LORNE BICKLEY 3
LORNE BICKLEY 66
JAKE PRINCE 88
ASHLEY HITCHINSON 45+4
15:00
Sat 13 Aug 2022
Springfield Stadium
LORNE BICKLEY 3
LORNE BICKLEY 66
JAKE PRINCE 88
3
FT
1
ASHLEY HITCHINSON 45+4
Match Scorers
Home Scorers
LORNE BICKLEY 3'
LORNE BICKLEY 66'
JAKE PRINCE 88'
'
Away Scorers
ASHLEY HITCHINSON 45+4'
'
Match Report
The original Guildford City folded in 1976 but another arose 20 years later and joined the Combined Counties League. Two successive titles in 2011 and 2012 saw them promoted to the Southern League but the second season there saw them relegated back. Since then they have generally been a lower mid table club but still one of the better supported teams in the division.
Last season, under Paul Barnes, they inflicted Walton & Hersham’s first defeat of the season but their U23 coach, Tristan Rees, was in charge when they lost 0-2 at Springfield on 13th November. He took them to the third round (last 64) of the F.A. Vase but he was in turn replaced by the experienced Nikki Bull on 2nd February. His revamped team started with two wins and a loss but then tumbled down the table, finishing 15th after losing 1-7 at home to Beckenham Town, 1-5 at Walton & Hersham and 0-7 when the Jersey Bulls visited them on 12th March.
The close season saw a complete clear out of players and backroom staff as Guildford recruited Sheerwater’s personnel en masse. 5 of the 6 in the technical area and 7 of the playing squad today were at 9th placed Sheerwater last season.
Jersey made five changes to their Farnham starting line up as there were numerous players away on holiday. Pierce Roche, Harry Curtis (on the bench at Farnham), Kamen Nafkha, Adam Trotter and Jake Prince came in for Euan Van der Vliet, Frank Tobin, Joe Kilshaw, Jonny Le Quesne and Ruben Mendes. Mendes was on the bench along with four others not at Farnham, Francis Lekimamati, Jay Giles, Max Thompson, Jack Cannon. Thompson being set to make his competitive debut.
On another blistering afternoon of 32C there was at least a light breeze from the Robin Hood end. Two drinks breaks were agreed for each half as Jersey kicked off with the breeze behind them.
Jersey dominated the early proceedings after taking a third minute lead. Prince chased down a long ball forward to the left byline where he played it back to Fraser Barlow. Without breaking stride Barlow curled a twenty-five yard lob on to the left side of the bar from where it rebounded kindly to Lorne Bickley to guide it home with a stooping header from a yard out at the far post.
Five minutes later Bickley had a good chance to double his tally but blasted his volley from near the penalty spot over. Barlow put a six yard header over too and Sol Solomon had a twenty yard shot pushed away by Stuart Norman in the Guildford goal.
Guildford’s main threats came from set pieces and just after the half hour a long throw by Jamie Pearce aimed at tall central defender Stephan Langley led to a scramble in the Jersey box before the danger was eventually cleared.
Barlow just failed with an attempt to curl a twenty yard cross shot in to the left corner and Bickley put a glancing header from a Solomon free-kick just over before Guildford gained an equaliser in added time to penalise Jersey’s earlier profligacy.
James Carr was penalised for a ball winning tackle against Ashley Hitchinson twenty-five yards out. He was also cautioned by referee Dan Malyon as it was deemed “studs up”.
During the ensuing protest Guildford’s burly striker Billy Murphy, who had already been cautioned, tried to barge through Adam Trotter who repelled his “advances”. Murphy crumpled in a theatrical heap holding his face just as he had earlier after a challenge from Sammy Sutcliffe. A small melee followed and Trotter joined Carr in the notebook.
From the ensuing free-kick Billy Nutbeam played a low cross between the two blocks of defenders which Pearce ran on to. Pearce hit the right of the cross bar from ten yards out but Hitchinson did well at the near post to head the ball back into the top right corner.
After the interval the heat seemed to sap the energy from both sides before the game sprung to life again after the hour. Prince had a twenty-five yard snap shot tipped over by Norman before Nafkha was added to the referee’s collection of names for bringing down Leon Dadey, who seemed to “suffer” more than the tackle warranted.
Jersey then regained the lead after Prince swept the ball wide to Harry Curtis on the right. His hanging cross to the far post was met eight yards out by Bickley who guided his cushioned header into the top right corner.
Francis Lekimamati and Ruben Mendes were brought on at that point for Barlow and Trotter respectively in order to keep the midfield fresh. Lekimamati almost immediately brought a save out of Norman and ten minutes later Jay Giles was introduced for Carr for his first competitive outing since his injury at Knaphill on 22ndMarch.
Late in the day with Jersey seeing out the match Jack Cannon came on for Sutcliffe before Prince made the game safe with the goal of the day.
Skipper James Queree pumped a ball forward which Bickley did not properly control but Mendes was quickest to the loose ball and headed it on to Prince. With Mendes surging forward and effectively acting as a decoy to his left Prince also advanced. From a similar range to his earlier attempt he found the top left corner past the despairing dive of Norman. Prince then went off to celebrate with his relatives watching from behind the goal.
Max Thompson was brought on for Solomon to notch up his competitive debut as Jersey saw out the lengthy added time occasioned by the two water breaks, the ten substitutions and the odd lengthy injury treatment. Jersey therefore deservedly gained three points but in future will want to be more ruthless in front of goal when in the ascendancy.
Jersey Bulls 3 (Lorne Bickley (2) 3 & 66, Jake Prince 88); Guildford City 1 (Ashley Hitchinson 45+4)
Attendance – 464
Programme – 24pp £2
Jersey Bulls – Pierce Roche (wore 21), Harry Curtis, James Carr, James Queree (c), Sammy Sutcliffe, Kamen Nafkha (wore 23 for the second half), Fraser Barlow, Adam Trotter, Lorne Bickley (wore 16), Sol Solomon, Jake Prince
Substitutes – 9. Francis Lekimamati (for Barlow 67), 12. Jay Giles (for Carr 77), 14. Ruben Mendes (for Trotter 67), 21. Max Thompson (for Solomon 90+1), 22. Jack Cannon (for Sutcliffe 86)
Red /White/Red; GK All Green (no. 21)
Gary Freeman (Manager), Kevan Nelson (Assistant), Dan Seviour (Coach), Richard Hebert (GK Coach), Steve Martin (Physio.), Debbie Thompson (Psycho.)
Guildford City – Stuart Norman, Ashley Hitchinson, Billy Nutbeam, Stephan Langley, Lloyd Connelly, Jamie Pearce, Morgan Porter, Joe Jarrett, Billy Murphy, Shane Cheeseman (c), Leon Dadey
Substitutes – 12. Michael Leech (for Hitchinson 89), 14. Aidan Brown (for Murphy 68), 15. Scott Costello (for Porter 61), 17. Harvey Valter (for Dadey 74), 18. Kyle Henry (for Cheeseman 68)
Peter Ruggles (Manager), Neil Roisetter (Assistant), Tom Davis (Coach), Sam Cave (Coach), Richard Shelley (GK Coach), Teagan Brown (Physio.)
Yellow (Blue shoulders) / Blue (Yellow sides) / Blue & Yellow hoops; GK All Orange
Formations
Jersey Bulls (4-4-2 R to L) 21; 2-4-5-3; 7-6-8-11; 10-16
Guildford City (5-4-1 R to L) 1; 2-4-5-6-3; 7-8-10-11; 9
Referee – Dan Malyon (Reading), successive league games at Springfield as he was in the middle for the Fleet Town match on 30th April. His second season with the Combined Counties after moving from the Hellenic.
Assistants – Derrick Coe (Boreham Wood) on the dug-out side. His first Jersey game but in his 26th season having previously been with both the Spartan South Midlands League and Essex Senior League. Mourad Bougouizi (Greenford) on the grandstand side. Also on his first Jersey game, of Algerian descent now in his 25th season having previously been with the Hellenic League.
Cautions – Murphy (GC) 29, Carr (JB) 45+2, Trotter (JB) 45+3, Curtis (JB) 50, Nafkha (JB) 64, Langley (GC) 73
Corners – Jersey Bulls (0) 3; Guildford City (0) 0
Player of the Match Award – Lorne Bickley (JB)
LINE-UPS
JERSEY BULLS
VS
Bulls Starting line-up
21
Pierce Roche
2
Harry Curtis
3
James Carr
77 ↓
4
James Queree
(C)
5
Sam Sutcliffe
86 ↓
6/23
Kamen Nafkha
7
Fraser Barlow
67 ↓
8
Adam Trotter
67 ↓
16
Lorne Bickley
10
Sol Solomon
90+1 ↓
11
Jake Prince
Substitutes
9
Francis Lekimamati
67 ↑
12
Jay Giles
77 ↑
14
Ruben Mendes
67 ↑
21
Max Thompson
90+1 ↑
22
Jack Cannon
86 ↑