Simoin Tostevin wheels away in celebration after scoring one of his three goals in the bronze medal play-off. (Pictures by Steve Sarre, 0799737)
Guernsey 5, Isle of Man 0
THEIR best performance of the tournament came a day too late, but at least Guernsey ended their Island Games on a high yesterday after.
The Greens powered past a useful Isle of Man outfit to earn a bronze medal, with Simon Tostevin the Sarnians’ hat-trick hero.
‘We saved our best for last. This was a different game, but I wish that performance had come yesterday,’ admitted coach Tony Vance.
‘To be fair, the Isle of Man were a good side. We had watched them during the week and we knew they were going to be strong.
‘But everything about our performance today was superb. There were 14 heroes out there and I cannot say enough about them.’
A tight first half looked set to end goalless until the ball somehow found its way into the net off the Isle of Man goalkeeper late on.
However, Guernsey cut loose in the second half, showing a remarkable amount of energy and pace considering it was their fifth game in six days and conditions at the Solvallen pitch were sweltering.
Tostevin went close on the hour mark after latching on to Neil Sarahs’ ball over the top, but the big striker fired his volley over the bar.
Just seconds later Darren Martin made a terrific covering tackle just as Isle of Man seemed set to equalise following a slip in the Guernsey defence and from that moment there looked to be only one winner.
Tostevin doubled the advantage with 20 minutes remaining, taking Alex Le Prevost’s miscued shot at his feet 10 yards from goal before swivelling and smashing home a fierce drive.
The third came from the route one approach.
Tostevin used his height to flick on Tom Le Tissier’s long punt forward and Ross Allen took a touch to control the ball before firing in from 20 yards via a slight deflection.
Allen returned the favour with five minutes to go, chasing another long ball forward before reaching the byline and cutting it back to give Tostevin an easy tap in.
As the game moved into injury time, a move down the right resulted in Le Prevost crossing into the penalty area.
A defender at full stretch could not deal with the danger and Tostevin nipped in to poke the ball past the keeper and wrap up his hat-trick.
‘We dug in when we needed to and also played some good stuff at times,’ Vance said.
‘I don’t really like picking out individuals, but Tosty was magnificent and Neil Sarahs was excellent at the back.’
The coach added that having asked his squad in the morning if they could get up for the challenge of the bronze-medal play-off following the disappointment of the previous day, they had answered him emphatically.
‘It was so important to approach this game in the right way, (a) to go home with something to show for our efforts and (b) because of the seedings for the Isle of Wight in two years’ time. Hopefully this result will do us some favours in that regard.
‘I am delighted for the players that they have come away with something. There are some good sides in this tournament and we certainly deserve our bronze medal for what the guys have put in.
‘Hopefully this gives us something to build on for 2011.’Day six in Aland: Footballers in third/fourth place play-off
Article posted on 4th July, 2009 - 2.29pm
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