Norstar London Raiders A took another big step towards their first ever Premier Division title success with victory over defending champions Faithfold. Meanwhile, Shirley Park and Hendon C progressed on penalties in the Peter Morrison Trophy, while AC Mill Hill caused the shock of the round at LML Blue. Danny Caro reflects on all the action on Matchday 14 of the season.
MATCHDAY 14 HEADLINES
SFACC - Apoel overpower Hendon A
PMT - Shirley make HMH pay the penalty
Prem Div – Deadly Dinkin sinks champions
Div 1 – Reiss gives Harmen the rocket
Div 2 – Redbridge B return to winning ways
Div 3 – NLR C back on track
JC HAT-TRICK HEROES
PMT - Richard Salmon 4 (FC Team A), Daniel Garfinkle, Avi Markiewicz (both Hendon B)
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
MATCH PHOTOS - AC WHETSTONE vs OAKWOOD A
MATCH PHOTOS - FAITHFOLD C vs FC TEAM A
MATCH PHOTOS - SOUTHGATE HARMEN vs BRADY MACCABI B
MATCH PHOTOS - NL RAIDERS B vs WOODFORD WANDERERS
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
FC Team A or Camden Park vs AC Mill Hill
Los Blancos vs Norstar London Raiders A
Oakwood A vs Faithfold A
LM Lions Blue or Woodford Wanderers vs Chigwell Athletic or Hendon Utd SC A
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
JC TEAM OF THE WEEK
GK - Yaacov Goldin (Hendon C)
DEFENDERS - Ben Grabiner (AC Mill Hill), Philippe Auret (AC Whetstone), Jake Yudelowitz (NLR C), David Rhodes (NLR A)
MIDFIELDERS - Jason Shoffman, James Levy (both AC Mill Hill), David Newman (Brady B)
STRIKERS - Richard Salmon (FC Team A), Reiss Mogilner (Brady B), Richie Caplin (Redbridge A)
MANAGER - Joe Levy (AC Mill Hill)
Email nominations to dcaro@thejc.com
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
JC GOAL OF THE WEEK
Stephen Black (L'Equipe) - scored an absolute pearler - skinning two players before unleashing a rocket into the top corner from outside the box
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
JC SAVE OF THE WEEK
Grant Waissel (NLR C) - 1-0 up and slightly under the cosh, Grant pulled off a great save to keep the Oranges ahead, making himself big and not shying away from the onrushing attacker. Not the worldie one-handed flick onto the post, but a hugely important moment in the game
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
JC QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Ric Blank (Oakwood A) - "Though we won, today was all about Whetstone. They gave us an almighty fright and as a team of young players (under 16s) should be proud of how they performed"
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
YOUR WEEKEND REVIEW STARTS HERE:
SUNDAY FA CHALLENGE CUP LAST 16
APOEL 4 HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB A 1
Hendon bowed out of the SFACC at the last 16 stage after going down 4-1 against cup holders Apoel.
Rafi Kon grabbed a consolation for a Hendon team missing Ari Last, Alex Rosenthal, Avi Korman and Yoav Kestenbaum - which manager David Garbacz describes as "a major factor".
Garbacz told JC Sport: "We came away frustrated, knowing that on another day we might well have got something out of this game."
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
DEADLY DINKIN SINKS CHAMPIONSa
FAITHFOLD A 0 NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A 1
A strike from David Dinkin sent Raiders nine points clear as they overcame defending champions Faithfold at the Hive.
Victory saw NLR make it eight wins from 11 games and maintain their unbeaten record this season, while it spelt a fourth league defeat for Faithfold.
NLR manager Phil Peters told JC Sport: "Faithfold are a top side with some real quality ball players and this was a massive and important scalp for us."
Faithfold boss Zuriel Solomon told JC Sport: "We just can't seem to get any luck. We started slowly and conceded a soft goal. We were camped in their half for the second 45, but just couldnt get the goals. It's not in our hands now, but we will keep going."
DC Prediction: Faithfold 1 Raiders 1
--------------------------------
--------------------------------
DIVISION ONE
DREAM DEBUT FOR NEWMAN
SOUTHGATE HARMEN 0 BRADY MACCABI B 3
New signing Dave Newman made a dream goal-scoring debut as Brady B earned a crucial three points at promotion rivals Harmen.
There was also a double from Reiss Mogiler as Brady registered their sixth league win to rejoin Woodford at the summit.
Brady boss Josh Dagul told JC Sport: This was a big chance for us to stake our claim for promotion and the boys didn't let me down, our second half performance was excellent and in the 15 minute spell, where we scored the three goals, Harmen were chasing shadows."
DC Prediction: Harmen 2 Brady 2
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
DIVISION TWO
HAREL HOLDS BLIZZARD UP
BLIZZARD STORM 2 FAITHFOLD B 2
A last-minute free-kick from Leor Harel earned Faithfold B a point at Blizzard.
Ash Ilsen scored the goal of the game - finding the top corner from 25 yards.
Blizzard's goals came through Michael Woolfe and Stuart muller.
Faithfold assistant-manager Dan Yoss told JC Sport: "I was impressed with Blizzard Storm, who after a slow start dominated, until about 70 minutes, where we finished strong."
Blizzard boss Simon Linden told JC Sport: "We was 2-1 up at the break, should have taken control and finished the game off 2nd half. Great free kick for them on the 90th minute and full credit to Faithfold who have improved a lot."
DC Prediction: Blizzard 2 Faithfold 1
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
REDBRIDGE CLOSE IN ON TOP SPOT
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B 4 LONDON HAROLDEANS 2
Redbridge moved to within two points of top spot with a 4-2 victory over London Haroldeans.
Adam Bernstein, David Castle, Scott Oldstein and an own goal earned RJC their seventh league win of the season.
Bobby Abrams bagged a brace for Haroldeans.
RJC boss Jon Jacobs told JC Sport: "It was a deserved three points against a very committed Haroldeans who never gave up."
Haroldeans boss Jonathan Abrams told JC Sport: "Redbridge's young legs were too much for us in the end - a good game and, I suppose, a fair result."
DC Prediction: RJC 5 Haroldeans 1
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
DIVISION THREE
NLR BACK ON TRACK
NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS C 3 CATFORD & BROMLEY MACCABI 0
NLR C returned to winning ways as they condemned leaders Catford to only their second league defeat of the season with a handsome 3-0 victory.
Goals from Oli Nathan, Will Ufland and Jamie Weinrich clinched the points for NLR.
Cats captain Adam Luria told JC Sport: "3-0 was more than a little harsh and not at all reflective of how tight this game was, but we'll put it behind us an get back on track next week."
DC Prediction: Raiders 1 Catford 2
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
JEWDINESE FLYING HIGH
JEWDINESE 4 BOCA JEWNIORS 3
Jewdinese finished the weekend top of Division Three after winning a seven-goal thriller against Boca.
Adam Kay (2) and top-scorer Dovi Fehler registered for Boca.
DC Prediction: Jewdinese 3 Boca 2
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
KINGS BACK ON SONG
LOUGHTON ORIENT 1 KING CROWN 2
King Crown ended Loughton's good run with a hard fought 2-1 win in Walthamstow, thanks to strikes from josh Lester and player-manager Jacob Kadoch.
Jaimie Sinclair had levelled for Loughton.
Kadoch told JC Sport: "I'm very proud of the boys who have been unlucky in recent weeks, so now we're back on track with a great performance."
Loughton boss Dan Curtis told JC Sport: "We are disappointed with how things went today. We weren't at our best, but we still had enough chances to come out of this with at least a draw, so to lose is a blow.
DC Prediction: Loughton 3 King Crown 1
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
PETER MORRISON TROPHY ROUND ONE
HUSTLERS WIN PENALTY MARATHON
MASTERS 1 HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB C 1 (Hendon won on penalties)
Hendon finally progressed into the second round of the Peter Morrison Trophy after an epic penalty shoot-out.- and the MGBSFL Division Three outfit won a marathon on the 27th spot-kick.
Both teams missed one of their five spot-kicks, and in sudden death. Yaacov 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 said: "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."
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."
DC Prediction: Masters 2 Hendon C 3
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
SHIRLEY MAKE HMH PAY THE PENALTY
SHIRLEY PARK 3 HMH 3 (Shirley won on 5-4 penalties)
Shirley Park were given an almighty scare by the youngsters of HMH before coming through on penalties.
Adam Klein put Shirley ahead with a stunning 25-yard free-kick into the top corner. HMH, who play playing in the top division of the Watford Friendly League Under 18 Division, levelled but Jamie Kent restored Shirley's lead and the goals continued with Shirley leading 3-2, WITH Kent on target a second time, only for HMH to level again 10 minutes from time.
Adam Ellis, George Goldberg and Rafi Terespolsky registered for HMH.
With no extra-time, the tie went straight to penalties and Klein converted the final spot-kick to send Shirley through.
HMH boss Avi Goldberg told JC Sport: "The average age gap may have been over 10 years, but HMH came very close to causing a major cup upset. Playing on the new Powerleague Finchley 5g astro, we came from behind three times and may well have won the match in normal time were it not for the post and the fine performance of the Shirley park goalkeeper."
DC Prediction: Shirley 4 HMH 1
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
THREE CHEERS FOR WOODFORD
NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS B 0 WOODFORD WANDERERS 3
Woodford eased into the next round of the cup with a comfortable win in an early kick-off against Division Two leaders NLR B at Rowley Lane.
Mitch Hahn opened the scoring, with Harrison Midda maintaining his excellent run of form with another double.
It was another solid and disciplined performance by Woodford, with manager Tony Charles told JC Sport: "I was very disappointed this morning - I was told that Norstar were a good team! Midda contributing two goals, despite only playing for for a few minutes as we exploited the flawed 'roll-on/roll-off rule'."
NLR boss Jonathan Adelman told JC Sport: "We suffered a double blow pre-match with both Ben Sheldon and Nicky Woolf failing late fitness tests and missing out alongside Simon Buchler, Gilad Kestenbaum, Jez Elster and Adam Posner. Despite missing so many regulars and the inevitable lack of cutting edge, I was pleased with some of our football, although ultimately we were undone by gifting Woodford goals at crucial times in the game."
DC Prediction: NLR 2 Woodford 3
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
MAGICAL MILL HILL MARCH ON
LONDON MACCABI LIONS BLUE 1 AC MILL HILL 2
AC Mill Hill caused one of the shocks of the round, with man-of-the-match Ben Grabiner and top-scorer Ben Zloof steering them past Premier Division Lions Blue at Rowley Lane.
After much deliberation with Lions as to whether the game would go ahead, Mill Hill ended up delighted that it did.
Grabiner leapt like a salmon to power in a header from a James Levy corner in the first half. Some sloppy defending let Lions back in before half time, but the visitors went in level - but confident if they kept playing the ball around like they had been, they would grab the win.
Mill Hill's persistence paid off in the end when Zloof raced through to seal one of the most memorable wins in AC Mill Hill's history.
Jubilant manager Joe Levy told JC Sport: "We are delighted to have claimed a Premiership scalp and eagerly anticipate the draw for the next round."
DC Prediction: LML 2 Mill Hill 0
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
LML LIMP THROUGH
L’EQUIPE 2 LONDON MACCABI LIONS WHITE 2 (LML won on 3-2 penalties)
Premier Division strugglers LML White avoided embarrassment by the skin of their teeth as they edged past third division L'Equipe on penalties.
A 'worldie' from L'Equipe's Steven Black, who scored twice, helped take the game the distance.
LML's scorers were James Gershfield and an extra-time strike from Joel Lassman.
Proud L'Equipe joint-manager Dan Cordell, who filled in in goal and pulled off two penalty saves, told JC Sport: "Josh [Lewis] and I are so proud of the boys - we felt that there could be a real upset on our hands and it was certainly a battle of David and Goliath.
"It was clear to see that lions just have an immense amount of strength in depth considering they turned up mob handed with a squad of 20 people. Our 11 were just brilliant and they dug in for the full 120 minutes.
"There's not much to say apart from all players 1 to 11 should be incredibly proud of themselves and I can't single out anyone in particular.
"Penalty practice going forward, but if we play like this every week going forward then we will walk our league. Good luck to Lions and the project they are building for the rest of the season."
LML assistant-manager Johnathan Meltzer told JC Sport: "We showed some good character to come from beind to go on and finally win a game. We tried to play some football on a difficult pitch and it was a lesson to our young squad that we need to keep grinding teams down."
DC Prediction: L’Equipe 1 Lions 4
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
TEAM HIT HIGH FIVES
FAITHFOLD C 0 FC TEAM A 5
As predicted, Premier Division class told as FC Team A ran out 5-0 winners against third division Faithfold C at Chase Lodge.
A fab four-goal salvo from top-scorer RICHARD SALMON plus one from Jon Breger completed the rout.
FC Team boss Mitch Young told JC Sport: "We were very comfortable throughout and at times played some very nice football. It was nice to be on the ball for nearly 90 minutes and work on our attacking side of our game. I was happy with the performance and look forward to the next round. Credit to Faithfold who battled well."
DC Prediction: Faithfold 0 Team 5
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
FOUR-MIDABLE REDBRIDGE MARCH ON
BRADY MACCABI A 2 REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 4
Two more goals from the prolific Adam Stolerman eased Redbridge into the second round as they beat Premier Division rivals Brady for the second time this season.
Further strikes from Sam McCarthy and Richie Caplin sealed the victory to boost RJC's treble aspirations in a game they finished with 10 men after Danny Hakimi was sent off.
Mike Kenley registered for Brady.
RJC boss Sam Rosenthal told JC Sport: "I'm oOverjoyed to twice come back from behind. I was livid we weren't three or four up by half-time, but delighted to be in the hat for the next round. Dannys sending off the only blemish on a decent away win."
Brady boss Joel Nathan told JC Sport: "We're disappointed to lose as we were pegged back twice by dubious penalties when in control, but we just didn’t have enough in the tank at the end. The guys know we had chances to bury the game in the second half, but credit to Redbridge as they held out and capitalised on this."
DC Prediction: Brady 1 RJC 2
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
OAKS LATE SHOW BREAKS WHETSTONE HEARTS
AC WHETSTONE 2 OAKWOOD A 4
In-form Oakwood A of the Premier Division were given a scare by third division AC Whetstone, but three goals in the last 35 minutes sent them through.
A double from Sam Jacobson and one apiece from Anthony Kintish and Josh Rose did the business.
Dan Cohen and the evergreen Laurence Swerner registered for Whetstone.
Oaks joint-manager Ric Blank told JC Sport: "We've learnt a valuable lesson and I promise you a very different oakwood next week at Brady."
ACW joint-manager Clive Nathan told JC Sport: "Although we lost, I was incredibly proud of all our boys. We were down to bare bones today and I feared a mauling by a Premier League team in good form. In fact we were 2-1 ahead with 35 minutes to play and everyone who played gave everything."
DC Prediction: Whetstone 0 Oakwood 6
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
HORNETS FINISH IN SEVENTH HEAVEN
BRIXTON OLD BOYS 3 HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB B 7
Hendon B came away from a hotly-contested all-Division One encounter victorious in a game Brixton finished with 10 men.
Man-of-the-match DANIEL GARFINKLE and AVI MARKIEWICZ led the way with trebles, with the evergree Gav Noe completing the scoring.
Hendon boss Aryeh Golding told JC Sport: "It was a really excellent performance and result like this has been coming for some time. Another top performance from Chaim Gothold in centre mid, who has been getting fitter with each week!"
Alon Hershkorn was among the scorers for Brixton.
DC Prediction: Brixton 3 Hendon 2
-------------------------------
-------------------------------
MATCH OFF
PMT - Oakwood B vs Chigwell Athletic - Oakwood forfeited as they were unable to raise a team
North West Neasden vs FC Team C
Div 2 - FC Team B vs Athletic Bilbaum