AC Cricklewood player-manager Elliot Chalmers believes that his team’s experience could give them the upper hand as the race for the JC MSFL Division Three title hots up.
Lying fourth in the table, strikes from Mark Wagman (2), Daniel Ruckin (2) and supersubs Richard Davis and Jeremy Kornhauser helped them record a 6-2 success over Zig Zag on a plastic pitch in Borehamwood.
Chalmers said: “It was a really good win, considering we’d not played on an artificial pitch all season. We started really well which was very important after last week.”
Ruckin (2) and Wagman gave the blues a 3-0 interval lead. It should have been four but Wagman missed a penalty. The former Scrabble striker made amends with his second coming early in the second half, making it 12 league goals this season.
Yoni Bluestone and Dan Millar netted for Zig Zag but Chalmers’ two substitutions ensured that there were no late nerves as Cricklewood recorded their eighth win in 11 games.
Chalmers said: “Since the club’s inception and title-winning season we have always been seen as dark horses. It’s something to do with our age and apparent lack of fitness. Also, we do not take things too seriously in regard tactical play.
“We have all been there before and each player knows their own game very well. It’s never been a policy to only have players over 30 and would always welcome younger players but we play against a lot who look the part but do not know how to apply themselves on the pitch.”
Looking ahead to their title run-in, Chalmers said: “Yes, we can win the title if we play to our optimum best and win all our remaining games. It’s not going to be easy to play that well but if we keep players fit and available then we have as good a chance as any one else.”
Two goals from Alex Bourne helped Southgate Harmen A open a four-point lead at the top of Division Two as they completed a league double over title rivals North London Raiders B. Jon Morris was the other scorer, netting with a spectacular volley from Dan Beckwith’s corner.
Hendon United C moved to within two points of top spot in Division Three with a 4-0 win over L’Equipe. Adam Hersh (2), Aryeh Goldring and Yaakov Suissa eased them home.
Hendon boss Zvi Noe commented: “It was a very difficult surface and was an immense team performance.
“L’Equipe are a good side, but showed excellent commitment and application to get a comfortable result out of a potentially tricky game.”
