PETER MORRISON TROPHY ROUND ONE
MACCABI MASTERS REP TEAM 1 HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB C 1 (Hendon won on penalties)
Hendon boss Adam Glekin praised goalkeeper Yaacov Goldin after his heroics in a marathon penalty shoot-out guided Hendon C into round two.
There was nothing to separate the teams over the 90 minutes - which finished 1-1 - with Alex Elf's opener cancelled out by Marc Cutler.
Hendon's plans were disrupted before the game with three late withdrawals, and they were slow to get out the blocks. The Masters were by far the better team in the opening half, and Hendon were grateful to keeper Yaacov Goldin for going in at half-time level as he pulled off a couple of great saves - the best when he tipped a fierce long-range shot onto the crossbar.
The Hustlers improved after the break, and a wonderful slide rule through ball by Joni Kleiman sent Alex Elf clear, and he rounded the keeper and slotted home to give Hendon the lead.
The Masters continued to press and were rewarded with an equaliser through Cutler midway through the half.
Both teams had chances to win the game, but the match finished level, and having agreed to go straight to penalties at the beginning of the game the drama unfolded.
Both teams missed one of their five spot-kicks, and in sudden death, Hendon had four chances to win the tie, but missed on each occasion. With the crowds gathering as the drama increased, the penalties went into a second round of takers as both sides ran out of players. Finally, Goldin made his third spot-kick save of the game, and Gab Saul made up for missing first time around to send Hendon into the next round.
Hendon boss Adam Glekin told JC Sport: "All credit to the Masters - they gave us a really tough game. The first half was very poor on our part, but we improved after the break. We were still a long way short of our best and were slightly fortunate to go through.
"Yak had a great game and we're thankful for his heroics during the game and the shoot-out. I lost count at about 9-9, it almost became comical the number of times we blew chances to win it. It keeps the feel good factor going, although we'll need to play a lot better next week back in the league."
Masters manager Dan Collins told JC Sport: "It was a good match - we had at least 10 chances in the first half, but failed to convert one. 0-0 at half time and second half Hendon improved. They are nice young side and will do well in their division. Good luck to them in the next round and for the rest if the season."
Masters squad: Martin Leslie, Richard Sacks, Jon Yantin, Nigel Goldthorpe, Gavin Sherman, Jeremy King, Adam Gishen, James Temple, Andy Bloom, Jon Summerfield, Mark Cutler, Tony Plaskow, Gary Cohen, Nick Collins, Paulie Gelertner, Virgil Levy, Jon Isaacs, Serge Cowan
