Jordan Sapler refused to get carried away after defending champions Hendon United moved three points clear at the top of the MGBSFL Premier following a hard-fought 2-0 win over arch rivals Oakwood.
October 15, 2018 15:55
MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
HENDON UNITED SPORTS 2 OAKWOOD A 0
There was little to separate the rivals during a tight first half, with both set of defences producing rock solid performances and and sloppy attacking play resulted in the half finishing goalless.
Hendon boss Jordan Sapler's half-time teamtalk focussed on his players "improving our play in the final third". His words of wisdom paid dividends minutes later when they won a corner at the start of the second half. Chaim Korman drilled the ball in and it was only partially cleared to Kay on the edge of the box who drilled a low hard shot into the far corner.
Not long after that Hendon went forward again, the ball again wasn’t cleared and livewire Korman stole in before he was clipped by an Oakwood defender, with referee Andy Myerson pointing to the spot. Up stepped Avi Korman who made no mistake, sending the keeper the wrong way as he planted his shot into the corner of the net.
Hendon won the all-important midfield exchanges, going toe to toe with an Oakwood team who had denied them the double last season after beating them in an epic cup final that went to penalties.
Hendon appeared to be buoyed on by those memories, with Rocky Spitzer trying his luck with a sensational 35-yard strike - his delicious strike dipped venomously before striking the bar and leaving the goal shaking.
Oakwood could find no way through a resilient Hendon defence, with defenders Ari Nevies, Avi Korman and, along with midfielders Ari Last and Spitzer receiving special praise for their manager.
A jubilant Sapler told JC Sport: “I asked the boys to step up today and to a man, every single one of them did. The boys are rightfully delighted with their performance, on to next week."
Oakwood joint-manager Dan Kristall believes the scoreline didn't give a fair reflection on the game. "It was a very disappointing result after dominating the first half," he told JC Sport. "I read one match report that said the first half was even. I strongly disagree and felt we were first to the ball, won most our battles with the only thing missing being our cutting edge.
"Goals change games and we conceded a poor one from a corner, five minutes into the second half. From then on, our reaction wasn't good enough although the conditions were always going to make it difficult to battle back in."
But Kristall insists Hendon's win will only motivate his team to kick on over the coming weeks. "It's a marathon and not a sprint," he said. "We play Hendon two more times in the league. Everyone is beating everyone, we have three separate cup competitions so lots to pay for although Dave Cohen and I do expect us to perform better than we did in the final half an hour."