Men's Football Report

A total of sixteen entrants meant a nice and simple format for the men’s football of four groups of four, but it also meant only the winners of each group would progress to the semi-finals. This was an incredibly difficult competition to predict, with at least ten of the teams having very realistic hopes of taking the gold medal, and there was going to be very little margin for error, as a set back on the opening day would be very difficult to recover from.

Group A included hosts Åland, who have no record of winning medals in the men’s football competition, but past Island Games have shown home advantage to be important, and they certainly made a convincing start in defeating Greenland 4-2, leading 4-0 at one stage. Also in the group were Shetland, who represented a fine example of making home advantage pay when they won gold in 2005, and Menorca, in only their second games but possibly slight favourites in this group. Their meeting finished in a 2-2 draw, but discipline was clearly an issue for the Menorcans, as they collected five yellow and two red cards. There were no such problems in the second round of matches for Menorca as they crushed Greenland 6-0, whilst Åland gained a narrow but crucial 2-1 victory over Shetland.

Despite those two heavy defeats Greenland went on to claim third place in the group with a 3-1 win over Shetland, but the group decider saw Åland need only a point to reach the semi-finals whilst Menorca had to win. A Tuesday afternoon kick off didn’t prevent a large crowd gathering in glorious sunny conditions at Markusböle, and Menorca made a disastrous start, experienced goalkeeper Toni seeking to mark his command of the penalty area from the game’s first corner, but only succeeding in laying out Åland skipper Joakim Signell with his punch. The referee had little choice than to brandish his red card, and Andreas Björk converted the penalty. Menorca were level before half-time with a penalty of their own, and they dominated the second half but couldn’t find the second goal they needed. Playing virtually the whole game a man short in such hot weather was almost certainly crucial, but the behaviour of the Menorcan team at full-time, when several players had to be dragged away from the referee, was out of keeping with the spirit of what the Island Games is all about.

Group B included holders Gibraltar, Guernsey who are always one of the strongest teams in the competition, another realistic medal contender in Ynys Môn, along with Froya who seemed to be on a hiding to nothing in this company. Gibraltar and Guernsey started with a 0-0 draw that seemed certain to leave the group on a knife edge, whilst Ynys Môn started with a routine 3-0 win over Froya. Gibraltar then made their mark with an 8-0 thrashing of Froya, and Guernsey dominated their meeting with Ynys Môn, but found their Welsh opponents difficult to break down, with Joby Bourgaize seeing a penalty saved by Paul Pritchard. Eventually Glyn Dyer made the breakthrough, but a second yellow card saw him turn from hero to villain, and it wasn’t until Ross Allen added a late goal that the Sarnians could rest easily.

So the final round of games saw only Gibraltar and Guernsey able to win the group, and with the possibility of goal difference deciding things, the phone lines between Hammarland and Jomala were likely to be red hot. Guernsey needed to rack up the goals against Froya, but Gibraltar had the far more difficult task of defeating Ynys Môn. The latter game could easily have gone either way, but when Al Greene put Gibraltar ahead with fifteen minutes remaining, Guernsey were seven up and the sides were briefly locked on identical records. However, whilst Guernsey went on to win 8-0, Gibraltar’s hopes fell apart as Ynys Môn hit back to win 3-1 and pip them to second place in the group, whilst goalkeeper Jordan Perez not only collected a red card but compounded his disgrace by throwing his gloves at the referee as he left the field.

Group C seemed equally strong, with Jersey, Rhodes and Isle of Wight all serious contenders, and Saaremaa the rank outsiders. Jersey opened with a game against Saaremaa, and they took the lead inside ten minutes, but perhaps surprisingly had to settle for a single goal victory. Meanwhile the crucial first day meeting between Rhodes and Isle of Wight was locked at 0-0, but a 71st minute penalty and a late second goal gave Rhodes a vital win.

Isle of Wight kept their hopes alive with a 5-1 win over Saaremaa, but the vitally important meeting between Jersey and Rhodes saw Jersey record another 1-0 win, and the Greek team left to rue four or five very near misses. Rhodes then defeated Saaremaa 3-0, which left the possibility of a three way tie on six points if Isle of Wight could see off Jersey. The sides were locked together at 1-1 for much of the game, but three goals in the last twelve minutes gave Jersey a 4-1 win and a place in the semi-finals.

Group D brought together Isle of Man, another traditionally strong force in men’s football, and Western Isles, bronze medallists in both their previous Island Games appearances, with Falkland Islands and, to a lesser extent, Gotland the outsiders. Isle of Man opened against the Falkland Islands, who they have twice beaten by high scoring margins in previous Games, so it something of a triumph for the minnows that they only went down 2-1 here. Meanwhile, Western Isles preparations had been hampered by losing two of their squad to injuries in a domestic cup tie just two days before they were due to leave for Åland. In the event, they were probably quite relieved to record a 2-1 win over Gotland, but needed a last minute goal to do so.

Gotland then recorded a 2-0 win over Falkland Islands in a game in which the Falklands collected three red cards, whilst the potential group decider was taking place at the same time between Isle of Man and Western Isles. The Scottish islands bronze medal in 2005 had been at the expense of the Isle of Man, but this time the boot was very much on the other foot as an impressive Manx performance brought a thoroughly convincing 5-0 win. Western Isles bounced back with a 7-0 win over a suspension hit Falkland Islands, but the Isle of Man wrapped up first place with another good result, racing into a four goal half-time lead over Gotland before eventually recording a 4-2 win.

A welcome rest day followed after three games in three days, before the two semi-finals. Jersey and Guernsey were paired together in a mouth watering clash that drew a good number of other competitors from the two islands out to rural Sund. Ross Crick gave Jersey the lead before half-time, and they looked set to repeat this year’s 1-0 Muratti Vase win over the rivals. Guernsey’s Dave Rihoy had missed that game, but he was the major threat here as the Sarnians pushed for an equaliser, but in the dying minutes he was denied by a superb Andrew Bird save, the Jersey goalkeeper breaking his wrist as he landed. A lengthy delay followed, but with game deep in stoppage time it was Mark Lucas who found the net to seal a Caesarean victory.

At the same time Åland were meeting the Isle of Man, with the Manx teams impressive group form marking them out as favourites. Calum Morrissey gave them the lead, but, perhaps crucially, Alexander Weckström equalised right on half-time. Extra time was required, but a goal from Jimmy Sundman secured the hosts place in the final, with reports from those present, including the Isle of Man contingent, suggesting the outcome was a fair reflection of the game.

A series of play offs for the minor placings followed, with Froya coming from behind to beat Falkland Islands 3-1 for 15th place. This also had the significance of seeing them lift the Small Islands Cup, which is restricted to islands with a population of less than 10,000, of which these two were the only ones to enter the football competition. Shetland also came from behind with two late goals to beat Saaremaa 3-2 and take 13th place, whilst once they opened the scoring Gotland were always ahead in their 4-3 win over Greenland to finish 11th.

Gibraltar and Isle of Wight had both been in with a shout of winning their group well into their final game, but they had to settle for playing for 9th place, which Gibraltar won 3-0, with Lee Casciaro’s two goals taking him into the lead for the competition’s top goalscorer with five goals. Menorca defeated Western Isles 4-1 to take 7th place, whilst Rhodes 4-0 win over Ynys Môn brought them 5th place, although the game was certainly not as one sided as the scoreline suggests.

The most important play off is that for third place, with a bronze medal at stake, and Isle of Man and Guernsey met less than 24 hours after the disappointment of semi-final defeats. Craig Young had given Guernsey a first half lead, but the game could have gone either way as the second half flowed from end to end. The next goal was always going to be crucial, and it was scored by Guernsey’s Simon Tostevin. Three further goals in the last ten minutes were rather harsh on the Manx team, with Tostevin completing a hat-trick, and Ross Allen scoring a goal that saw him join Gibraltar’s Lee Casciaro as they ended the joint leading goalscorers.

So to the final, with Åland’s presence ensuring a packed crowd at the Wiklöf Holding Arena. However, a fine Jersey performance capped what had been an outstanding week for them, and goals in each half from JP Martyn and Chris Andrews put them in control. Andreas Björk did pull one back for Åland, and there was almost late drama when Johannes Nordström’s header hit the post. Jersey held on, however, but fittingly it had been a tremendous final to round off what had been an outstanding and superbly well organised tournament.