Latest news with #ElliotPowell
BBC News
31-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bulls boss hopes FA Cup run can boost league chances
Jersey Bulls manager Elliot Powell hopes an FA Cup run can keep his newly-promoted side hungry for islanders will play in Isthmian League South East this season - the first time they have reached the eighth tier of English football. It came after winning the Combined Counties Premier South play-offs last season when they stepped away from the FA begin their season with the visit of Erith and Belvedere to Springfield in Saturday's extra preliminary round. "We decided to not enter the cup last year based on the fact that we wanted to focus on the league and obviously that's paid off for us," Powell told BBC Radio Jersey. "This year we've got very different ambitions in terms of the league, so it's important that we have cup competitions, especially if we're where we expect to be in the league - it might not be in the play-off race come the end of the season."Hopefully we can have a cup run that that keeps us going and keeps us highly motivated throughout the season." None of the Jersey Bulls squad made the trip to the Island Games earlier this month so they could fully focus on the forthcoming have largely kept the squad which took them up, aside from striker Kurtis Guthrie who has moved to Scottish club Queen of the South, having returned home towards the end of last season. But having been one of the best sides in their division over the past few seasons, Powell says it is important both players and fans approach the new league with a sense of realism. "I still expect us to win games of football and ultimately if we don't, we're going to be right down where we don't want to be," added Powell, who saw Channel Island rivals Guernsey FC get relegated from the same tier last season."I'd love to be top half. I think top half will be a really, really good achievement in year one," he added."This year's sort of a fact-finding mission really for us, find out what it takes to get promoted at step four."We'd had four or five years of gathering intel and data on step five and we put that into practice last year."Hopefully we won't need it as long at step four, but it's unrealistic to expect us just to fly through."
BBC News
10-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Bulls boss set to give youngsters a chance in new league
Jersey Bulls manager Elliot Powell says his side's promotion to the Isthmian League will give him the chance to develop the island's best young beat Cobham 1-0 in the Combined Counties Premier South play-off final to earn promotion to Isthmian League South up to the fourth tier of non-league football is the highest the club has been since it was founded in 2019. "We've got a great pool of local talent - I think we used 38 players last season and 36 were based on the island at the start of the season," said Powell, who brought in former professionals Kurtis Guthrie and Paul McKay in February after they moved to Jersey."We know there's another generation of talented youngsters coming through and they're going to be really important for us in the next couple of years, and also probably in this first season as well where we'll need some fresh energy to kick-start us again after a short turnaround."There's a good five, six, maybe seven lads that will be knocking on the door for a place who will probably be playing at the Island Games for the Jersey FA side and get their opportunity to impress and maybe force their way in at the start of the season." Powell is realistic about the Bulls' chances of promotion next club does not pay its players, whereas many of the other sides in their league - which forms part of the eighth tier of the English football pyramid - will have substantial financial resources to put towards their squads."There's some big sides with some big budgets," Powell told BBC Radio Jersey."Whyteleafe will come up with us and we know they'll strengthen and they'll be looking for back-to-back promotions, and if not even higher than that."We know there'll be teams with huge financial power in our league, there's going to be teams that are physically a lot bigger than us."But we've shown that we can mix it up in various different ways, whether it's a physical game like Redhill or Fleet Town, we've shown we can compete, and when it's more of a footballing game like Cobham in the final, we came out on the right side of that as well."So we're really looking forward to it, it's going to test us in a number of different ways."But these are the opportunities that the club has been gearing up for and trying to provide for local players, and it's one we're really relishing and looking forward to taking come August."
ITV News
24-05-2025
- Sport
- ITV News
Euan Van Der Vliet the hero as Jersey Bulls reach play-off final following dramatic penalty shootout
Jersey Bulls are into the Combined Counties League Premier South play-off final after a stunning performance from goalkeeper Euan Van der Vliet. The Bulls were locked at 1-1 with Fleet Town after 90 tense minutes at Springfield, but Van Der Vliet saved all of the visitors' penalties in the shootout to send his team into the final. His teammates were penalty perfect too, with Paul McKay, Kurtis Guthrie, and Francis Lekimamati all converting from 12 yards to give Bulls a comprehensive 3-0 win on penalties. Speaking about his heroics, Van Der Vliet, said: "I'm buzzing! Just to get over the line and get to the final is the main thing - we've been through a lot in the last few weeks. "I'm always quite confident on penalties because the pressure is always on the taker. "I don't think I've ever saved three in a row! Once I saved the first one, it put more pressure on the second one, and the third one was amazing." Elliot Powell's side, unsurprisingly, weren't at their usual fluent best having not played for more than a month. An own goal had given them the lead early in the second half, but Fleet found a leveller three minutes from time, taking the game to penalties. Elliot Powell said: "I turned to my assistants and said it's been a pretty traumatic end to the season, so why not top it off with a penalty defeat - that was the pessimist in me, but there's no better way of winning it than on penalties." Jersey Bulls thought they had won promotion from the Combined Counties League, but ended up receiving a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player earlier this season. Reflecting on a topsy-turvy few weeks, Powell pulled no punches about the saga: "The whole situation is a shambles. The system isn't fit for purpose, there's a systematic breakdown at the FA's end, and there's no accountability from them, so the whole thing is a shambles and a lot of people need to have a look at themselves." Bulls will now face Cobham FC in the final next week, with the date and time still to be confirmed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jersey Bulls boss confident his side can win title
Elliot Powell has seen his Jersey Bulls side lose just three games in his 39 games in charge [Lauren Trachy/Jersey Bulls] Jersey Bulls manager Elliot Powell is confident his side can win the Combined Counties Premier South title. Bulls know victory over relegation-threatened Sandhurst Town at Springfield on Saturday would almost certainly be enough to become champions. Advertisement Bulls are level on points with second-placed Redhill, but their goal difference means their rivals would have to win their final game by 21 goals more than the islanders to take the title. Should both teams slip up, third-placed Whyteleafe could win the title - they are just one point behind. "In terms of achieving what we set out at the start of the season, this gives us the opportunity on the pitch at the first time of asking," Powell told BBC Radio Jersey "It's an important day for the club, we've been looking for promotion from this level for about four seasons now, so for us to have that opportunity in our hands on Saturday is one that we need to take." Advertisement Only the champions will earn promotion to the eighth tier of English football, with the next four sides in play-offs for the second promotion place. Bulls were beaten in the play-off semi-finals last season, but Powell hopes they can build on their midweek win over Abbey Rangers after losing 2-1 at home to Redhill last week. "They need to play the game, not the occasion. I know that's a cliche but our lads have been really good at it all season," added Powell. "We play the opposition in front of us, especially here at Springfield. "We've lost a couple, to Redhill and Whyteleafe, but largely we've been pretty dominant here, and even in those games we should have taken something out of both of them. Advertisement "We've got a way of playing down here, the home support definitely helps that, and fingers crossed everything goes to plan on Saturday." Jersey Bulls finished second Combined Counties Premier South last season, but hope to go one place better on Saturday [Lauren Trachy/Jersey Bulls] Powell took over as Bulls manager in the summer from Gary Freeman, who had led the island side since they were formed in 2019. Despite only being 27, he came to the club with a strong record in local football. He guided St Peter to the island's domestic title and led Jersey's representative team to gold at the 2023 Island Games and victory in the 2024 Muratti Vase. He has continued that form as Bulls boss, losing just two league games, to Redhill and Whyteleafe, and once in the FA Vase to Whitstable Town - who have gone on to reach the final at Wembley. Advertisement He says victory on Saturday will be comparable to any achievement he has had s a coach. "That Island Games is always going to be pretty special, certainly the outpouring of of emotion on the pitch after the game was something I don't think we'll experience again," he said. "But I'm pretty sure Saturday we'll get pretty close. "It's going to mean an awful lot to the fans and the club if we can get over the line on Saturday." Related internet links
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Jersey Bulls boss confident his side can win title
Jersey Bulls manager Elliot Powell is confident his side can win the Combined Counties Premier South know victory over relegation-threatened Sandhurst Town at Springfield on Saturday would almost certainly be enough to become are level on points with second-placed Redhill, but their goal difference means their rivals would have to win their final game by 21 goals more than the islanders to take the both teams slip up, third-placed Whyteleafe could win the title - they are just one point behind. "In terms of achieving what we set out at the start of the season, this gives us the opportunity on the pitch at the first time of asking," Powell told BBC Radio Jersey"It's an important day for the club, we've been looking for promotion from this level for about four seasons now, so for us to have that opportunity in our hands on Saturday is one that we need to take."Only the champions will earn promotion to the eighth tier of English football, with the next four sides in play-offs for the second promotion were beaten in the play-off semi-finals last season, but Powell hopes they can build on their midweek win over Abbey Rangers after losing 2-1 at home to Redhill last week."They need to play the game, not the occasion. I know that's a cliche but our lads have been really good at it all season," added Powell."We play the opposition in front of us, especially here at Springfield. "We've lost a couple, to Redhill and Whyteleafe, but largely we've been pretty dominant here, and even in those games we should have taken something out of both of them."We've got a way of playing down here, the home support definitely helps that, and fingers crossed everything goes to plan on Saturday." Powell took over as Bulls manager in the summer from Gary Freeman, who had led the island side since they were formed in 2019. Despite only being 27, he came to the club with a strong record in local guided St Peter to the island's domestic title and led Jersey's representative team to gold at the 2023 Island Games and victory in the 2024 Muratti has continued that form as Bulls boss, losing just two league games, to Redhill and Whyteleafe, and once in the FA Vase to Whitstable Town - who have gone on to reach the final at Wembley. He says victory on Saturday will be comparable to any achievement he has had s a coach."That Island Games is always going to be pretty special, certainly the outpouring of of emotion on the pitch after the game was something I don't think we'll experience again," he said. "But I'm pretty sure Saturday we'll get pretty close."It's going to mean an awful lot to the fans and the club if we can get over the line on Saturday."
