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YOUR WEEKEND PREVIEW STARTS HERE:
MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
FAITHFOLD DOC MM A vs OAKWOOD A
Oakwood will be looking to finish the weekend level on points with Faithfold, as they look to return to winning ways following their 2-0 defeat at defending champions Hendon United.
Currently lying fifth in the seven-team division, Oakwood lacked a cutting edge and failed to ask too many questions of the Hendon defence, with Josh Cuby, Sam Cantor, Kyle Bentwood and Leor Sidle well marshalled.
However, managers Dave Cohen and Dan Kristall will have noted that second-placed Faithfold have conceded a staggering 19 goals in five games, so the chances are they will have more than enough opportunities to win the game.
Faithfold have made a decent start, registering three wins out of five. Avi Markiewicz’s men guarantee five-star entertainment, but there are times they are too open – something a team of the calibre of Oakwood are likely to punish.
But as we have seen, Faithfold have beaten HMH, who in turn defeated Hendon, so anything is possible here.
Venue – Capital City, Ref – Luke Steele, KO – 10am
JC star man: Josh Bharier (Oakwood)
DC Prediction: Faithfold 2 Oakwood 3
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HMH vs HENDON UNITED SPORTS
Revenge will be the name of the game for table-toppers Hendon United, who were given a football master-class by HMH on the opening weekend of the season.
Adam Abadi gave Hendon the run-around that day, firing a hat-trick in a memorable 5-1 win. But HMH haven’t had things all their own way since, with defeats against Faithfold and Los Camden seeing them slip down to fourth.
The games are coming thick and fast for HMH but manager Avi Goldberg wouldn't have it any other way. He told JC Sport: "It's an interesting moment to play Hendon again. Jordan clearly has his team firing on all cylinders since we last met, whilst we have stuttered with poor performances not helped by injuries, suspensions and people going to the wrong venues!
"This week we are back at home for the first time since we defeated Brady in front of the JC cameras and we will be looking to deliver a similar scintillating performance. Memories of that stunning open day performance against Hendon still linger but we will hav eto reproduce that form to deliver a similar result on Sunday.
"We are still missing a number of players through injury but I trust those that are available and their belief in the way we play to give Hendon a good run for their money. In fact when we play our game we will give any team a run for their money. Being firm underdogs this time may do us no harm."
Hendon oozed class against Oakwood last week. Jonny Kay and Avi Korman steered them to victory, while Ari Nevies, Rocky Spitzer, Ari Last and Korman produced eye-catching displays.
Top-scorer Zac Lewis showed us another side to his name. He gave the Oakwood defence a torrid morning with his movement and delivery, showing us why he is one of the top players in the league.
With boss Jordan Sapler away on a scouting mission to Tel Aviv this week, Greg Corin will take charge for the game. But before boarding his flight, Sapler told JC Sport: "We're looking to repeat last week's performance against HMH. It will be an incredibly tough game but we’re hoping to put things right from the first game of the season."
But Goldberg has great faith in his youthful band of brothers. They delivered in style against Hendon first time around and he’s confident they can leave the red men doubled up a second time.
JC team news: Sam Monjack, Ben Winters, Julian Meir and Johnny May miss out for HMH.
Hendon are hoping to welcome back Yoav Kestenbaum from injury, Josh Harris is still away. Otherwise they have a full-strength team.
Venue - Hive, Ref – Martin De La Fuente, KO – 10am
JC star man: Mordy Weiler (Hendon)
DC Prediction: HMH 1 Hendon 2
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DIVISION ONE
FAIRLOP FC vs BAYERN MINCHA
Fairlop have answered pretty much every question asked of them this season. They go into their sixth game in a very good place, with James Jaconelli oozing confidence following his classy hat-trick against Raiders last weekend.
Indeed Jaconelli showed great character after a frustrating first half, he remained calm and patient and in the second 45 virtually everything he touched turned to goals.
Behind him, Bradley Porter was described as “a rock” by team-mate Jake Sanders after a sparkling performance in his first start since May.
Porter, Sanders and co face a big test of their title credentials this weekend, when Bayern are the visitors. The east Londoners haven’t conceded at home yet this season, but that proud record will be put to the test by talisman Adam Ellis. But Dias insists his men are ready.
"We're looking forward to Sunday after a fantastic win last time out," he told JC Sport. "We know Bayern well from last year - they are a decent side with a great striker in Ellis. A loyal striker as well, I tried to tempt him away in the summer but he confirmed he wouldn’t be able to hack the demanding Fairlop way of life.
"They are a good side but both they and we know that we have the beating of them every day of the week!"
While Dias is clearly a 'mind games' kind of manager, Daniel Holder is more pragmatic. He believes Fairlop are favourites to win the title, but that won't stop his players giving their all on Sunday. And some might say they owe him and Alon Pinhas.
"Last week against Oakwood was a complete shambles and not reflective of our sides quality," Holder told JC Sport. "We were missing eight first-team players and didn’t really go into the game believing we could win.
"As you could see from the highlights, we conceded from two straightforward corners which simply can’t happen again. Fairlop themselves scored most of their goals against us from set-pieces last season and it is something we are going to take radical steps to improve in the coming weeks.
"This week in Fairlop we are up against an excellent side who are probably slight favourites for the league. They are a team we know very well having played them twice last season. Brad Gayer dictates the tempo in the middle of the park and could probably still manage to switch the play on an ice rink. However, we learned a lot from last season and we are a substantially better side. If we put in the same performance as we did against Redbridge earlier this season, I believe this could be one of the big upsets.
"Despite the players missing, there is enough quality in the squad to get something if we all play to our maximum capabilities."
Fairlop and Bayern enjoyed a couple of almighty battles in Division Two last season but as current form goes, it looks like Aaron Dias’s men will hold all the aces on Sunday.
JC team news: Bayern "still have quite a number of players out," including captain Jake Dayan, Sam Leader, Avi Solomon and Gav Nussbaum, who is out for two months. However, Adam Ellis, Ben Levene, DJ and Zeffer, all of whom were missing last week, return to the squad providing the visitors "with a massive increase in quality. Beezus also plays his first game in goal for us and has a lot of experience as an assured keeper".
Venue – 7 Kings School, Ref – David Lazarus, KO – 10am
JC star man: Daniel Rosen (Fairlop)
DC Prediction: Fairlop 2 Bayern 0
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LOS CAMDEN B vs REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A
Leaders Redbridge will be looking to make it seven games without defeat when they travel to a Los Camden side that has won once in five games.
Sam Rank’s troops were indebted to a wonderful performance in goal by the ever versatile Richie Caplin in the 1-1 draw against Oakwood last Sunday, with centre-half Dan Adelman also earning special praise.
Rank felt his team did enough to take maximum points from the game, but in the end another goal from top-scorer Alex Paraskeva ensured they came away with a share of the spoils.
Looking ahead to the long trip to Borehamwood, Rank told JC Sport: "It's a simple message this week - three points. The boys felt last week's match was akin to a chess game, and we could not find the winning move. This week it’s about performing to their maximum ability and getting the three points to keep RJC A top of the league.
"I'm expecting good contest on a not-so-good pitch, but we should have more enough to get the points, and with Summers back in the mix this should be very much achievable."
Los Camden failed to build on their excellent win over Scrabble as they were defeated 3-0 by Jewdinese. You could sense the disappointment in the voice of Richard Hayim in a game they failed to capitalise on a number of chances.
Hayim told me he believes the “squad is capable of mixing it with the top teams in the division”. Los Camden have another chance to prove that against the unbeaten table-toppers on Sunday.
JC team news: RJC duo Russell Goldstein and Calvin Dickson are away on international duty for England Futsal in Thailand. Rank said: "We wish the boys good luck." They welcome back Matt Kemp, David Green and Steve Summers back to the squad.
Venue – Meadow Park, Ref – Neil Cohen, KO – 10am
JC star man: Jamie Bernstein (RJC)
DC Prediction: Los Camden 0 RJC 2
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OAKWOOD B vs NORTH LONDON RAIDERS
Oakwood showed great character, organisation, resilience and discipline in their performance at Redbridge.
It may not have been one for the purists, but they did a job and stopped the leaders from playing.
I’m predicting a very different type of match against Raiders, and predict Oakwood will make a fast start and try to push L’Orange back from the off.
Louie Libbert has been in razor sharp form for Oakwood in recent weeks. But managers Simon Field and Jason Stein would like to see more players bombing forward as the team needs to be more efficient in front of goal. The addition of Zac Summerfield from Scrabble is a very clever piece of business and I can see him troubling the NLR defence on Sunday.
Raiders are yet to win this season but there were several positives to take from the defeat against high-flying Fairlop last Sunday. Aron Gale had been threatening to score for weeks and the boy finally came good, with two goals in the 5-3 defeat. Raiders led 3-2 but they were left to rue some costly errors.
They showed their strength in depth, with Matt Warner, Gav Fox and Jake Doffman earning favourable reviews.
Ahead of kick-off, a determined sounding Jake Yudelowitz told JC Sport: "I don’t know how we only have one point at this stage. We matched Fairlop last week but not having any subs, while they had three, made it that much harder.
"It’s only a matter of time until we pull off that season-changing result. Aron Gale did well and we hope to see him link-up with Bloom against Oakwood. The result between Oakwood and Redbridge shows Sunday will be another tough game but I’m confident we can cause an upset."
The league table would suggest Raiders start as underdogs on Sunday, but I believe they have a special plan up their sleeve as they have a healthy rivalry with Oakwood. But in the end I can see home advantage holding the key.
JC team news: Max Wegoda and Jake Doffman miss out for Raiders, while Jake Yudelowitz is 50/50 after spending last Sunday in A&E with a gashed eye. Alex Jacobs is also a doubt. Josh Bloom returns.
Venue – Nicholas Breakspear School, Ref – Barry David, KO – 10am
JC star man: Zak Summerfield (Oakwood)
DC Prediction: Oakwood 2 NLR 1
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SCRABBLE FC A vs JEWDINESE
If you thought Jose Mourinho had a tough job, spare a thought for Scrabble boss Ray Abrahams.
The departure of several front-line players, including Zac Summerfield, Josh Pugh and Danny Sherman means they are currently short of the standard required to be competitive in the division, as results will tell you.
They’ve conceded 34 times in five games and scored only twice, so Abrahams has a major job to overhaul the squad that has been well beaten in all their matches thus far.
And I can’t see things getting any easier on Sunday, when Jewdinese are the visitors. Zach Collins led them to a 3-0 win over Los Camden, as they ended a run of three draws with an impressive display.
Indeed ‘Nese’s unbeaten start shows you they mean business. Boss Darren Lawrence told JC Sport: "Spirits in the camp are high after picking up our first win last week and we don’t intend to slow down at all.
"We know Scrabble’s record this season but we will not take preparations lightly. However, we do see it as an opportunity to pick up another three points and build some momentum.
"We are without a few key players this week, so it is a great opportunity for players who have not seen much game time to stake their claim and push for a starting place."
Back-to-back wins would set them up nicely for a tough run of fixtures that sees them take on Bayern and Redbridge over the coming weeks.
JC team news: 'Nese will be missing midfield generals Billy Lee, Sim Cohen and Ben Berrick, whilst Arron Goldberg misses out through suspension and Scott Oldstein faces a late fitness test.
Venue - Hive, Ref – Robert Benardout, KO – 10am
JC star man: James Rose (‘Nese)
DC Prediction: Scrabble 0 ‘Nese 4
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DIVISION TWO
FAITHFOLD DOC MM B vs SCRABBLE FC B
Redbridge did a job on leaders Faithfold last weekend as they went down to their first defeat of the season.
The Superhoops won’t come up against a team of the calibre of Adam Shafron, Raanan Firmin, Adam Hakimi, Danny Hakimi and Steve Summers too often, but player-manager Martin Smulovitch will be concerned by their lack of cutting edge as they failed to score for the first time.
Looking ahead to the game, Smulovitch told JC Sport: "We're hoping it's back to winning ways after disappointment of last weeks result."
On Sunday Faithfold will come up against another experienced outfit in the shape of Scrabble – a team unbeaten in three after a slow start.
Neil Kochane earned Scrabble a point against Faithfold last weekend, but striker Alex Bourne will be haunted by his late miss that would’ve won the game.
I’m predicting a cagey affair between two well-matched teams, one that could finish all square.
Venue – West Hendon, Ref – Phil Peters, KO – 10am
JC star man: Serge Cowan (Scrabble)
DC Prediction: Faithfold 1 Scrabble 1
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FAITHFOLD DOC MM C vs FC TEAM
Mitch Young missed last week’s horror show against Temple Fortune last weekend. FC Team fans turned up in confident mood, with Richard Salmon and Conor Perl in the starting XI, but they were unable to complete a league double over a Fortune side they had crushed 9-1 only a few weeks ago.
As a result, he has described the trip to Tempsford Green as “simply a must-win”.
Faithfold C will take heart from that and their gutsy performance in the 1-1 draw against Scrabble last week. But with their A-team back in action, they won’t have the luxury of Avi Garson lining up in their team.
Garson’s stunning solo goal was worth the admission fee alone, but now it’s time for someone else to step up.
However, I can only see the Superhoops playing second fiddle to an FC Team side that is wounded.
Venue – Tempsford Green, Ref – Paul Dobkin, KO – 10am
JC star man: Eddie Sternberg (FC Team)
DC Prediction: Faithfold 1 Team 3
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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS MASTERS vs HERTSWOOD VALE
Title-chasing Hertswood Vale go in search of their fifth win of the season when they visit Raiders Masters.
Manager Danny Hirschberger and Jacob Emanuel will remind their players of the importance of arriving with good focus and the right attitude, knowing their opponents will be several years their senior.
James Millet will be looking to maintain his excellent goal-scoring start to the season, while the defence will be determined to keep their third clean sheet.
Vale's Jacob Emanuel told JC Sport: "After a week’s break, I’d love to say that we are in a better position in terms of squad availability. Sadly this is not the case. Svi Freedman heads-up a list of approximately 12 players who are either injured or unavailable, leaving our squad pretty thin to the ground. However, the lads are absolutely more than capable, as proven in our last result against Redbridge.
"I believe we face a very difficult game on Sunday. We know of Raiders Masters’ qualities and experience already this season with their results, particularly against the likes of Redbridge so we’ll have to be at our best.
"The key will be to start strong and play to our strengths against an experienced side."
It’s hard to identify many weak links on what is a much-improved Vale team, but that’s something James Cartmell and Jonny Blain must do for Raiders. They’ve lost their last two, but as Redbridge B recently discovered, they will capitalise on any complacency as they have some tidy ball-players in their ranks, led ably by talisman Matty Kleinman.
They also have great strength down the left flank, with Andrew Wolfson and Daniel Hodes, while Nicky Skone and Cartmell provide the drive in midfield.
Ahead of kick-off, NLR joint-player-manager James Cartmell told JC Sport: "We’re looking forward to taking on one the division pace-setters. We’ve got a strong squad, including James Hodari, Tony Plaskow and Wayne Davison who are all returning, and expect it to be a tough game."
Raiders will huff and puff but I can see Vale nicking it late on.
JC team news: Harry Graham returns for Vale this week from university looking to add to his three goals already this season, whilst Adam Zaidman returns in goal following his temporary loan spell to Los Camden B last weekend. Jordan Harris has also made himself available. Zach Mandel, MOTM against Redbridge, and Ben Davis are notable absentees, whilst James Millet faces a very late fitness test.
Venue – Ark Academy, Ref – Stuart Ansher, KO – 10am
JC star man: Josh Gorb (Vale)
DC Prediction: Raiders 1 Vale 2
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SPEC FC vs TEMPLE FORTUNE
Josh Frey and Mark Leader were SPEC FC’s saviours as they earned a hard-fought point against the Dons last weekend.
Frey made a series of top-class saves, while Leader came off the bench to find the net in a 1-1 draw.
Player-manager Ricky Lawrence breathed a giant sigh of relief after a performance which meant it was definitely a point gained.
Ahead of the game, Lawrence told JC Sport: “Temple Fortune seem to be picking up some decent results, so we know we’ll have to improve on our performance from last week if we’re going to get three points on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, Fortune showed great progress with a thrilling 3-2 win over FC Team – a side that beat them 9-1 in September.
Jacob Kalms’s winner resulted in wild scenes of celebration as they put any demons to bed in some style. Josh Lewis and Danny Sherman produced superb performances as Fortune made it two wins from two.
Manager Simon Linden expects “a big test” against SPEC FC and I don’t think he’ll be disappointed. He told JC Sport: "The boys are up for this after a couple of good wins. SPEC have started the season well so we will need to be at our absolute best to get something out of the game.
"It won’t be easy but I have full belief in my team to get something out of the game."
I can see Jeff Gotch being the game’s stand-out performer – a player Fortune would love in their ranks.
JC team news: Zack Neiman returns to the SPEC FC squad but Craig Cohen misses out.
Venue – Queen’s School, Ref – Andy Myerson, KO – 10am
JC star man: Jeff Gotch (SPEC)
DC Prediction: SPEC 2 Fortune 1
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