Preview: 2023 Island Games men’s football final – Ynys Môn v Jersey (Friday, July 14, 3.30 pm)

Guernsey 2023 – 19th Island Games men’s football final

Ynys Môn v Jersey
3.30 pm Footes Lane – Friday, July 14, 2023

If past meetings between Ynys Môn and Jersey at the Island Games are anything to go by, Friday’s 2023 final is going to be very close.

The islands have met five times in the football competition since 1993 and the score stands at two wins apiece and one draw.

Thirty years ago on the Isle of Wight, the teams shared a 2-2 draw in the group stages.

In 1997 in Jersey, they clashed in the final, the hosts winning 1-0.

Ynys Môn got revenge on the Isle of Man in 2001, edging past The Beans 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the semi-finals.

The 2015 games in Jersey saw neither side at their best. Jersey overcame Môn 1-0 in a seventh-eighth place play-off.

Then in 2019, at the one-off Inter-Games Tournament on Anglesey, gold medalists Ynys Môn won 1-0 through a Liam Morris goal.

Ynys Mon v Jersey – Island Games head-to-head

Isle of Wight 1993

Jersey 2 Ynys Môn 2 (Darren Baker, Harry Roberts)

Jersey 1997

Final: Jersey 1 Ynys Môn 0

Isle of Man 2001

Semi-finals: Ynys Môn 2 (Danny Hughes, Mark Williams) Jersey 2 (Mon won 4-3 on pens)

Jersey 2015

Seventh place match: Jersey 1 Ynys Môn 0

Ynys Môn 2019 (INTER-GAMES TOURNAMENT)

Ynys Môn 1 (Liam Morris) Jersey 0

PATHS TO THE 2023 FINAL

Group Stages

Ynys Môn

Ynys Môn 2 (Liam Morris, Sam Gregson) Shetland Islands 0
Falkland Islands 1 Ynys Môn 5 (Liam Morris, Sam Gregson, Sam Jones, Matt Reynolds, Kaine Bentley)
Ynys Môn 2 (Liam Morris 2) Isle of Man 1

Jersey

Jersey 1 (Sol Solomon) Gozo 0
Jersey 4 (Sol Solomon, Toby Ritzema, James Queree, Karl Hinds) Menorca 0
St Helena 0 Jersey 5 (Toby Ritzema 2, Karl Hinds 2, Luke Watson)

Semi-finals

Ynys Môn 2 (Matt Reynolds, Sam Gregson) Bermuda 0
Jersey 3 (Luke Campbell, Sol Solomon, Lorne Bickley) Isle of Man 2

GOALSCORERS

Ynys Môn (11)

4 – Liam Morris
3 – Sam Gregson
2 – Matt Reynolds
1 – Sam Jones, Kaine Bentley

Jersey (13)

3 – Sol Solomon, Toby Ritzema, Karl Hinds
1 – James Queree, Luke Watson, Luke Campbell, Lorne Bickley

SQUADS

Ynys Môn

Carl Jones (Bangor 1876)
Dan McGinness (Trearddur Bay)
Gari Owen (Llangefni Town)
Tomos Clarke (Bangor 1876)
Cai Powell Roberts (Caernarfon Town)
Dion Evans (Glantraeth)
Gerwyn Roberts (Llangefni Town)
Sol Williams (Trearddur Bay)
Osian Jones (Mynydd Llandegai)
Cian Owen (Llanfairpwll)
Kaine Bentley (Trearddur Bay)
Jack Smith (Llangefni Town)
Sam Gregson (Holyhead Hotspur)
Jack Walsh (Holyhead Hotspur)
Mel McGinness (Trearddur Bay)
Liam Morris (Bangor 1876)
Matt Reynolds (Cemaes Bay)
Sam Jones (Bangor 1876)
Huw Shaw (Bangor 1876)

Manager: Mel McGinness
Assistant-Manager: Martin Jones
GK Coach: Gareth Aled Owen

Jersey

1 Euan Van Der Vliet
9 Lorne Bickley
5 Luke Campbell
3 Jay Giles
2 Jonny Le Quesne
7 Francis Lekimimati
4 James Queree
12 Toby Ritzema
11 Sol Solomon
15 Adam Trotter
8 Luke Watson
14 James Carr
17 Miguel Carvalho
18 Harry Curtis
10 Karl Hinds
6 Joe Kilshaw
16 Paul McCafferty
21 Pierce Roche
Caretaker head coach: Elliot Powell

ISLAND GAMES MEN’S FOOTBALL HONOURS

Ynys Môn

Gold 1999; Silver 1989, 1991, 1997, 2001
Inter-Games Tournament winners 2019

Jersey

Gold 1993, 1997, 2009; Bronze 1991, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2011