Rafi Kay was Leeds Maccabi’s match-winner as they secured the first part of a possible quadruple with a hard-fought win over South Manchester in the final of the Shonn Trophy.
April 30, 2019 11:11
FAYE & HENRY SHONN TROPHY FINAL
LEEDS MACCABI 3 SOUTH MANCHESTER SPORTS CLUB 2nd 0
The MJSL leaders were forced on to the back foot during the opening stages of the final at Prestwich Heyes FC, with South strikers Ben Gould and Josh Gordon causing problems for the Leeds defence., with goalkeeper Reece Levy forced into making an important save.
But having weathered the storm, Leeds forged ahead midway through the half when striker Kay left fly from 25 yards – his shot deceived the South keeper and arrowed into the net.
Kay doubled his and Leeds’ tally 10 minutes later with a powerful low shot giving Leeds a 2-0 advantage at half-time.
South rallied in the second half but they were unable to get behind a resolute Leeds defence. Injuries to James Berwin (hamstring) and Alex Elf (groin) forced Leeds boss Ian Selwyn to shuffle his pack, but they adapted well to allow Kay to seal the match with his third, following good work from James Landes, with the ball crossing the line with the aid of a hefty deflection.
Leeds manager Ian Selwyn said: “South deserve credit putting us under pressure and going until the end but on balance on play the best team won.”
Attention now turns to next weekend, when Leeds take on Reich in the final of the Harold Feldman Cup at the same venue in Prestwich, as they look to win their second piece of silverware of the season.
Selwyn said: “It looks like both Alex and James are struggling for Sunday, while we will have two others missing through work commitments.
“Reich will give us different problems and different challenges. They are a very good side who have beaten us recently but we have a strong 16-man squad and will give it a good go.”
Leeds also have two league games remaining and one more win will be enough to clinch the title. They then play South Manchester 2nd in the final of the Tony Cohen Cup on May 19.
Representatives from the MJSL’s management committee made several individual presentations after the Shonny final. The winners were as follows:
Ken Glancy Trophy for Referee of the Year: Behnam Sarani
Ronnie Rose Trophy for Committee Member of the Year: Andrew Hatton
MJSL Sportsmanship Trophy: Maccabi Manchester Yellow