St Peter begin title defence with victory over Wanderers
Harrison Moon netted twice on his league debut for St Peter as they came from behind to begin the defence of the Premiership trophy with a 6-1 win over neighbours Jersey Wanderers, who finished with ten men.
The Crosskeys had started brightly, earning four corners inside the first six minutes, but it was the visitors who edged ahead thanks to a Coutanche double act. Josh Coutanche's pinpoint free kick from the right, Luke Coutanche's excellent glancing header. 1-0 to Wanderers.
St Peter though were creating the bulk of the chances, with lively link-up play between summer signing Moon, Jack Hardisty and livewire Seaney McColgan.
It was Hardisty who pulled his team level on the 20-minute mark, racing onto James Murphy's through ball and slotting in at the near post. He should have had his second soon after, but saw his unmarked header fly wide from six yards out.
Wanderers' goalkeeper Tiago Duarte was in fine form, and his side went close to leading again at the other end when Luke Coutanche's powerful stoppage-time free-kick needed tipping over the bar by Pierce Roche.
McColgan put the reigning champions ahead just before the hour mark, finishing into the bottom corner to spark the start of a chaotic 15-minute match-defining spell. Two minutes after his strike, McColgan turned provider, putting the ball on a plate for Hardisty to round off a lovely flowing move with his second of the afternoon. 3-1.
McColgan was running the show now and demonstrated great skill to bring the ball under control and jink through before firing an effort against the post. Then came the brace of Moon goals in quick succession, the first a sweetly-struck effort, the second from closer-range.
Wanderers skipper Chris Mourant was sent off in amongst it all amid complaints about a series of offside calls - his words to referee Jamie Guyan deemed strong enough for a red card. From 1-1 at 59 minutes, to 5-1 down and 10 men less than quarter of an hour later. That escalated quickly.
Duarte continued to make a series of impressive saves. St Peter Substitute Hugo Pereira could have made an instant impact, but he couldn't hit the target with a free header. Seconds later, though, it was 6-1 when fellow substitute Mark Logue slotted in to round off the victory for Elliot Powell's side.
The game was the third fixture of the new Premiership 1 season. St Brelade battled back to a 7-3 win over St Paul's in mid-week, helped by a hat-trick from Kieran Lester against his former club. Last weekend, Grouville and St Ouen drew 2-2 on the opening day of the league season.
St Peter: Pierce Roche, Sam Luce, Jay Newton, Jack Griffin, James Murphy, Seaney McColgan, Paul McCafferty, Elliot Poole (c), Harrison Moon, Sean Lambert, Jack Hardisty. Subs: Jamie Watling, Harry Gladdish, Hugo Pereira, Mark Logue.
Jersey Wanderers: Tiago Duarte, Kyle Stratford, Zac Traynor, Josh Daniels, Harvey A'Court, Alex Durance, Luke Coutanche, Chris Mourant (c), Jules Gabbiadini, Max Corbett, Josh Coutanche. Subs: Ollie Thompson, Tim De Luca, Claudio Pereiras, Robert Howe, Casey Nixon.
