Banstead have been in the Combined Counties League since being relegated from the Isthmian League in 2006. They then slipped down to Division 1 in 2012 but won that title in 2017, since when they have been a mid-table team in the Premier Division. However, last season was a struggle for them.

They finished 19^th of the 20 teams and only escaped relegation under the F.A. re-structure with only one side, rather than two, being relegated. Jersey won 3-0 at Banstead last November but were unexpectedly beaten 2-3 by Banstead when Jersey hosted them at Wycombe Wanderers in March.

This season Banstead are again lying 19^th with a 6-2-19 27-58 record. Jersey travelled to Banstead in mid August and after conceding an early goal went on to win 5-1 with the temperature at 22C. Banstead had to wait until early November for their first win and had only won three times before the start of February, but added a further three wins last month. These included a 3-0 success at Camberley Town, the week after their opponents had won by the same score at Badshot Lea.

They went out of the F.A. Cup Extra Preliminary Round against league rivals Sheerwater by the only goal of the game. The match was due to be played at Banstead but was switched to Sheerwater because of the poor condition of the Banstead pitch as the long dry spell meant that the ground was very hard with cracks in it. Three weeks later they lost to another league rival, A.F.C. Croydon Athletic, 2-4 in the F.A. Vase. They also went out in the first round of the Combined Counties League Cup, 1-3 at Frimley Green.

Jersey had Lorne Bickley, James Queree and Luke Campbell all on holiday. They were also missing Sammy Henia-Kamau and Miguel Carvalho as they were playing in the Junior Muratti in Guernsey the next day.

Francis Lekimamati was out injured but Fraser Barlow was playing after his appeal against the three match suspension resulting from his dismissal at Badshot Lea was upheld. Darryl Mvalo, plus Grouville pair Robert Martins-Figueira and Max Rivers, were added to the squad to cover for the absences.

In addition, former Island captain Jack Boyle, who had been training with the club for a month, was to be re-introduced in midfield, after three and a half years away, after being injured in the Bulls opening match against Ash United in August 2019.

Banstead had six players starting that had featured when they had beaten Jersey at Wycombe nearly a year ago with a very late goal.

On a cloudy (8C) afternoon Jersey won the toss and chose to defend the Robin Hood end.

Banstead, playing far better than their league position would suggest, continued their recent resurgence by defeating the depleted Jersey team. Barlow took Bickley’s place up front, but he lacked the physical presence that Bickley would have brought, to combat Banstead’s extremely burly central defender. He attempted to beat him on the ground but was regularly caught offside in the early part of the match.

In the early stages Luke Watson cleared a back post header from a corner by Banstead skipper Derek Feyi that Feyi put back across the six yard box and Adam Trotter hooked a throw in narrowly wide of Kieran Newman’s right post. Feyi was then fortunate not to receive a card of some description after a reckless tackle on the half way line that only just missed taking off one of Kamen Nafkha’s legs

After the half hour Barlow had a shot smothered by Newman after good approach work by Giles and Watson while at the other end Jersey escaped when a Reuben Duncan shot was deflected narrowly wide off Sammy Sutcliffe with Euan Van der Vliet already committed the other way.

Before half time Watson played in a low tantalising cross that just evaded Barlow at the near post and Jonny Le Quesne at the far post. Barlow received a highly questionable caution for an alleged “Hand of God” as he attempted to head in.

Just after the hour came the first close decision that went against the Bulls. Le Quesne curled in a cross from the right and Luke Watson came in from behind the defence to head home a stooping header at the far post. One assumes that the junior assistant raised his flag against Barlow who was bypassed by the cross.

Jersey looked more effective in the last quarter of the match after they made a double substitution just after the disallowed goal. Nafkha and Boyle were replaced by Mvalo and Martins-Figueira and it says much about the game that the latter gained the player of the match award for his cameo performance when he brought greater urgency to the Jersey attacks.

Jersey continued to search for a clear-cut opportunity but were undone by a speedy counter-attack. A Le Quesne run from the halfway line was brought to a halt on the edge of the Banstead box. The ball was quickly fed out to right side where Kailan North, fed Brandon McCarthy, who in turn laid the ball off to Rueben Duncan.

Duncan played a defence splitting ball to North who had continued his sprint up the right side. He played it inside to McCarthy who looked to be forward of him and the last defender, but no flag came from the senior assistant, and McCarthy crashed the ball in to top right corner from a dozen yards out.

A couple of minutes later Jersey again had the ball in the net when Barlow hooked home a Mvalo knock down, but Mvalo was deemed to have fouled Newman.

Badshot held on and it was doubly disappointing as news had already come through that rivals, Badshot Lea, had lost their derby at Farnham in front of a crowd of over a thousand. Therefore, table toppers Raynes Park Vale with their defeat of Fleet Town,
and 53 points out of the last 57, extended their lead over both to leave Jersey hoping to overtake Badshot Lea for the play-off spot for finishing second.

Jersey Bulls (0) 0; Banstead Athletic (0) 1 (Brandon McCarthy 80)

Attendance – 520

Programme – 24pp, £2

Jersey Bulls – Euan Van der Vliet, Frank Tobin (wore 12), Jay Giles (c), Sammy Sutcliffe, Ben Le Rougetel, Kamen Nafkha, Jonny Le Quesne, Adam Trotter, Fraser Barlow, Luke Watson, Jack Boyle
Substitutes – 14. Joe Kilshaw (not used), 15. Robert Martins-Figueira (for Nafkha 66), 16. Daryl Mvalo (for Boyle 66), 18. Max Rivers (for Tobin 82), only four substitutes

Red/White/Red; GK All Luminous Yellow

Gary Freeman (Manager), Kevan Nelson (Assistant), Dan Seviour (Coach), Richard Hebert (GK Coach), Steve Martin (Physio.)

Banstead Athletic – Keiran Newman, Steve Newman, Elliott McKimm, Kailan North, Derek Feyi (c), Ben Drake, Tobi Falodi, Reuben Duncan, Brandon McCarthy, Andrew Ofoso, Ato Okai
Substitutes – 12. Del Davies (for Duncan 89), 14. Alex Stingelin (for Okai 75), 15. Boe Fowler (not used). 16. Lorcan Francis (not used), 17. Alex Quartson (for McCarthy 89)

Yellow (Black shoulders)/Black/Black; GK Green

Carl Taylor (Manager), Brad Graham (Assistant), Trevor Smith (Physio.)

Formations
Jersey Bulls (4-1-4-1 R to L) 1; 12-4-5-3; 6; 7-10-11-8; 9
Banstead Athletic (4-4-2 R to L) 1; 7-2-5-3; 4-8-6-11; 10-9

Referee – Dylan J. Ing (Wycombe) – 23, 7 years officiating. A season running lines on the Hellenic League, a season refereeing in the Spartan South Midlands League and this his second season with the Combined Counties. His first Jersey match.

Assistants – Toni Cardoso (Jersey) on the dug-outs side and Paulo Franco (Jersey) on the grandstand side

Cautions – Fraser Barlow (JB) 43, Adam Trotter (JB) 73, Jay Giles (JB) 76

Corners – Jersey Bulls (4) 8; Banstead Athletic (3) 6

Player of the Match Award – Robert Martins-Figueira