Chris Tardif clears his lines. (1191054)

Guernsey FC 4, Farleigh Rovers 0
ROSS ALLEN’S sixth hat-trick of the campaign took him to 29 goals for the season in all Green Lions games, but this was not a vintage performance from either Allen or the Green Lions.

It took 45 minutes and a half-time tongue lashing from assistant coach Colin Fallaize for the Lions to throw off their shackles and finally go up the gear which killed off a plucky Farleigh, who certainly were not the worst team to arrive at Footes Lane this season.

The visitors, who have been slowly gelling and producing some decent results after a terrible start to the campaign – the result of losing nine players in the close season to Warlingham, were well organised and caused Tony Vance’s side a few problems.

Indeed, they almost went ahead, on one of three occasions when striker Craig Prendergast came perilously close to becoming the first player to score against the Green Lions on home turf.

Guernsey were workmanlike but largely uninspired in the attacking third.

Ryan-Zico Black’s absence meant the side lost fluidity in central midfield where too often Jacques Isabelle and Angus Mackay were often on each other’s toes and occupying the same spaces.

The Lions lacked width and zip and Dominic Heaume, brilliant for much of the campaign, looked a touch ‘leggie’ having spent a holiday in Egypt.

That said, he was still one of the better players.

It took 35min. for the opening goal to arrive, but they had gone close on a few occasions earlier, the first real chance coming as early as four minutes in when Heaume, set up by Luke Winch, saw his goalbound effort deflect off Ollie Waiton, the big Farleigh keeper, who probably deserved man-of-the-match honours.

Waiton was to make a string of good stops over the course of the game, but none matched the class of those Chris Tardif produced five minutes in when Sam Cochrane was harshly penalised on the edge of the box – incidentally one of many strange decisions by young English ref William Davis – and Prendergast’s well-hit free-kick was smartly tipped over by Tardif.

Slowly the Green Lions began to build some momentum, but it was never convincing in the manner of previous home games and while Heaume twice went close, once heading wide and also seeing another headed effort superbly tipped onto the bar by Waiton, Farleigh also forced several corners and Prendergast brought another good stop out of Tardif.

At the northern end, Heaume went close for a third time on the 23min. mark when he was alert to Jason Winch’s smartly taken free-kick down the line.

Spotting Winch’s ploy, Heaume stole a yard or so on the Farleigh cover, but his lob-volley was not as sharp as his instinct: the shot had a little too much on it and went over the bar to the groans of a crowd who, given the sides’ respective league placings, had arrived half expecting an avalanche of goals.

But the goal was never far away and 10 minutes from half-time Allen leapt highest as the ball was swung in from the left and looped a header which smacked onto the far post and fell over the line.

The feeling of relief was felt all around the ground and the home players, but Jason Winch perhaps took the relaxation too far when, just after GFC had gone ahead, he sloppily sprayed a loose pass onto the feet of striker Tyrone Peters and he was lucky that the big No. 10, probably surprised to get the chance, rushed his shot and blazed wide.

The Green Lions went off for their cuppa surely in the knowledge that they could do much better and that was certainly the feeling of the coaching team, who made their feelings known out of sight and ears, deep in the bowels of the Garenne Stand.

They got a response too.

Right from the first whistle of the second half there seemed greater urgency about the Lions’ display and Waiton made one fantastic instinctive save before Guernsey got a lucky second from the penalty spot on 49min.

As Allen cut into the box from the right he seemed to lose his footing, no more. But to the disgust of the visitors’ support – totalling their chairman and a woman – and the surprise of most people in the ground, Ref Davis pointed to the spot.

Allen, never one to miss the chance of a goal, grabbed the ball and tucked away the penalty.

A minute later they had another.

This time there seemed a far greater degree of legitimacy in the decision as Luke Winch was clumsily bundled over in the box and Allen smashed the spot-kick high to Waiton’s left hand.

The points were now won and the Lions enjoyed their most expressive spell of the game, the dominance resulting in a fourth on the hour mark.

Luke Winch seemed to be running up one of the blind alleys he is prone to seek out, but just when you thought he might be losing possession, he saw a gap and rifled a cracking 25-yarder to Waiton’s left and into the corner – fine goal.

Vance took the opportunity to use all three substitutions available to him, including bringing on young Joe Alvarez at left-back.

The Lions pressed for more but their finishing matched the overall performance, a touch wayward.

Most of the ground thought Allen had grabbed his fourth but were let down to see Waiton pick the ball out of the net and take a goal kick, and the league’s top scorer missed another chance which he would normally have gobbled up, when he cut onto his left peg and blazed over from eight yards.

Heaume was denied by another fine Waiton save and Alvarez’s diagonal shot flew a yard too high, but the game finished with Prendergast coming so close to breaking Guernsey’s perfect defensive record at the Lane this season.

With 90 minutes up, the stocky No. 9 should have scored from 10 yards out, but his shot was not cleanly struck and Tardif stretched out his right arm to make a fine save to take Guernsey’s total shut-out time in the league here to 450 minutes.