Forget Black Friday. It's all about Super Sunday here, with arch rivals Hendon United and Oakwood A ready to rumble for the third time this season. Hendon hold the psychological edge, but will it be third time lucky for the League Cup holders?
November 22, 2018 09:13
PETER MORRISON TROPHY ROUND 2 DRAW
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YOUR WEEKEND PREVIEW STARTS HERE:
PETER MORRISON TROPHY ROUND ONE
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B vs MACCABI LONDON LIONS
Competition holders Lions start their defence with what should be a straight-forward win over second division Redbridge B.
The Lions were well beaten by a good pub team in the Herts County Cup last weekend, but managers Sam Marchant and Max Kyte will expect better on Sunday.
Redbridge B are having a decent league campaign. Steve Summers could come back in after being promoted to the A-team for the big Essex derby, while boss Richard Bronzite will give late fitness tests to several key players, currently rated "50/50 with niggles".
Bronzite knows his team are big underdogs for a fixture he described as "our toughest game of the season". He told JC Sport: "We are going to enjoy the test and give it our all. It’s not a priority for us but we won’t be taking it lightly."
Lions worked hard to win the Jewish FA Cup last season. National cup winners is a title that sits comfortable with them and I expect them to progress without too many questions asked.
Ref – David Lazarus, KO – 10am
JC star man: David Dinkin (Lions)
DC Prediction: RJC 1 MLL 4
CLICK TO WATCH REDBRIDGE HIGHLIGHTS
HOW LIONS WON THE MORRISON 2017/18
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MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISON
LEAGUE TABLE - TOP 2
1. Hendon Utd Sports Pl. 7, W. 5, Pts. 16
2. Faithfold Doc MM A Pl. 8, W. 3, Pts. 10
TOP-SCORERS 8 - Reiss Mogilner (ML Lions), 7 - Rocky Spitzer (Hendon Utd)
HENDON UNITED SPORTS vs OAKWOOD A
Hendon start the latest clash of the titans seven points ahead of an Oakwood team they have already beaten twice this season.
Jordan Sapler’s troops had the measure of the League Cup winners in the Charity Shield and also in last month in the league, which they won 2-0.
Hendon go into the latest encounter on the back of another comfortable 90 minutes against Faithfold, with Chaim Korman added another strike to his tally, along with Jonty Aremband and Rocky Spitzer – who is firmly in the mix for Player of the Season.
The Reds know what to expect against their arch rivals, and Sapler told JC Sport they are ready. “Another week, another big game … we’re really looking forward to the challenge that Oakwood will provide.
“We were superb against them last time so will look to repeat that performance.
“We know that a win would move us nine points clear, but also know that we face Oakwood again in three weeks.
“We’re ready and up for the physical battle come Sunday.”
Oakwood have two games in hand on the defending champions but they have already lost two games this season and know they must get something from this match.
Ahead of kick-off, Oaks joint-manager Dan Kristall told JC Sport: “It’s a big game and we know that to stay in touch, we certainly need to avoid defeat on Sunday.
“Hendon start as massive favourites. Other than their early blip, they have been very consistent putting away most opposition in their way. I know that on our day, we are the best side in Jewish football but it will take our very best performance and it also takes availability to be at its best.
“We dominated the first half in our meeting a couple of months ago but didn't create anything. They caught us out with a sloppy goal from a corner and in poor conditions we couldn't recover.
“We’re looking forward to Sunday. These games are what the league is all about. We have had some great battles with Hendon over the years, the most recent being the cup final in April. Bring it on!”
I'm expecting a five-star match, with Ari Last bossing the middle of the park to earn Hendon a battling victory.
JC team news: Jonny Kay is unavailable of Hendon. Yoav Kestenbaum and Yehuda Korman remain on the treatment table.
Leor Sidle is suspended for Oakwood, while Sam Cantor is away. There are one or two doubts but Simon Davies, Dave Woolman and Harvey Kaye are all pushing for first team returns.
Venue – Hadley FC, Ref – Richard Jaye, KO – 10am
JC star man: Ari Last (Hendon)
DC Prediction: Hendon 2 Oakwood 1
CLICK TO WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF OAKWOOD
HIGHLIGHTS: HENDON 2 OAKWOOD 0 - MGBSFL
HIGHLIGHTS: HENDON vs OAKWOOD - CHARITY SHIELD
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BRADY MACCABI vs LOS CAMDEN A
There was relief all round after Brady Maccabi got the monkey off their back last weekend and finally won for the first time this season.
Ricky Rinder’s penalty sent them into the third round of the London FA Sunday Challenge Cup, but their attention now turns back to the league, with a tough looking match against in-form Los Camden.
Sam Lipton scored at both ends in an action-packed encounter, while Scott Gordon was the game’s other outstanding performer.
Looking ahead to the Rowley Lane fixture, Brady boss Joel Nathan told JC Sport: “Sunday will be our first league game in six weeks, so we know we have to start putting points on the board.
“We played Los Camden two weeks ago and although I wasn’t there, I understand we were very unlucky to lose in the last few minutes. However, we put in a much better performance and that carried on to last Sunday with our victory in the London Challenge cup and we will look to build on that this coming Sunday against a strong team, who have surprised many this season already but hopefully this time it will be us surprising them!
Los Camden will be looking to hand Brady a fifth consecutive league defeat. They gave as good as they got in a hard-fought goalless draw against HMH, proving just how far they have come in a short of time.
Stirling Kay was delighted with the level and focus his team played at last week, with the only disappointment the lack of “another late winner”.
It was a game in which Los Camden dug deep, overcoming adversity of injuries to key personnel, and was a game in which Matt Perlman produced his best performance in a Los Camden jersey.
Los Camden’s Gav Krieger told JC Sport: “We know Brady well from our game against them two weeks ago in the cup. We know they are a strong organised team that pose multiple threats.
“They come into this game in fine form having won last week in the prestigious Sunday League FA Cup and recently beating Hertswood Vale in the cup.
“We know that we will need to be at our best to beat them, and we hope we can rely on our squads depth due to injuries to get a positive result and continue our positive momentum this season.
I have no doubt this will be a highly-charged affair and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if one goal settled it.
JC team news: Brady only have the two long-term injuries missing in Stanley Offord and Jordan Nathan, so Nathan has a big squad to choose from, but he “likes to have those sort of headaches!”
A few new faces have really invigorated training sessions for Los Camden, whilst Max Saunders, fresh from his twitter heroics - posting some very positive videos of his progress on social media - is in the latter stage of his rehabilitation process. David Khalastchi has returned into the Los Camden fold and has resumed light training. Dean Rosenthal and Daniel Orgel remained sidelined, Oli Sade is expected to go through a last-minute fitness test after picking up a light knock against HMH.
Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – Martin De La Fuente, KO – 10am
JC star man: Elliot Moslawy (LC)
DC Prediction: Brady 0 LC 1
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HMH vs FAITHFOLD DOC MM A
Sunday is the battle of the Avi’s – Goldberg vs Markiewicz. The latter hopes to welcome back a whole host of players who missed the 3-0 defeat against table-toppers Hendon United last weekend. They certainly won’t be able to carry any passengers against a talented HMH side.
HMH drew a rare blank against Los Camden last weekend. Their second league clean sheet please gaffer Goldberg, who felt the luck went against his team on the day, with Ethan Krell having two goals disallowed, while the sky blues were also denied by the woodwork.
With matches against Los Camden and Lions to follow for HMH before the winter break, this is a key phase in their season, and it’s important they pick up as many points as possible.
Looking ahead to the game, HMH chief Avi Goldberg told JC Sport: "This is undoubtedly a big game for both teams. We may have been leading 1-0 at the break the last time we met, but Faithfold came out a different team in the second half and were very impressive.
"We are unbeaten at home this season in all competitions and we will be ready for them on Sunday."
Faithfold have already lost four times, so the onus is on them getting something from the game. I'm sure we'll see the return of the real Faithfold on Sunday, but calling a winner is nigh on impossible.
JC team news: George Goldberg, Adam Abadi and Sam Monjack all miss out for HMH, who will give late fitness tests to Oscar Wagner, Ben Winters and waiting to finalise which of the uni contingent will arrive.
Venue - Hive, Ref – Robert Benardout, KO – 10am
JC star man: Josh Goldstein (HMH)
DC Prediction: HMH 3 Faithfold 2
CLICK TO SEE HIGHLIGHTS OF HMH
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DIVISION ONE
LEAGUE TABLE - TOP 2
1. Redbridge JC A Pl. 9, W. 6, Pts. 21
2. Fairlop FC Pl. 8, W. 6, Pts. 17
TOP-SCORERS 15 - Nate Kashket (Redbridge JC A), 8 - Adam Ellis (Bayern Mincha)
BAYERN MINCHA vs NORTH LONDON RAIDERS
Not many people expected to find Bayern and Raiders in the wrong half of the table, ahead of the busy Chanukah period.
Bayern have lost six out of nine and managers Daniel Holder and Alon Pinhas hope their team can produce a gutsy and resilient display following the 3-2 defeat against Los Camden B last weekend.
At 0-3 down, they battled till the end and goals from Jake Dayan and Philipe Auret gave the scoreline a sense of respectability. But no more than that. We must do better, that must be the message ahead of what will only be their second home league game.
Raiders “never got going,” according to joint-manager Jake Yudelowitz in last week’s 2-0 defeat in the North London derby against Galaxy. Indeed the NLR management will be looking for a big reaction as they bid to climb out of the danger zone.
Consistency is key in the league and although they have games in hand on most of their rivals, they must start stringing wins together sooner rather than later.
"It's a big, big game on Sunday," Jake Yudelowitz told JC Sport. "Whilst all eyes are on our following game against Hendon, we cannot play down the importance of this game in terms of our league standing.
"Last week we were poor all over, it can't be worse this week. Mincha are a decent side with some good players, but we know from our meeting against them a while back that we should have taken all three points."
In terms of a prediction, Bayern are long over-due a win, and they have an excellent home record in the league, so it's for this reason and this reason alone I'm backing the Bayern boys.
JC team news: Liron Mannie is still out injured for Raiders, but Ben Rosen and Oli Misner return.
Venue – Capital City, Ref – Barry David, KO – 10am
JC star man: Yoel Deal (Bayern)
DC Prediction: Bayern 2 NLR 1
CLICK TO SEE BAYERN HIGHLIGHTS
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FAIRLOP FC vs OAKWOOD B
Fairlop gave a good account of themselves in the derby last weekend. But the physical and emotional aspect of the match would’ve taken plenty out of them.
Boss Aaron Dias felt they had enough chances to win two matches, but they must treat Oakwood with the same level of respect they afforded Redbridge last weekend.
Striker James Jaconelli was well-marshalled, and it needed a moment of magic from skipper Bradley Gayer to breach RJC’s backline.
Fairlop chief Aaron Dias told JC Sport: “We've already played Oakwood twice this since, so we know what to expect – they are a solid team, but very much beatable.
“Three points will be the bare minimum we need on Sunday. We’re hoping for a better performance and lots of goals.”
Oakwood’s title dream is over for another season, but managers Jason Stein and Simon Field won’t allow their players to go through the motions. Even though Redbridge, Fairlop and North London Galaxy have set the bar high, there’s no reason why they cannot go on a long, unbeaten run.
After the 2-1 home defeat against Jewdinese, Oakwood must treat every game like a cup final, and play as though their lives depend on it.
And you could sense the determination in the voice of joint-manager Simon Field ahead of the game. "We're lLooking to bounce back after last weeks defeat," he told JC Sport.
"Went to Fairlop two weeks ago and got knocked out the cup in extra-time, so looking to put things right this week."
This match pits together the division’s two meanest defences, so don’t expect a goal-fest. It could come down to small details.
JC team news: Fairlop will be missing goalkeeper Jake Sanders, centre-back Max Freedman and they are still missing target man David Farkash, who has been out since the start of the season with a bad case of gout. Jordan Achla Kara, returns between the sticks.
Oakwood are "delighted" to have Max Clynes back from his international break in Dubai.
Venue – 7 Kings, Ref – Andy Myerson, KO – 10am
JC star man: Jordan Kara (Fairlop)
DC Prediction: Fairlop 2 Oakwood 1
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SCRABBLE FC vs REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A
Top against bottom. And I’m not predicting a fairytale Scrabble win. Now that would be the upset of the season.
Redbridge didn’t panic when they fell behind to noisy neighbours Fairlop in a well-attended derby last week. They responded calmly, efficiently and with great maturity, and Dean Ben-Yosef took his opportunity superbly when it came.
Dan Andrews kept things tight at the back in a game where they were punished for a rare piece of sloppy defending. Small margins and all that.
On Sunday I’m predicting Redbridge to dominant possession, and boost their goal difference. They still have some big-hitters out but it’s hard to keep Nate Kashket out of the headlines. He’s enjoyed a brilliant first nine league games, scoring 15 goals, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Wycombe Wanderers send scouts sometime soon in a bid to get him to join his brother, Scott!
Ahead of the trip to north-west London, RJC joint-manager Sam Rank told JC Sport: "After last week's poor-standard derby game, we go to Scrabble.
"Sunday morning is about one thing and one only. Three points. Three points will ensure RJC A are on top at Chauknah, which will be objective no. 1 achieved."
Rank warned his players turning up with the right attitude will be key on Sunday. "We are aware of Scrabble's league position," he said, "but our mentality will not be one of complacency. We will look to go out from minute one and achieve the three points.
"The one additional point I will be looking from is to ensure we are forward-thinking and playing with the correct tempo and style. This will enable our players to play to their potential.
"I'm confident we'll play to our potential and there will only be one winner."
There’s no let-up in Scrabble’s schedule. They have Galaxy, Lions and Oakwood to follow and Ray Abrahams and chairman Jon Yantin are doing their best to adopt a sensible approach.
Abrahams told JC Sport: “Last time out we went toe-to-toe with Faithfold A in the Morrison, and although we lost the game, our performance was probably our best of the season, against the side who were sitting in second place in the Premier Division.
"Redbridge are a quality side with some exceptional players but I will be reminding the lads of the Faithfold game and be telling them to give it a go.
"When you are in our position you just need a lucky break in one of the games to give you a platform to build on."
However, take a deep breath Scrabble fans, as Abrahams added: "Unfortunately our injury situation, which has been a major problem now for the best part of two seasons, is still holding us back.
"Whilst results are what we need at the moment we must keep playing with a smile on our faces and not lose sight of the fact that we are playing the best game in the world and the taking part is paramount not always the result.”
But damage limitation will be their best bet on Sunday, anything else and they will simply get picked apart.
JC team news: David Green suffered a groin strain last week and missus out. RJC welcome new signings David Fialka and Paul Biller into the squad. Anthony Cope also returns from injury. There will be late fitness tests for Scott McKenzie and Dan Adleman. Danny Berg is cup-tied for B team, and will be coming in as well to add his experience. But overall RJC have a big squad to choose from.
Venue – The Hive, Ref – Phil Peters, KO – 10am
JC star man: Carl Dobrin (RJC)
DC Prediction: Scrabble 0 RJC 3
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NORTH LONDON GALAXY P LOS CAMDEN B P
Match postponed - Los Camden unable to field a team
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DIVISION TWO
LEAGUE TABLE - TOP 2
1. Hertswood Vale Pl. 8, W. 7, Pts. 21
2. Faithfold Doc MM B Pl. 9, W. 6, Pts. 19
TOP-SCORERS 13 - James Millet (Hertswood Vale), Zac Neiman (SPEC FC), 12 - Richard Salmon (FC Team), Conor Perl (FC Team)
MILL HILL DONS vs HERTSWOOD VALE
Like most people, I expected Mill Hill Dons to be sitting neck and neck with Hertswood Vale, battling it out for the title. How wrong we all were …
Yes they can still make a statement in the Peter Morrison Trophy and beat some of the teams challenging at the top, but they are well off the pace at the moment.
Dons boss Brandon Hamme gave the following rallying call to his troops. "Our last match was two weeks ago and on that day we beat this Sunday’s opponents Hertswood Vale to progress to the last 16 of the Peter Morrison Trophy," he told JC Sport.
"We were superb that day, we showed our gritty relentless side which had been missing in previous games, whilst we showcased that we are more than capable of grinding out results. Unfortunately Jacob Emmanuel after the game showed a real bitterness about the result. He went out of his way to try unsettle players in my team with his post-match comments, it was a very cheap tactic. He also completely dismissed the way we played by stating that we caused them no real issues, despite us scoring four goals on the day. I also received no handshake from him after the game. Thankfully though his co-manager Danny Hirschberger and the Vale players showed a level of sportsmanship. I know it must have been hard for Jacob to stomach losing their two cup finals against us within the space of a few weeks but sportsmanship and respect is always crucial no matter the result.
"Despite us beating Hertswood twice already this season, we all know this won’t be an easy game. They are top of the league for a reason, they are a decent team and we will have to put in a good performance to get the three points on Sunday.
"We are looking forward to finally returning home to Goffs Academy - we have played there just once this season and that was 10 weeks ago. We want to put on a show for our incredible fans.
"We have shown what we can do on our day, we just need to keep our players fit, be more clinical in front of goal and who knows what run we could go on.
"We know it’s going to require a near perfect run of results to get us back in the mix, but I truly believe that with the incredible squad that I now have at my disposal anything is possible."
Vale, on the other hand, have been the model of consistency. They completed a league double over SPEC FC last weekend, with talismen James Millet and Ben Mandel scoring two apiece – making it 21 goals for the pair this season in just 10 games.
Vale managers Jacob Emanuel and Danny Hirschberger know nothing is won yet, despite their lofty position, and they will continue to take things one game at a time. "Being top of the league is great," Emanuel told JC Sport, "but we’re very much aware that we need to step up our game over the next few weeks to have a chance of staying there ahead of our long Christmas break.
"Over the last few games, we’ve secured some important wins, none more so than last week’s brilliant comeback against SPEC, which showed our squad’s terrific character and quality. Bbut we’ve let ourselves down in many of those games, and have been forced to come back from positions we shouldn’t be finding ourselves in - we’ll really be looking to change that on Sunday.
"We’re under absolutely no illusions about our league position, and we’re very much aware that there is so much of the season still to play.
"I don’t wish to comment on our opposition ahead of the game on Sunday. I expect Brandon will have enough to say about them.
"I'm not too sure about team news at this stage, with a number of players set to make last-minute decisions on their availability for Sunday.
These two teams have had some right royal rumbles over the years, but the fact the Dons have beaten Vale twice this season will give their die-hard fans hope. However, Vale have momentum on their side ... it should be a cracker.
JC team news: Harry Kalms, Josh Moses and Harry Moss all remain out with long-term injuries for the Dons. Jamie Nagioff returns from a hamstring injury after a six-week spell on the sidelines.
Svi Freedman, Andy Gilbert and Ollie Marshall are long-term absentees for Vale, whilst there are transfer talks ongoing with a Premier Division player signing for them. Further updated as and when they happen, and first here, of course!
Venue – Goffs Academy, Ref – Martin Lavender, KO – 10am
JC star man: Adam Zaidman (Vale)
DC Prediction: MHD 2 Vale 3
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SPEC FC vs FAITHFOLD DOC MM B
Promotion-chasing SPEC and Faithfold meet for the first time this season, with an intriguing battle on the cards.
SPEC go into the game on the back of another defeat against leaders Hertswood Vale, and manager Ricky Lawrence hopes his players will deliver a big performance on the big stage when they need it most.
Zack Neiman registered his 15th goal of the season but they fell short in several areas and having lost four times already, some changes look imminent.
Lawrence gave an honest assessment ahead of kick-off, and told JC Sport: “It’s been a difficult few weeks and while we’ve been unlucky in games, we need to start winning some games.
"We’ve got three more league games this year and the target has to be nine points.”
The Motty Korman fan-club was in good voice last weekend, as Faithfold returned to winning ways with a 4-1 win over Raiders Masters. Martin Smulovitch’s men appear to have a favourite run up until the FC Team game and a nine-point haul would keep them bang in the mix.
I'm predicting five-star entertainment in this one, and Faithfold to nick it late on.
Venue – Queens School, Ref – Lee Browne, KO – 10am
JC star man: Jack Josephs (Faithfold)
DC Prediction: SPEC 2 Faithfold 3
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TEMPLE FORTUNE vs SCRABBLE FC B
Simon Linden breathed a big sigh of relief after Temple Fortune secured their third win of the season, at the expense of struggling Faithfold C.
Fortune shared the goals around, with Max Martin and Danny Sherman hitting it off in the final third. But the news that stalwart Lee Fegan is retiring after 11 seasons at the club will affect them on and off the pitch.
Scrabble were well beaten by FC Team last weekend, with Lloyd Becker’s fourth goal of the season little more than consolation.
Boss Jon Yantin will take a “strong squad” to Kingsbury, with Matt Kleinman, Serge Cowan, Andy Miller and Brad Lazarus returning, which “should give us the legs we missed against FC Team last week”.
Yantin told JC Sport: “We’ looking for our first double-victory this season” in what could be a real war of attrition.
The nice thing about this game is that both teams will arrive believing they can come away with a win. In the end it will boil down to which team wants it most.
Venue – Silver Jubilee Park, Ref – Luke Steele, KO – 10am
JC star man: Josh Lewis (Fortune)
DC Prediction: Fortune 3 Scrabble 2
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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS MASTERS P FC TEAM P
Match postponed – Raiders forfeited
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Also see:
REDBRIDGE JC A vs FAIRLOP FC - (VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS) & (PHOTOGALLERY)
DANNY CARO'S MATCHDAY 11 AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Billy Lee (Jewdinese)
MANAGER OF THE WEEK: Darren Lawrence (Jewdinese)
GOAL OF THE WEEK: James Millet (Hertswood Vale)
SAVE OF THE WEEK: Adam Zaidman (Hertswood Vale)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Jacob Emanuel (Hertswood Vale)
REFEREE OF THE WEEK: David Lazarus (Redbridge JC A vs Fairlop FC)