Guernsey's pride as Scott wins first England cap

Alex Scott came on for the final 20 minutes of England's win in Prague [Shutterstock] Guernsey has "a lot of pride" for Alex Scott after the Bournemouth midfielder made his England debut. The 23-year-old came on as a second-half substitute in England's 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in the Nations League on Tuesday night. He became just the second footballer from Guernsey to play for England's men's side after former Southampton striker Matt Le Tissier. He joins his step-sister, Manchester United's Maya Le Tissier, in becoming an international for England. "There's a lot of pride for every Guernseyman that's watching him," Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance told BBC Radio Guernsey. Having left Southampton's academy as a young teenager Scott returned to his home island and played for Vance's team who were then in the eighth tier Isthmian League South Central league. Alex Scott - the 'Guernsey boy' playing for England Youngster Scott impresses Guernsey boss He made his debut aged 16 and is still the club's youngest-ever player, before being picked up by Bristol City where he made 91 appearances before joining Premier League AFC Bournemouth in 2023. "It's incredible that when you look at that and then obviously Maya as well, so for a small island we do punch above our weight," added Vance. "In Guernsey we know all the players coming through from a very early age and obviously Alex was a standout and everyone knew about that. "He had some setbacks early in his career and he came back a little bit lost. "Luckily we managed to get him back into the frame a bit and it was obvious it wasn't going to be long that he was going to be with us, he just kept pushing and pushing. "He's in a pretty strong position now but it's not without any hard work and a lot of pain, but he deserves everything he's got and so do his family." 'It's what dreams are made of' Alex Scott replaced Manchester City's Elliot Anderson for England [Getty Images] Scott became the 1,301st player to play for England when he came on at the Fortuna Arena. It is something that he says will live with him forever, and a bright moment in a difficult time after the recent passing of his grandfather. "It's what dreams are made of and something that probably when I was younger and maybe even 15 or 16 wasn't wasn't a reality at all," Scott told BBC Radio 5live "I've worked really hard and it's a proud moment for me of course, and my family as well. "I had no nerves at all really, I was more nervous for the speech to the lads after the game. "I was just obviously happy to get my opportunity, I've been on a few camps now, I know the boys pretty well and the staff as well so it was great for me to finally get on the pitch." Southampton's Matt Le Tissier was the first man from Guernsey to play for England, winning eight caps between 1994 and 1997 [Getty Images] Scott is one of a number of young players from Guernsey that are playing professionally off the island. Midfielder Joe Adams is at Wigan Athletic, while Jack Griffin is part of Bristol City's academy, Chloe Ingrouille is in Plymouth Argyle's women's set-up and triplets Emilie, Hollie and Millie Jeffreys have all joined York City. Vance feels that Scott's journey is one that can inspire even more Guernsey players to try and make it in the game. "There are going to be some other players that hopefully will get to professional football, maybe not to the extremes Alex has got to," he said. "But ultimately he is the aspiration and the inspiration to every youngster now and it's an example for us to say 'there's the pathway'. "A few others have made professional football from it, but he's achieved the ultimate dream and that's to play for England and that's incredible."
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