Charlie Kasler was the hat-trick hero as the Lions moved into the fourth round of the Jewish FA Cup at the expense of Blizzard Storm.
February 11, 2016 11:41PETER MORRISON TROPHY ROUND THREE
BLIZZARD STORM 0 MACCABI LONDON LIONS A 4
Charlie Kasler was the hat-trick hero as the Lions moved into the fourth round of the Jewish FA Cup at the expense of Blizzard Storm.
Fielding several members of their Herts Senior County League team, the Lions got off to a dream start at Rowley Lane - catching Blizzard cold as KASLER tried his luck straight from the kick-off - his shot flew from the halfway line over Robbie Krupski into the net.
Blizzard worked hard, hassled and harried the Lions for the next 45 minutes. A number of the Lions players continuously lost possession and kept giving the opposition a reason to believe.
Lions' 16-year-old goalkeeper James Harpin was in excellent form throughout and his handling and kicking was superb.
The half-time team talk in the Lions dressing room was "colourful to say the least and it was made clear that things were not acceptable," according to boss Andy Landesberg.
The Lions duly delivered in the second half with a goal for skipper JOSH KENNET making it 2-0.
More and more chances were created and KASLER claimed his second goal with a 20-yard drive into the bottom left-hand corner.
KASLER completed his treble with 10 minutes remaining with a great take on the chest, allowing the ball to drop and half volley into the net from the edge of box.
The 4-0 scoreline was ultimately comfortable for the Lions, but Landesberg said that "credit must go to Blizzard Storm as they never gave up throughout and they made the night a difficult one for Lions".
Reflecting on the tie, Landesberg told JC Sport: "Whilst the result indicates a comfortable win, this wasn't a classic performance by the boys.
"Some great goals were scored and we saw some good performances from James Harpin and Jake Hyman.
"I was happy to be in the hat for the next round. Job done."
Despite seeing his team get off to the worst possible start, Blizzard boss Simon Linden expressed pride at the final whistle.
Linden told JC Sport: "I'm proud of my team who gave everything against a very strong Lions side.
"For 60 minutes we remained in the cup tie - we held our own and with the score at just 1-0 we certainly had a chance.
"In the end the experience and fitness Lions have showed and once they scored the second they finished the job.
"The fact that Lions scored straight from kick-off didn't help but what a great response from my boys, it didn't faze them and we had a good go at it."
BLIZZARD: Robbie Krupski, Dovi Vogel, Adam Levene, Adam Speck, Aron Lustig, Bradley Cohen, Sean Ladier, Andrei Grayson, Dean Shaw, Jonty Aremband, Avi Markowitz. Subs: Josh Bharier, Josh Marlow, Rob Caplin, Zalmi Cohen
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