Island Games, Women's Tournament, Group B
Slade Road Recreation Ground, Ryde
Admission: £3.00
Tournament Programme: £3.00
Match day programme: 20p
Attendance: 22
Match Rating: 3
On my way back from Shanklin to Ryde to catch the hovercraft back to the mainland, I decided to take in a bonus half of football by getting off the train at Ryde St Johns Road to return to the Slade Road Recreation Ground, where I had this morning witnessed Jersey's comfortable victory over Hitra. I arrived at the ground about five minutes before half time in the match between the Isle of Man Ladies and Greenland ladies. On arrival, I learnt that the scoreline was evenly poised at 1-1, Jade Burton giving Jersey the lead on 14 minutes, with Greenland equalising on 26 minutes through Tobiasine Abelsen.
This game had the makings of an intriguing encounter, with the Isle of Man, who won the bronze medal in the last Iast Island Games, winning by 9-0 in their opening game yesterday against Gibraltar, but fatigue may prove to be a factor considering this was to be Greenland's first game in this competition. With only three teams in this group, a win for the Isle of Man would ensure they progress to the semi finals.
The short period of the first half I did see pointed to a close game, and for much of the second half, the game was competitive and reasonably entertaining, without either side really looking like scoring - Greenland had the better chances, but each time shot rashly when the player had much more time to conjure up a more controlled effort. Unfortunately Jersey's players seemed to model themselves on the men's game, continually berating the referee, behaviour which is normally a welcome relief by its absence in the women's game. On 56 minutes, Jersey took the lead when a powerful shot cannoned off the crossbar, and the rebound was smashed into the net from very close range by Gillian Christian, to provoke wild celebrations amongst the Jersey players and coaches. Five minutes from time and Jersey made the victory and a semi-final berth safe, when a low hard cross evaded a couple of players before Eleanor Gawne tucked the ball away at the far post. The 3-1 scoreline was quite harsh on Greenland, who could easily have won this game had they shown more composure in front of goal. Heading straight back to Ryde for the hovercraft back to the mainland, this was another enjoyable game of football, all four and a half matches were competitive, enjoyable and intriguing, had some very good skill on display, and some of the goals scored would have graced any level of football.
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