Maccabi GB Southern Football League (MGBSFL) Division One champions Sukkotingham Forest moved a step closer to securing back-to-back league and cup doubles as they reached the final of the David Wolff Division One Cup final.
Having already stormed to the Division One title, they enjoyed a thrilling 5-3 win against Brady Maccabi FC on Sunday morning, to give themselves a chance of adding yet more silverware to their ever-bulging trophy cabinet.
The goalscoring exploits of Eytan Millan proved to be one of their crucial contributing factors to their win as he bagged a hat-trick, with Sam Mallett scoring their other two.
Delighted with their performance, manager Sam Nagioff said: “I thought we were absolutely brilliant going forward, created a lot of chances and were very clinical. We recognised what their weaknesses were and exposed them well.”
Believing the final scoreline belied a more equal game, he continued: “It was a very even affair for most of the game with Brady in the game for mostly all of it. We definitely had more of the ball and created more, but they did well to keep getting back into the game until we finished the game off late on, scoring our fifth goal in the final five minutes.”
Looking forward to hopefully ending their season on another high, he added: “We’re very confident we can secure the win in the final, having a very good record against 40 Year Wanderers in the previous couple of seasons.”
And should they beat Wanderers, they could also go one step further in terms of achievement as they are also in with a shout of winning the Barry Goldstein Trophy, with a quarter-final clash against Mill Hill Minyan awaiting them at the weekend.
“It would be a great achievement for the club to win back-to-back doubles”, Nagioff said, “and could get even better with a potential treble on the table as well.”
Saul Shimoni, Ben Myers and Daniel Slavid scored for Brady, and despite falling to defeat, manager Ricky Ansher was delighted with his team’s performance. He said: “On the whole we can be proud of our performance, everyone gave 110% for 90 minutes. I think we can be disappointed in the manor that we conceded the goals which came from not tracking runners and not closing the spaces we spoke about beforehand.
“It was a great game for the neutrals, and on a different day, the result could have swung the other way. The individual quality they had going forward was the real difference maker, having the ability to create something out of nothing.”
Their season is though far from over, with Ansher adding: “We’ve done well to recover from how we started the season, which ultimately gave us too much work to do to catch up. A second-place finish in the table would be a nice way to finish, but we’ve still got another cup that we’re in and we still want silverware.”
Geez Park Rangers booked their place into the semi-finals of the Super Cup as they drew 2-2 with Hendon United. Goals from Jack Mattey and Aron Gale secured them the point they needed, with Rangers’ Max Diamond saying: “Trailing at the break 2-0 after a poor first half performance, we put in a spirited comeback in the second half. Fair play to Hendon who are always a competitive side to play against, and we look forward to playing them again over the next few weeks.” Jack Naftalin scored twice for Hendon.
The one game played in Division One saw Bochur Juniors beat 40 Year Wanderers 2-0, a result which confirmed the former’s status in the Division, while relegating Wanderers. Yedidya Solomon and Chaim Bordon scored for Juniors, for whom manager Joel Ucko said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the result and the three points, but three clean sheets in a row might be the biggest achievement of the lot.
“I thought we were terrific in the first half, aggressive, on the front foot, asking all the questions and we should have had the game wrapped up. That said, we always knew Viennas would have their moments, and after we missed a few chances, only a great save from our goalkeeper kept them out.
“I’m also pleased because it means safety is secured with a game to spare so we can fully focus on our Barry Goldstein semi-final and a big end to our season.”
Yallatasary kept up their hopes of finishing in runners-up spot in the Premier Division as Jonathan Daniel’s goal proved to be the difference as they came away from Stopinsky with a 1-0 win.
Stoke Salmon booked their place into the final of the David Wolff Premier Division Cup thanks to a 3-1 win over Redbridge Jewish Care A. Harry Graham scored twice, with Dan Bowman netting their third.
Schlepfield Wednesday’s season has come to an end after they failed to win their David Wolff Division Two Cup group stage match against Redbridge Jewish Care B by three goals, instead falling to a 5-2 defeat. Ollie Simble and Oli Krush scored their goals, with manager Josh Bond saying: “Needing that margin of win to make the semi-finals was always going to be a challenge but it looked possible, especially after being 1-0 up at the break. However, we conceded one early in the second half which dropped a lot of heads. That’s our campaign over, but we’re looking to get our hands on our first silverware next year.”
Daniel Gillary bagged a hat-trick for Redbridge, with Sam Feldman and Harrison Nathan also on target.
The final fixture in this season’s Maccabi Masters League saw two goals from Jake Masteran being enough to earn Brady a 2-1 win over Hendon Harriers, JJ Marrache replied for Harriers.
Elsewhere in the final of the National Over-60s Supplementary Cup Final, Maccabi Masters fell to a 3-2 defeat against Merseyside. Maccabi had twice taken lead through goals from a scorpion kick from Mark Kingston and then from Kevin Lotzof, player-manager Ian Leader nevertheless full of praise for his team, saying that “whilst we are naturally disappointed, it’s been a great run and we have all thoroughly enjoyed playing in this well organised competition.”
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