MGBSFL DIVISION TWO
CATFORD & BROMLEY MACCABI 3 AC WHETSTONE 5

Philippe Auret fired a deadly double as AC Whetstone won their last-ever match in a real thriller against Catford.

This was the last game ever for AC Whetstone, a team established when the boys were aged just six-years-old. They are now all turning 18 and most hope to be heading off to University after the summer.

That meant the wonder kids were eager to win, and on a blustery day against a physically strong Catford, it looked like their dream send-off was going to be spoilt.

Whetstone had all the play but conceded from corners and needed to dig very deep to come away with a deserved win, with Jonah Gordon Boyd, Dan Cohen and Aaron Benjamin completing the comeback on an emotional day for the Stones.

Whetstone joint-manager Clive Nathan told JC Sport: "The fact we come back to and have done so many times, is a testament to this special group of boys who work so hard for each other.

"We scored some great goals and had a fantastic celebration in the changing room afterwards. Our trademark country songs were blasted out amid a F1 style champagne soaking.

"What epitomised the spirit of the club today was our two unused subs; Sammy Corper and Josh Silverman. They are both defenders and stalwarts of the club. Despite being desperate to play, it was Sammy who came up to Anthony and I to say "don't worry about me - stick a forward on - we need the goals." What a gesture from an 18 year old. We gave him man of the match for that!

"So that's it for us. Our end of season/end of an era dinner is on April 26 where we will remember and celebrate 12 fantastic years."

Catford's goals came via Adam Luria, Gary Conway and Sean Preston.

Catford captain Adam Luria told JC Sport: "We're disappointed to have lost. Whetstone created more chances, but until a freak error with us leading 2-1 that led to them equalising, we'd restricted them to shooting from distance.

"After that went in and we then conceded from another error our heads went down and they punished us. We were still in the game until the end and were disappointed with a couple of very odd decisions that went in Whetsone's favour. I can only think that the ref was being overly protective of a team that were good enough and strong enough not to need it.

"At any rate, on the balance of play, they deserved the victory; it's just a shame that we ended up handing it to them on a plate after playing so well for most of the game.

"We wish them all the best for the future as I'm sure they'll all get together again once they get back from uni. It may be the end of an era for them, but from the perspective of having played for Catford both before, during and (for a long time!) after university, I'm pretty certain that it's not quite the end of the road for them.

"When they come back bigger and stronger I'm sure they'll be a force in Jewish football."