Smith’s try double is a clincher for Guernsey

By MATTHEW BALDWIN

Barnes…………… 19

Guernsey……….26

TWO tries from Ethan Smith set the stage for Guernsey as they squeezed past Barnes in a tight game in the capital.

The home side were in front inside the opening five minutes, a sweeping move from right to left following a goal-line drop out finished in the corner by Paul O'Dell.

The visitors responded instantly, Joseph Andersen cutting a perfect line through the Barnes defence to sprint through from 15 metres.

Guernsey were presented a fine opportunity to gain control of the game when Davies was sin-binned for the home side for kicking the ball away after a penalty. They did exactly that when Smith dived over from close range in a virtual carbon-copy of their first try.

On the stroke of halftime, the visitors extended their lead when Smith bagged his second, perfectly reading Peter Weightman's pass and running the ball back over half the length of the pitch to finish under the posts and put them in a commanding position for the second half.

It was the hosts, however, who got the first score after the restart, Alex March touching down after a short maul following a line-out on the Guernsey try-line.

A sin-bin for Alexander Nisbet for a deliberate knock-on gave Guernsey a man advantage in the final ten minutes. Charlie Currie dived over from close range to put the game out of sight, although a late penalty try for the hosts was enough for a losing bonus point.