Guernsey FC 'not ready' after 3-0 Chipstead loss, says boss Tony Vance

Guernsey's Bristol City loanee James Walker had to come off with at half-time after a clash of heads in the first half

Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance says his side's 3-0 loss away at Chipstead shows that his side are not ready yet.

The islanders made their first away trip for more than 600 days after returning to action following the relaxation of Covid-19 travel rules.

Guernsey were 2-0 down at half-time, with goalkeeper James Walker forced off at the interval after a clash of heads, and conceded a third after the break.

"This is the situation where we're not ready," Vance told BBC Radio Guernsey.

The game against the Surrey-based side was only Guernsey's second since February 2020 and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They won their first match last week when they beat Sutton Common Rovers 3-1 at Footes Lane.

"I've just been chatting to the Chipstead manager and with pre-season game and cup games that's their 19th game so far and this is our second, so it's obvious that we're not going to be at that level," Vance said.

"Last week was a very rose-tinted, pretty performance at home.

"It's easy in terms of you don't have to get up early in the morning, you've got a full squad to select, you've got nearly 1,000 people enjoying the occasion, which gives you a lift and playing a team in a game where we managed to take the game to them and use that to our advantage.

"Today we had the cloudy, murky difficult problem of an away game where we're not ready.

"It's not an excuse, because I was disappointed with how we reacted after a fairly decent start, but after 20 or 25 minutes it was obvious we were going to be second best, particularly when they got a goal.

"It meant that we had to change things around and not do the tactics that I think we need to do for the bodies and people we have. It was then damage limitation to a certain degree."