Redbridge Jewish Care B kept alive their Maccabi GB Southern Football League (MGBSFL) Division Two title hopes as they recorded a 2-1 win over Wolverhampstead Wanderers.
Redbridge stormed into a 2-0 half-time lead thanks to goals from Harisson Nathan and an own goal, and although Jake Bennett halved the deficit for the home side on the hour mark, it wasn’t enough as the visitors held on for a win which takes them to within a point of the leaders Real Masmid.
Reflecting on his team’s latest win, Redbridge’s Dani Sivan said: “We came for three points and that’s how we left Wembley on the long journey back home. We started strong, had our chances to bury the game, but didn’t take them. We gifted them a way back into the game when they scored, but once again the back four stood strong, played superbly in the second half, and secured us the three points.”
As to what he felt was the difference between the sides on the day, he continued: “It was the quality in the final third. The game didn’t have too many chances and was all about who took those moments when they came.”
Delighted with what his side have achieved to date, he added said: “I had a look at the league table and was really pleased with what I saw. This is a new Redbridge team, one that has never played together before. To be second in the league, one point off top spot, whatever happens at the end of this campaign, I’ll be proud of them regardless.
“Hopefully we can do enough to secure promotion but the quality this team has shown, our season is not over just yet.”
Also happy with his side’s performance, despite the final scoreline, Wanderers’ Oliver Clarfield said: “It was a very close game where both sides fought hard. We played much better football in the second half, controlled the ball and were able to pick our moments and create a few chances, however we lacked the clinical finish in those opportunities.
“Once we pulled it back to 2-1, we kept the pressure on for an equaliser and looked like scoring with Jake Frank, we felt, being harshly adjudged to have been offside when he headed into the net.
“For the first game back in the new year having not played for a while, we lacked some cohesion in the first 20 minutes where we conceded twice. But we defended well and limited them in terms of chances. We really defended well in the second half and Redbridge never really looked like scoring.”
On what is their debut season in the MGBSFL, he added: “We’ve definitely found it a challenge. A lot of us had never met before we got together to form this team, we lacked team cohesion and struggled against well-drilled teams. However, our style of football is definitely improving, our link-up play is also causing more teams problems when we get it right – which is happening more and more with the help of our recent signing Danny Elia.
“We can now compete with any team in the league, want to win every game and will fight for it. Having now gone above Scrabble in the league we want to win more games and implement our style of football on matches.”
HMH stormed to the top of the Premier Division table as two goals from man-of-the-match Zac Summerfield saw them beat Hendon United Sports Club 2-1. HMH’s Jake Norton said: “The boys showed great fight and determination against an always strong Hendon side. It was a good way to start 2026 and we’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”
A penalty from Mordy Weiler kept Hendon in the game, with Alex Rosenthal saying: “It was another very disappointing result, but we showed great fight and desire to come back into after conceding two early goals, we just couldn’t find the equaliser but I’m proud of all the guys’ efforts.” The win sees HMH lead Stoke Salmon by a point, with Hendon sitting three points behind the leaders in third spot.
Performance of the day was arguably Brady Football Club’s in Division One as they consolidated their top-four placing by thrashing Temple Fortune 7-2. Yonni Levy and Daniel Slavid both scored hat-tricks, with Ben Myers completing their scoring. Brady’s Ricky Ansher said: “It was a top performance from the lads today, continuing our dominance from last week. After a poor start, we’ve now won three games on the bounce, there a bit more confidence in the boys to go and deliver performances like that.”
Fortune had just about managed to piece together a scratch team for the match, though were always up against it as soon as they conceded the opener in the first minute. The only highlight for The Yellows was a tremendous 40-yard effort from debutant Alex Brickman, Adam Grossman bagged their other goal.
Higher up the table, Hampstead Ducks moved into second spot as two goals each from Zak Cowan and Ben Summerfield saw them claim a 4-2 home victory over bottom side Bocher Juniors. Yedidya Solomon and Benjamin Woolich scored for Juniors, with manager Joel Ucko saying: “We were down to our bare bones today, with drop-outs, lateness and injuries meaning we had just 11 players, two of whom played through injuries picked up during the game, with many others playing out of position. But I’m very proud of the character we showed in the second half after a difficult first period and we’ll take those positives ahead of next week.”
To get more from community, click here to sign up for our free community newsletter.