Winning Run Ended

JUST almost the perfect day.
Surely the biggest non-Siam Garenne Stand crowd seen, a fantastically vibrant atmosphere with the big Barnes contingent certainly playing their part and a ripping game between two sides so evenly matched.
It’s just a shame there had to be a winner and even a bigger one - a near calamity you could say - that it was the visitors who looked like being seen off in a game ruled by two brilliant defences, until we made one mistake and Barnes made the Guernsey side pay.
This after a perfect start by Jordan Reynolds’ men.

Raiders kicked off playing towards the Hockey Club and they could not have asked for a more ideal opening.
After Barnes had taken the initial kick they launched a high ball to halfway where Douglas Horrocks caught it and slipped a short pass left to Anthony Armstrong on the halfway touchline.
Off he went gazelle-like and having beaten a couple kicked ahead.
The chase was on and leaving the cover for dead he dived on the ball inches from the dead ball line.
Thomas failed to add the extras but we were 5-0 to the good with the try timed at just 34 seconds.
But on 5min. Barnes hit back with a try of their own.
Awarded a penalty they kicked for the corner and having won the lineout forced their way over.
To make things worse Raiders skipper Lewis Hillier picked up a yellow.
The try was converted but on 9min. Thomas pulled the Raiders back ahead with a simple penalty in front of the posts.
Both sets of attacks were being shackled and it was a great tackle by Luke Jones to catch the ankles of Barnes centre 13, which prevented a likely try for the visitors.
It was still 8-7 as Hillier returned but he was barely back on the pitch when another rolling maul brought Barnes a second try from Jack Garrett which was converted for a 14-8 lead.
Raiders hit back quickly with a Horrocks try after a close range scrum in the Hockey Club corner and with Thomas getting his radar right this time the home side were 15-14 ahead and then 22-14 after the award of a penalty try.
The teams turned around with Raiders still enjoying that eight-point buffer and with a man to the good as the visitors waited for their sin-binned man from the penalty try incident to return.
It was still too close to call but Raiders were dealt a big blow when breaking from deep and threatening down the left Luke Jones took a smack on the head and was down for a short while.
Thankfully, after medical assistance he was soon up and about, but his day had been run and he spent the rest of the game a frustrated figure in the dugout.
Jason Batiste came on and seven minutes into the half Thomas should have extended the lead with a close range penalty but missed badly to the left.
He struck the ball crisply enough but on a still day inexplicably wide and the error was compounded when the visitors produced their third catch and drive try of the day 11min in and with the conversion the margin was down to a single point.
Raiders powered on and only great defence by Barnes kept them out and the home side looked secure enough until with about 10minutes left and Charlie Currie on for a spent Layton Batiste, disaster.
Raiders were attacking on halfway and there was the sniff of a home score but Thomas telegraphed his pass left and intercepted by a Barnes centre Matthew Cornish, the hundreds of local supporters looked on aghast as he raced away to score under the posts.
With the conversion Raiders had 10min or so to find the converted try and despite some heroic efforts could not quite make it.

The referee added an age in stoppage time and very late on Barnes again lost a man to yellow, but credit where it is due, they held on brilliantly to narrow the gap at the top of the table to two points.
It remains advantage to Raiders, although there is no longer room for manoeuvre.
In two weeks time we play hosts to Westcombe Park while Barnes are at home to Tring in what will probably be another epic battle.
Is it asking too much to hope they draw?

TEAMS
Guernsey Raiders: Steventon, Ceillam, L. Batiste, Hillier, Merrien, Martin, Le Cocq, Horrocks, K. Brown, Thomas, N. Brown, Jones, Armstrong, Campbell, Sayer. Replacements: Currie, Skovronek, J. Batiste.

Barnes: Ryan, Garrett, Symonds, Steele, Collins, Malaney, Smyth, van der Poel, Reeves, Wicks, Ruddock, Cornish, Carlisle, Martey, O’Toole. Replacements: McArthur, Nimmo, Foster.