HARTLEY Wintney finished their pre-season campaign by lifting the Mike Thomas Memorial Trophy after a 3-0 away win against Guernsey.

The Row’s new-look squad met at Gatwick Airport on Saturday morning for their flight to the island, with the match staged at the Corbet Field.

Ross Weatherstone and Ty Newton named a strong team that included three new signings, goalkeeper Adam Desbois and midfielders Anis Nuur and George Spiers.

After a competitive opening, Hartley were awarded a penalty in the 15th minute after a foul on Kyen Nicholas. The striker stepped up himself and coolly rolled the ball down the centre of the goal to make it 1-0.

The Row continued to create chances thanks to good play from full backs Jake Rumble and Reese Jones, but Guernsey defended well to keep themselves in the game at half time.

Then, nine minutes after the restart, Hartley doubled their lead when captain Harry Cooksley set up Nicholas, who planted the ball beyond ‘keeper Josh Addison for his second goal.

Both sides made substitutions midway through the second half, with the Row giving game time to midfielders Jamal Branker and Rahzir Smith-Jones.

Guernsey came close when Kieran Mahon’s free kick was heading for the bottom corner, but Desbois did superbly to push the ball away and keep Hartley’s clean sheet intact.

The Row then sealed the win in the 80th minute with a third goal. Two Bermudian internationals, Jones and Smith-Jones, exchanged passes before the latter beat Addison with a low shot into the bottom corner.

In the final minutes, Hartley defender Aaron Goode came close to doing the unthinkable with a shot from the halfway line, only to see his effort come off the crossbar and into the arms of a relieved Addison.

Following the match, Hartley stayed pitchside to be presented with their trophy, which was first awarded in 2015 in memory of Guernsey’s club physio Mike Thomas, who had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

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