm kick-off.