The Cyril Anekstein Cup took centre stage on Sunday morning’s Maccabi GB Southern Football League (MGBSFL) fixture list, with no fewer than seven ties taking place.
An all-Premier Division tie saw reigning holders HMH see off Athletico Bears 3-0, who booked their place into the third round thanks to goals from Joel Walters, Charlie Ezra and Ethan Krell.
HMH’s Jake Norton said: “It was a patient and mature performance, we retained the ball well and limited their ability to hit us on the counter.”
Aware of the team they were up against, Eli Wegrzyn said: “We respected the opposition, a very solid side who can hurt teams with the quality they possess and we had to work very hard for this scoreline.”
Happy with the start to their season, but taking things one step at a time, Alex Moss added: “We try to not dwell on past results for too long. So far this season we have experienced winning, losing and drawing. We much prefer winning so will continue to work hard to try and achieve that as much as possible.”
Even in defeat, Bears’ Sam Fresco was proud of his side, saying: “We showed a lot of heart and a lot of fight and commitment, so can’t fault anyone for that.
“I think 3-0 was maybe harsh for the effort the boys showed. We deserved a goal and hit the post at the end. We know they’re a quality side, we only had 13 players, showed what we could do with those low numbers, but unfortunately that was our undoing. We began to tire after the hour mark which is when they scored their three goals. On another day with more boys available, I think we would have been able to show more attacking intent, but it wasn’t to be and we wish HMH the best in the next round.”
As to what he’s hoping for his team in the immediate future, he added: “Our season has been very stop-start which I think has shown so far, it’s hard to get rhythm in the team. We need to have a bit more consistency and know if we can get 16 boys every week, can beat anyone in this league. We haven’t been able to get that yet, but are happy with the start.”
Tie of the day saw Chopped Villa defeat Temple Fortune on penalties 5-4 after the sides played out a 3-3 draw. Goals from Jordan Davies, Harrison Persell, plus Oliver Dagul’s 88th minute strike saw Villa take the match to spot kicks, with manager Noah Abrahams saying: “It was a really high-quality end-to-end game that could have gone either way, with plenty of chances for both sides.” Zack Gluckstein, Robert Samuelson and Saul Simons scored for Fortune
Hendon United Sports Club were 4-3 victors in a shoot-out, overcoming Stopinsky after the sides played out a 2-2 draw. Jack Naftalin and Yehuda Korman twice put Hendon ahead, only for Zan Appleson-Fidler to draw the visitors back level twice. However, Mordy Weiler, Korman, Yarden Sharifian and Joe Cohen all successfully converted from the spot to take Hendon through. Manager Alex Rosenthal said: “I’m super proud of all the boys, not just for the win, but for the belief they showed to keep going.”
A seven-goal thriller saw Mill Hill Minyan beat Scrabble 4-3 thanks to a 90th minute winner from Matt Davidson. Sam Cohen, Jamie Boys and Jake Brassey scored their first three goals. Ethan Gold scored twice for Scrabble, with Richie Abramson netting their other, all three goals assisted by Daniel Davies. Manager Ollie Sugarman said: “I’m very proud of the boys’ performance, we were the much better side and deserved to win but unfortunately that is football.”
Biggest winners of the day were Geez Park Rangers, who came away from Redbridge Jewish Care A with a 5-0 win, and it wasn’t a good day for the Essex side as their B team were beaten 3-0 at home by Beitar Bushey. Harry Feldman, Ricky Jays and Daniel Salamon scored for the victors. Redbridge manager Dani Sivan said: “The score doesn’t reflect what was quite an evenly matched game. Two spectacular overhead kicks from set-pieces ultimately took the game away from us. I look forward to our rematch in the league.”
Goals from Samuel Mallett and Eytan Millan didn’t prove enough for the Division One leaders Sukkotingham Forest as they were beaten 3-2 at Stoke Salmon. Millan said: “We had a poor start, going 2-0 down in the first 20 minutes, got it back to 2-2, but lost in the cruellest way, conceding a last-minute winner.”
In Division One, two of the bottom three sides, 40 Year Wanderers and Bocher Juniors, played out a thrilling 3-3 draw. Yedidya Solomon scored twice for Juniors, with Solly Levy also on target. Manager Joel Ucko said: “I’m delighted by the attitude of our boys to come back from 3-1 down in the second half. If you can’t win, don’t lose and I’m proud of the way we kept going.”
Matt Waks, Sam Holden and a Ben Conway penalty earned Wanderers a point, with manager Sam Anderson saying: “I’m gutted. I can’t fault the performance, the boys were brilliant and deserved more. We’ll have to look in the mirror, dust ourselves off and be ready for a tough away fixture next week.”
Real Masmid made it five wins from five to extend their lead at the top of the Division Two table to seven points as David Amor’s goal, midway through the first half, was enough to see them win 1-0 at Wolverhampstead Wanderers.
The top two in the Maccabi Masters Football League claimed emphatic away wins as they opened up a gap at the top of the table.
Scrabble maintained their three-point lead at the top of the table as they made it four wins from four with a 4-1 win at Brady. Jamie Kent had fired Brady into an early lead, but Jeremy Teacher levelled before the break. They sealed the win in the second half thanks to Ryan Kansinger’s double and Mark Truman’s strike – on his Scrabble debut.
London Maccabi Lions stay three points behind them in second spot after recording a 4-1 away win of their own, coming away from EHRS Stonegrove with the points. Wayne Davidson scored two of their goals, with Barry Silkman and Steve Summers also on target. Mark Kingston netted for EHRS.
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