Skipper Leighton Chainey receives the cup from the Bailiff, Geoffrey Rowland, while GFA secretary Neil Laine (left) and Bels president Hilary Sarre lead the applause. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0565817)
Belgrave Wanderers 2, St Paul’s 0
ONLY one team turned up to the Upton.
And the good news for the vast majority of a bumper crowd at the Track on Saturday was that it was Bels.
The Guernsey champions took an easy 2-0 win over their Jersey counterparts, St Paul’s, and it not only could have been more, it should have been more. St Paul’s were very poor and never at the races.
The home side could have been 2-0 up within the first four minutes.
Their star winger, Dave Rihoy, got round the back to feed Marc McGrath who could deliver only an air shot.
Immediately afterwards McGrath beat the offside trap but his effort went across the goal and wide.
Bels had the run of play but were lacking that killer touch.
Defensive midfielder Matt Drillot was winning everything and he continued to do so all game to deservedly claim the man-of-the-match award.
The Whites came close on 20 minutes of play when Glen Skillet, who had a great game at right back, sent in a wicked free kick from out wide that Sam Cochrane headed just wide of the goal.
St Paul’s came very close to making Bels rue their missed chances on the half-hour mark when a sliced kick by Leighton Chainey in the area was not cleanly caught by Rhys Gower and Craig Leitch pounced on it.
To the relief of the home contingent, the Jersey striker’s shot hit the post.
Bels eventually found the back of the net right on the stroke of half-time when an unmarked Rihoy at the back post got on the end of a deep corner to head home.
St Paul’s were punished for using a zone defence and, in truth, they never looked comfortable at set pieces throughout the match.
For the second half, Craig Culkin, coach of the Jersey champions changed their shape from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2 in a bid to make things happen for his team. He also brought on Carl McConnel for central midfielder David Watson and JP Martin for Nathan Taylor up front.
However, the substitutions and the formation change did not make any difference as Bels continued to rule the roost.
Five minutes after the re-start, McGrath forced a brilliant one-handed save from the Yellows’ keeper, David Alexander, who was deputising for the injured Jersey number one, Andrew Bird.
With his rotund figure, Alexander did not look like a goalkeeper in the modern mould but he was certainly agile, although there was not much he could do about Bels’ second goal.
After Drillot had taken the ball into the box, his shot ricocheted off the upright for substitute Paul Ramsden to tuck it away.
Ten minutes later, Alexander denied Marley with another diving save as Culkin brought on junior Rupert Murray on the wing to replace Luke McGlone.
The tricky Murray made an impact almost immediately as he jinked his way into the Bels area.
Gower did well to keep his low shot out with his legs but as the ball ballooned up into the air right in front of the goal, Mark Lucas rose to meet it with his head.
The left-sided midfielder really should have scored but his effort hit the bar instead. It was an absolute sitter.
McGrath then broke free in a one on one with Alexander but the Jerseyman easily dealt with his chip.
Just before the full-time whistle, Martin had a golden opportunity, but his shot hit the side netting.
It summed up St Paul’s performance.
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