MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 5 MACCABI LONDON LIONS A 0
Russell Goldstein produced a master-class as Redbridge Jewish Care A condemned the Lions to their first defeat of the season with a sensational performance.
Redbridge finally got to play at their new home today and welcomed Lions to Old Parkonians. A beautiful day and a nice surface, this was going to be a good match up.
The game started off as a little scrappy with the evergreen Aviel Schwarz pulling the strings in midfield for Lions.
Redbridge tend to start slowly and it took them 10 minutes to finally get to grips with the pretty stuff from Lions midfield. A through ball from Sam Sollosi opened up Lions on the left and unselfishly, Daniel Garfinkle, sent the defender round and round before delivering a perfect cross which was met by the onrushing Goldstein with a beautiful first time finish that was spinning away from the keeper for the first goal.
The second goal came from a keeper error which saw Goldstein presented with the easiest of finishes and saw him commentate on his own goal as he walked the ball in.
The game was effectively finished as a contest after 25 minutes with the first goal of the season for Garfinkle. A cross-field pass from the excellent Dean Nyman found him out wide on the left and he hit it on the rise giving the keeper no chance at all.
Redbridge then switched off for the next 20 minutes and it became a scrappy game with MLL's "musclebound defender" winning the ball easily and not much good Football being played.
Half-time came and "this is where the beauty of rolling substitutions comes to the fore with changes made that keeps everyone in the squad playing a part," according to RJC boss Jon Jacobs. "It is only when you leave players on the bench as good as Daryl Rubin, Matt Berkley, Nathan Sollosi, James Berkley and Adam Hakimi that you realise how good the squad is this season but they all got game time today".
Lions pulled a goal back with a long-range effort deceiving Dan Lee in the Redbridge goal.
That galvanised Redbridge with the recently rested Garfinkle back on the pitch helping to set up with Ryan Cole a goal expertly finished by James Berkley.
The marauding Goldstein completed a memorable morning with his third and RJC's ffith - a superb long range pass by Cole to Garfinkle who calmly passed into the path of the Goldstein who did the rest.
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