MANCHESTER COUNTY CUP
MANCHESTER MACCABI 1st 3 THE CLARENDON 1

Martin Simons praised his players for a "fantastic achievement" after a deadly double from Alex Lee steered Maccabi 1st into the last 16 of the Manchester County Cup with a 3-1 victory over The Clarendon.

Another Sunday morning and it was another cup match for Maccabi 1st. With the opposition coming from the Hyde and District League and unbeaten, Maccabi knew that this would be one of their toughest challenges of the season.

Both teams started well with the goalkeepers being summoned upon early on. It would be Maccabi who would break the deadlock first when Alex Lee was brought down in the box. Up stepped Ryan Silvester to coolly convert the spot-kick.

The remainder of the first half was quite tight with Phil Pole again proving his credentials between the sticks for Maccabi.

The tie was carefully balanced until a bit of magic by centre forward Lee turned the game. After a flicked-on header by Sam Hatton, Lee sprung the offside trap and, using his sheer power, he hold off the opposing centre back and rifled the ball home in the top corner from the narrowest of angles.

The Clarendon managed to nick one back with 20 minutes to go after Maccabi failed to clear their lines. However, the game was eventually put to bed when leading goal scorer Oli Grant popped up to make it 3-1.

Maccabi manager Martin Simons said: "The boys were fantastic today. Their work-rate and willingness to work for each other was second to none. That puts us into the last 16 and that is a fantastic achievement for this club."

Next week Maccabi 1st return to league action against The Village.

Maccabi: Pole, Jackson, Foster, B.Loofe, Hatton, A.Loofe, Lewis, Herman, Grant, Lee, Silvester, Dennison, Rose