Norstar London Raiders A and FC Team B are looking forward to 'Celebration Sunday' as they collect their respective league titles a week ahead of their big cup finals. Danny Caro looks ahead to all the action on Matchday 33 of the MGBSFL.
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LATEST NEWS:
RAIDERS CROWNED CHAMPIONS - SEE MATCH REPORT
HENDON MAUL LIONS TO REACH MORRISON FINAL - MATCH REPORT
FLIXTON READY FOR HENDON REMATCH - MATCH REPORT
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WEEKEND PHOTOS
PMT SEMI-FINAL HENDON vs LIONS
PMT SEMI-FINAL - HARMEN vs AFC FLIXTON
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DANNY CARO'S MATCHDAY 32 AWARDS
QUOTE OF THE WEEK - ADAM GLEKIN
MATCHDAY 32 REVIEW
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MGBSFL ROLL OF HONOUR
Premier Division: Norstar London Raiders A
Division One: Champions - Redbridge JC B, Promoted: NL Raiders B
Division Two: Champions - FC Team B, Promoted: AC Mill Hill
Division Three: Champions - London Rovers
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CUP COMPETITIONS: LATEST
CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP FINAL
Norstar London Raiders A vs Hendon United Sports Club A - May 3, KO - 2.30pm
Officials - Referee: Neil Cooper, Asst Ref 1: Gary Silver, Asst Ref 2: Steve Levy, 4th Official: Martin Lavender
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PETER MORRISON TROPHY FINAL
Hendon Utd SC A vs AFC Flixton - Oldham Athletic FC, May 17
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BARRY GOLDSTEIN TROPHY FINAL
Los Blancos vs Norstar London Raiders B or FC Team B
Final at Wingate & Finchley FC on May 3, KO: 6.30pm
Officials - Referee: Laurie Benson, Asst Ref 1: Neal Cohen, Asst Ref 2: Elliott Mayer, 4th Official: Keith Goodman
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PHOTOGALLERIES FROM THE SEASON
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SEASON
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YOUR WEEKEND PREVIEW STARTS HERE:
MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
CURRENT STANDINGS:
1. Raiders (CHAMPIONS) Pl. 15, W. 14, D. 1, L. 2, F. 53, A. 12, Pts. 43 (Raiders to be awarded 3 points following defaulted match vs Woodford)
2. Hendon Pl. 17, W. 11, D. 4, L. 2, F. 48, A. 14, Pts. 37
TOP-SCORERS
27 - James Gershfield (Harmen)
18 - Dave Woolman (Oakwood A)
FC TEAM A vs NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A
History will be made on Sunday as Raiders collect their first league trophy at Rowley Lane on Sunday.
Last week’s 4-1 win over Neasden sealed the deal and manager Rob Richman may be tempted to rotate his squad ahead of next week’s Anekstein Cup final against Hendon.
Ahead of kick-off, NLR boss Rob Richman told JC Sport: “We’re looking to our last league game of the season. Up until last weekend their results this calendar year had been very impressive and we will expect a tough test Sunday morning.
“We won’t be easing off just because the league is all sewn up, we aim to finish with a win and make sure that we are all ready for the big cup final on the bank holiday weekend.
“There is also the intriguing battle between Mannie, Stock, Joseph and Dinkin as to who will end up with the most goals this season.
“The fact we have won the league hasn’t really hit home yet, but it really is a great achievement and we are all very excited to be presented with the trophy after the game on Sunday.’
Team are still licking their wounds following a 10-0 annihilation at the hands of Redbridge. Ben Gilbey’s boys were simply blown away by an RJC team fielding several members of their B-team.
Back to full strength this weekend, head coach Ben Gilbey hopes his players can give the champions a proper test.
He told JC Sport: "Last week everything went out the window and we took a terribly embarrassing defeat. We have to move on from Sunday and forget about it, it was a freak occasion!
"This week we play the champions and we are going to be out to prove that last week was just a freak occasion. I have said before that we have the players to get a result against anyone.
"We have four games left and if we can get a couple of results we may find ourselves finishing mid-table, which will be a great finish for us."
Matt Stock was the four-goal hero when NLR thumped Team 5-0 in December, but Team will be relieved to hear the Team Maccabi GB star misses out on Sunday as NLR go in search of their 15th league win.
JC team news: Matt Stock is away but Raiders otherwise have a full squad to select from.
Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – Tony McEvoy
JC star man: David Dinkin (Raiders)
DC Prediction: Team 1 Raiders 3
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OAKWOOD A vs NORTH WEST NEASDEN
Oakwood go in their final game of the season knowing victory would help them secure fifth place.
It’s been a season of ifs and buts for the Oaks who beat Neasden 4-2 earlier in the season, with David Woolman the chief tormentor.
Neasden gave a decent account of themselves against Raiders last week, with Dan Andrews and Josh Tiano impressing, but they continue to scrap for points, with matches against Hendon and FC Team to follow in the coming weeks.
Ric Blank and Alex Schock know the areas in which they need to strengthen over the summer. They are not far off pushing for silverware again and will no doubt be looking to bow out on a high.
Venue – Nicholas Breakspear, Ref – Richard Jaye
JC star man: Dan Selwyn (Oakwood)
DC Prediction: Oakwood 2 Neasden 1
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DIVISION ONE
TOP-SCORERS
27 - Daniel Garfinkle (Redbridge JC B – including 3 for RJC A)
Simon Moses (Blancos – includes two for Brady)
20 - Jake Gilbert (NL Raiders B)
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DIVISION TWO
TOP-SCORERS
25 - Adam Stolerman (FC Team C)
23 - Jacob Richler-Kleiman (Oakwood B)
FC TEAM B vs OAKWOOD B
Team are ready for ‘Celebration Sunday’. Mitch Young men wrapped up the title a few weeks ago, but they will lift the coveted Division Two trophy at the weekend. And their manager cannot wait.
“We celebrate a wonderful league campaign as we get presented with the league title by David Wolff,” Young told JC Sport.
“A week before the cup final, I will give my squad players a chance to impress as I rest some star names.
“We are looking to finish the league campaign on a high and know Oakwood are dangerous up front, but spirits in the camp are sky high and I expect an entertaining end of season style open game."
Fifth place that awaits Oakwood if they can defeat the champions. I heard rumours that manager Jason Stein has signed a one-year contract extension and will be allowed to strengthen his squad as soon as the final whistle blows on Sunday. However, one or two players will be keen to impress as they look to persuade their gaffer that they deserve another season. I expect them to be strong contenders next year.
It’s always a pleasure, never a chore to visit the Oakwood training ground. Stein always goes out of his way to make time for me, and it was great catching up with Deidre the tea lady too. She makes a lovely cuppa.
Stein said: “Hi DC, please do come in. Sorry the desk is a mess but as you can see, with the season winding down, I've had my Ordnance Survey maps out trying to plan a pre-season route .
"Anyway, Team B. Nice side, good side, very good side. The next two games are a bit of a free hit for us really. But higher league places are available and we want to grab them. If we win both our remaining matches against Team B and Mill Hill then we'll finish fourth. One win will seal fifth and that's realistically needs to be our minimum target for the next two matches.
"We were taught a painful lesson against Raiders B and we've pledged to learn from those defensive mistakes. Sunday is the first opportunity for us to do so.
We're well advanced with looking at next season and this game forms part of my agenda next season. I need to see that the players we have are capable of learning, listening and executing.”
Team boast the meanest defence in the division, but Dan Ash, James Abrams and top-scorer Jacob Richler-Kleiman won’t make things easy for them.
JC team news: Team will rest Dan Silverman and Ben Binder.
James Abrams returns up front for Oakwood who will be “more or less unchanged from the Raiders B match”.
Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – Darryl Colmans, KO – 9.40am
JC star man: James Abrams (Oakwood)
DC Prediction: Team 2 Oakwood 2
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DIVISION THREE
TOP-SCORERS
29 - Adam Ellis (Shacharit Donetsk)
26 - Avi Markiweicz (London Rovers)
KING CROWN vs SHACHARIT DONETSK
King Crown require an eight-goal swing to pip Real Sosobad to the runners-up spot.
However, with Shacharit playing for the last time before leaving the league, they won’t have things all their own way, especially with hotshot Adam Ellis gunning for the MGBSFL Golden Boot.
Some of the league top clubs will be disappointed to hear that Ellis is off to Israel and I expect him to go out with a bang as Shacharit aim for a top four finish.
Indeed it was Ellis who tormented Crown at the start of the year, firing all three goals in a 3-2 win – round about when Crown started to wobble.
Several teams have tried and failed to tame Ellis and I think Crown will be the latest.
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – Tony McEvoy
JC star man: Adam Ellis (Shacharit)
DC Prediction: KC 1 Shacharit 3
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KS REUNITED vs HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB B
Revenge will be on the minds of Hendon B who cannot finish higher or lower than sixth.
Edged out by KS in a seven-goal thriller last week, Hendon fans are still talking about that James Neidle strike.
Hendon boss Adam Glekin described his team’s defending as “criminal” although he reserved praise for Chaim Strom for a stunning goalline clearance.
The match was memorable for the Gordon family, with Zack firing a hat-trick, Josh grabbing another and goalkeeper Jamie all contributing to a much-needed win.
But consistency has been a major issue for the KS boys this season and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Hendon settle the score.
Venue – London Playing Fields, Ref – David Lazarus
JC star man: Chaim Strom (Hendon)
DC Prediction: KS 2 Hendon 4
