Uefa Regions' Cup: Jersey 'gutted' after being knocked out

Jersey manager Martin Cassidy was part of the coaching staff when the island last played in the Uefa Regions' Cup in March 2013

Jersey manager Martin Cassidy said he was "gutted" after his side were knocked out of the Uefa Regions' Cup.

The islanders, who were representing England, drew 0-0 with North Macedonia in their final group game in the intermediate round of the European Championships for amateur players.

It meant they finished third in their group, behind Germany and hosts Italy.

"I'm just so gutted for the players and all the staff because we put so much in," Cassidy told BBC Radio Jersey.

"We thought we had everything right and set up to just even get one goal, and we knew that would be enough.

"Maybe we had a little bit of nerves, a little bit of fear in certain things, which hasn't been there."

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Having lost 1-0 to the Lazio region of Italy in their opening game, Jersey defeated eventual group winners Bavaria 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time Jay Giles free-kick.

The result meant that had the islanders beaten North Macedonia on Wednesday, they would have progressed to the finals next year due to their head-to-head record against the Germans.

Jersey created a number of good chances against North Macedonia, but were unable to find the net as they failed to score for the second time in their three matches.

Jersey were representing England at the Uefa Regions' Cup for the second time, having also played in the tournament in 2013

"If we'd have been beaten by a better team or played off the pitch you can accept it more, or if some of the players didn't give us everything that they had then you could have an excuse," added Cassidy.

"But we tried our hardest and we punched way above our weight, and I think we set expectations so high, and maybe we just played with a little bit of nerves when we didn't have to.

"I'll look at what I did in the first half, the way we shaped up, because the way we thought we were going to play and the way that we'd thought the game was going to pan out, we just didn't get enough flow in the first half.

"But we didn't look like losing. We tweaked it, we changed it, and in the second half there was only one team that looked like scoring."

Jersey qualified to represent England in the tournament after winning the FA Inter-League Cup in May 2021.