Rob Richman praised goalkeeper Jake Doffman after holders NLR moved to within 90 minutes of a return trip to Wingate & Finchley as the holders crushed Harmen 5-1 in the last eight of the League Cup.
January 11, 2016 10:51
CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP QUARTER-FINAL
NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A 5 HARMEN 1
Rob Richman praised goalkeeper Jake Doffman after holders NLR moved to within 90 minutes of a return trip to Wingate & Finchley as the holders crushed Harmen 5-1 in the last eight of the League Cup.
Harmen stunned the double winners with an early penalty from top-scorer James Gershfield and they were denied a second by the reflexes of Doffman who kept out a sweety struck effort from Sam Castle.
Ricky Engleman hauled Raiders back on terms with a cool finish after Harmen failed to clear their lines and the visitors were up against it when top-scorer James Gershfield was sent off for allegedly kicking out at NLR's Alex Bloch following a consultation between referee and assistant-referee.
Doffman was forced into a series of important saves and his efforts were rewarded as David Dinkin (2), Nick Lewis and Jordan Marks ended Harmen's hopes.
NLR boss Rob Richman told JC Sport: "We are delighted to have got through this tricky tie against Harmen and progress to the semi finals of the Anekstein Cup.
"We had a tough 10-minute spell after conceding first but as soon as we managed to equalise through the excellent Engleman I felt confident we would go on and win the game.
"Obviously the sending off after half an hour made our task a lot easier but we made sure we were professional and clinical to secure a really pleasing win.
"There were some very good performances throughout but for me the tuning point of the game was a superb save by Doffman with the score 1-0 to Harmen. If Doffman doesn’t make the save then we could be looking at a very different result.
"We have made it to the final last two consecutive years and we are determined to make it three in a row.
"We now await the draw for the semi final where I am sure we will be faced with Oakwood for the third year in succession."
Harmen joint-manager Oliver Leslie told JC Sport: "We dominated the first half and in truth should have been a few goals to the good but if you don't take your chances against the champions then you will get punished and that is exactly what happened.
"Down to 10 men Raiders scored a quick fire double at the start of the second half with a stand-out goal from David Dinkin. We gambled and went to three at the back immediately creating a few chances which again should have been finished off by Sade and Castle.
"We keep our heads held high and we move on from a game that without the sending off would have been very different.
"My team would like to wish Raiders good luck in the next round."
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