HANDI-CUP SEMI-FINAL
MIAM MIAM CELTIC 1 MANCHESTER MACCABI 1st 2

Strikes from Sam Van-Gelder and David Herman guided Manchester Maccabi into the final of the Handi-Cup, and a meeting with AFC Flixton.

After two successive defeats, Maccabi headed into Sunday’s semi-final in the worst form of their season so far further highlighting the importance of winning.

Fellow Premier Division rival Miam Miam would prove no push-overs and this was the case for the first half. Both teams created chances at either end and it wasn’t long before the ball was in the back of the Miam Miam net. After some neat play down the left, a whipped in ball by Josh Lewis was headed home by Sam Van-Gelder only to be disallowed for a foul on the keeper.

With the half-time whistle coming shortly after, Maccabi knew they had Miam Miam on the back foot.

Maccabi picked up where they left off in the second half. After some excellent play by creative midfielder Daniel Rubinstein, he found Van-Gelder with a lovely chipped through ball, without breaking stride Van-Gelder lashed home with his left foot to give Maccabi the lead. It was evident from his celebration this goal meant a lot after his first half effort was disallowed.

At 1-0 it was always a delicate situation but Maccabi’s defence held strong with Dani Dennison keeping Miam’s danger man quite on the wing.

The second soon followed when Daniel Rubinstein turned provider again this time to set up David Herman for his 10th goal of the season.

Miam Miam were reduced to 10 men on 80 minutes, having a man sent off for a second yellow and Maccabi knew they were almost there. However, Miam Miam clawed one back from a corner with five minutes remaining, however it was a little too late as Maccabi saw out the game to set up a final with AFC Flixton.

Maccabi manager Martin Simons said: "It was important to win today especially after our disappointing start to the year.

"It’s a fantastic achievement to reach a cup final in our first season in this league.

"With some key players missing it was great to see other stepping up in particular Dani Dennison and Daniel Rubinstein who were both fantastic today."

Maccabi return to league action next week to play Saints.

MACCABI: Pole, Dennison, A.Jackson, Lee, Hatton, Van-Gelder, Lewis, Basso, Rubinstein, Grant, Herman. Subs: Taylor, Gellman, E.Jackson

Scorers: Van-Gelder, Herman