MGBSFL Matchday Thirteen preview

CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP ROUND TWO

OAKWOOD B vs JEWDINESE

Sunday is effectively Oakwood B’s cup final, as they prepare to do battle with first division rivals Jewdinese.

Out of the Morrison and having lost five league matches, promotion now looks too big an ask, with Redbridge, Fairlop North London Galaxy and Sunday’s opponents ‘Nese setting the bar high in terms of consistency.

Last weekend the Oaks allowed a 2-0 lead to slip against Fairlop FC. Dan Ash, Dani Dennison, Harvey Kaye registered for a team punished for a series of defensive errors.

‘Nese responded superbly well to their league defeat against table-toppers Redbridge. Goals from Zac Brin and James Ross secured a 2-1 win over Oakwood, so it would be fair to say the visitors will start with a psychological edge.

Oakwood struggled to cope with Adam Gold’s long-throws in an open game where both sides created a number of chances.

Visiting boss Darren Lawrence expects a tough test on Sunday. He told JC Sport: "Having faced Oakwood just a couple of weeks ago, we know what to expect. For most of the second half they were the dominant team and we did well to hold out.

"After that loss and also their defeat to Fairlop, in which they were in the lead twice, we know they’ll be very determined to get the win and we won’t be taking them lightly.

"However, with a cup run very much in our sights, we won’t be taking this game lightly. We feel that we know what Oakwood are about and where their strengths and weaknesses are and we are confident we have enough in our squad to end their cup run.

"With the small matter of the north London derby at 2:05pm, we are just hoping to finish the game off in 90 minutes!"

‘Nese have made themselves hard to beat this season, but Oakwood are due a lucky break and I can see them edging over the line in a tie that could go the distance.

JC team news: 'Nese's squad will be almost identical to the last game against Oakwood. However, Sam Stern misses out, with Jake Erlich replacing him. 'Nese fans are hoping for similar performances from Billy Lee, Adam Dousie and Zac Brin from last time out.

Venue – Nicholas Breakspear, Ref – Phil Peters, KO – 10am

JC star man: Dean Caplin (Oakwood)

DC Prediction: Oakwood 2 Jewdinese 2 (Oakwood to win on penalties)

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REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A vs FAITHFOLD DOC MM A

Dean Nyman is set to make a welcome return to Maccabi football following a long sabbatical.

He looked sharp in training this week, linking up well with top-scorer Nate Kashket, and he will be pushing for a start, as long as there are no reactions to a tough session.

The qualities of Nyman suit Redbridge perfectly. He is the 20-goal a season most clubs would bend over backwards for, combining clever movement, pace and intelligence with a keen eye for goal.

I believe this is a very clever signing at a key stage of RJC's season. In an in-depth interview with boss Sam Rank, he believes Nyman could be the final piece in the jigsaw. 

"Sunday is about sending a big statement to league," he told JC Sport. "Faithfold have earned the right to be in Premier Division - by winning Division One last season. I do remember last season stepping into managing the RJC B team for one game, and we destroyed champions 5-0 at their home pitch (Avi has probably forgotten about this one!)

"The last season and half have been about restructuring at RJC, and now with right structure in place, and commitment levels very high from both RJC squads, the club is now going in right direction. I am aware Faithfold do have a strong squad, but the areas where they are weak is their defence, and as you can see we are top goalscorers in Jewish football.

"Whether Avi is in goal or okay the pitch will not make a difference. RJC will dictate the play on Sunday, RJC will dictate the tempo, RJC will progress to the quarter-finals of CAC."

By now you probably know, no JC preview would be complete without another dig at RJC's rivals! Rank added: "I am sure Fairlop will come with there scouts again as they don’t have a fixture, and also bring their big notepads as well to take all those notes down."

And Rank confidently predicted: "I am expecting a tight game, but RJC class will be shown and with Dean Nyman back in the team, this will means goals and a RJC victory."

Faithfold’s defence was at sixes and sevens against HMH last weekend. They found themselves 3-0 behind before their opponents were reduced to 10 men, but even then they continued to chase shadows, and conceded another two.

Player-manager Avi Markiewicz, who has found himself in goal on several occasions, knows they can play better and must do better. But a long trip to Essex on a cold, dark Sunday morning is the last thing they need right now.

Availability has been a big issue for the Superhoops this season. Last season, players were falling over themselves to represent the Division One champions, but Markiewicz has found it much tougher to get his best XI out over two consecutive weeks. And their results show it.

Markiewicz knows it will be a big test of Faithfold credentials. He told JC Sport: "We’ve had a really difficult few weeks. We’ve had some poor results and had lots of lads away for varying reasons.

"Going to Essex is never easy, no matter where a team is and this week will be no different, but hopefully we can rally and start to get things back on track."

This game poses much more than a banana skin for Faithfold, and I can see Redbridge springing a surprise.

JC team news: Rank told JC Sport: "As you can see from the Twitter warfare on Wednesday, RJC have signed a footballing legend in Dean Nyman. An multiple winner and an outstanding footballer. I am aware a lot of Fairlop scouts tried to get him over, but there was only one team he was coming back to RJC." In other team news, RJC have Anthony Cope and David Fialka returning from injury and looking forward to getting back on the pitch. Solid centre-back Dan Adleman misses out, as he wants to get in the middle of the Wilder vs Fury fight. We wish him a safe return!

Wing wizard David Leiwy is facing another late fitness test for Faithfold. Ben Shirbini looks like being out for quite a while after Sunday’s game and he will be "a huge loss". Josh Wagner is also out after it was confirmed that he has a broken foot. Johnny Gahan is away. The Superhoops welcome back Yarden Sharifian, Darra Rezagi and Louis Naghten, who have been away, suspended and injured respectively for a good few games. They also have "a very cool trick up our sleeve but nothing is confirmed yet, so Markiewicz will wait until Sunday to reveal!" 

Ref – David Lazarus, KO – 10am

JC star man: Dean Nyman (RJC)

DC Prediction: RJC 2 Faithfold 1

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REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B vs BAYERN MINCHA

Redbridge B gave an excellent account of themselves in the Morrison against holders Maccabi London Lions last weekend.

Goalkeeper Dan Lee produced an inspired performance for which he was unlucky not to win the Golden Gloves award. Adam Hakimi also rolled back the years and reminded his admirers of his qualities – at times he was running around like a teenager again.

That performance will give manager Richard Bronzite the confidence they can upset first division Bayern Mincha.

“It’s another tough game for us this weekend,” Bronzite told JC Sport. “The squad has been hit by injuries, but we will have 14 this week and I expect the boys in to show the same desire and hunger after last week.”

Bayern have found the going tough this season. They started in style, with a 6-0 drubbing of Scrabble, but it’s been downhill from there. But take top-scorer Adam Ellis and goalkeeper Joe Nyman, who missed last week’s defeat against Raiders, out of any team and most sides would struggle.

Ahead of kick-off, joint-manager Daniel Holder told JC Sport: “Things aren’t going well at the minute. We are on a big losing run. However, last week we were 2-1 up at half-time in what was our best half of the season before the second-half capitulation.

“Hopefully, we can put things right this week against Redbridge in the cup. Whilst they are in the division below us, we know they are a very strong team who held out London Lions for 90 minutes last week. 

“We have quite a depleted squad but we should have the quality to come through. I reckon this one could be a tight game.”

Home advantage could be key for RJC, with their fans cheering them all the way into round three.

JC team news: Craig Sandford has been ruled out for several weeks after suffering a fracture in his foot last week.

Ref – Martin Lavender, KO – 10am

JC star man: Danny Hakimi (RJC)

DC Prediction: RJC 3 Bayern 2

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SPEC FC P OAKWOOD A P

Match postponed – SPEC forfeited

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MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION

LEAGUE TABLE - TOP TWO

1. Hendon Utd Pl. 8, W. 5, Pts. 16

2. Oakwood A Utd Pl. 6, W. 4, Pts. 12

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

TOP-SCORERS 

8 - Reiss Mogilner (ML Lions)/Josh Bharier (Oakwood A - includes 2 for B team), 6 - David Leiwy (Faithfold A)/Rocky Spitzer (Hendon Utd)/Zac Lewis (Hendon Utd)

MACCABI LONDON LIONS vs LOS CAMDEN A

Lions and Los Camden shared the points earlier in the season following a six-goal thriller, in which Reiss Mogilner announced his arrival at Lions with a hat-trick.

But Dan Orgel, Kane Gilbery and Dean Rosenthal helped Camden earn a draw – a result from which they have really kicked on.

While Lions were huffing and puffing their way past second division Redbridge B in the Morrison, thanks to extra-time strikes from Michael Kenley and Mogilner, Camden showed their battling qualities as they recovered from a goal down to beat Brady Maccabi, and keep them in title contention.

An excellent team spirit is one of the reasons Stirling Kay’s troops have made themselves hard to beat this season. They never give up and never know when they are beaten.

Since taking charge, Kay has added some vital experience, and helped them set themselves up better. Organisation and team shape are important factors to make them an effective unit.

"We come into this game on the back of great momentum," Camden's Gav Krieger told JC Sport. "We're unbeaten since opening day in the league and cup and have lost the fewest games in the division, but it's come at a cost due to squad injuries.

"Even so, the players have trained extremely hard and with players taking their chance from within the club, a few fresh faces and some returning from injury, we hope to continue our fine run of form.

"We're taking nothing for granted against Lions and we are leaving no stone unturned in preparation. They always put out a strong XI and we look forward to meeting them once again and hope to continue our momentum."

Lions will know what to expect this time, but stopping Los Camden playing to their strengths is easier said than done. Joint-manager Max Kyte told JC Sport: “We’re looking forward to part two of the most exciting match-up of the season so far.

“Both teams are hungry for the win and have lots of goals in them. We will be particularly focused on stopping the firepower and trickery of Joel Barnett, who caused us the most problems last game.”

JC team news: Gav Krieger (shoulder) and Sacha Nussenbaum (foot) have joined Dean Rosenthal (ankle) and Daniel Orgel (hamstring) on the injury table, but are expected back within the fortnight. Kane Gilbrey and Oli Sade face late tests to prove their fitness, whilst Dave Khalatschi and Max Saunders have resumed training and will be integrated back into regular football.

Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – Richard Jaye, KO – 10am

JC star man: Shai Davidi (Camden)

DC Prediction: Lions 2 Camden 2

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DIVISION ONE

LEAGUE TABLE - TOP TWO

1. Redbridge JC A Pl. 9, W. 6, Pts. 21

2. Fairlop FC Pl. 8, W. 6, Pts. 20

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

TOP-SCORERS 15 - Nate Kashket (Redbridge JC A), 8 - Adam Ellis (Bayern Mincha)

NORTH LONDON GALAXY vs SCRABBLE FC A

Galaxy will be eyeing a resounding win when Scrabble visit the Ark.

Luke Lewis’s men go into the game in third place, with five wins from seven matches. And having thumped Scrabble 9-0 in October, they will be looking to boost that goal difference column once more.

They are well-placed to kick on over the second half of the season and, like Scrabble, will be nice and fresh after a two-week break.

“We have a strong squad for Sunday,” gaffer Lewis told JC Sport. “We're looking to do our goal difference some favours on Sunday, hoping to be ruthless in front of goal and take Scrabble's goal difference beyond the -60 mark!

“A win by less than five goals would be disappointing - we have the north London derby that afternoon, so will be putting all our adrenaline and excitement from that game into the game against Scrabble in the morning.”

Scrabble forfeited last week’s scheduled match against Redbridge. I spoke about damage limitation ahead of that fixture and that phrase is at the forefront of my mind again here, especially if the likes of Josh Shack and Jack Mattey set foot on the pitch in Wembley.

Ray Abrahams, the Scrabble boss, insists adopting the right attitude from the start will be the key for the visitors. "Division One this season has some very good young sides in there and Galaxy are no exception," he told JC Sport.

"They are a quality side, as we found out to our cost in the first game against them this season, and we can only try and make sure that we are 100 per cent focused on getting a result and hope that they have a below-par morning.

"We’ve been busy signing some new players in the last few weeks and we are hoping to give a couple of them their debuts in Sunday’s game.

"We are hoping that with Wembley Stadium in the background, it will give us the inspiration we need to pick something up from this match.

"We just need something to build on in the next few weeks to try and stay in this division, but it’s not going to be easy and we need to be on top of our game in  all of our remaining fixtures this season to have any chance of avoiding the drop."

It's good to hear about the much-needed new faces in the Scrabble camp, but it will take them time to gel. Galaxy have the momentum and they will be three points better off come Sunday lunchtime.

Venue - Ark, Ref – Martin De La Fuente, KO

JC star man: Jess Alexander (Galaxy)

DC Prediction: Galaxy 4 Scrabble 1

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DIVISION TWO

LEAGUE TABLE - TOP 2

1. Hertswood Vale Pl. 9, W. 7, Pts. 22

2. Faithfold Doc MM B Pl. 10, W. 6, Pts. 19

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

TOP-SCORERS 

13 - Zac Neiman (SPEC FC), 11 - James Millet (Hertswood Vale)

FAITHFOLD DOC MM B vs TEMPLE FORTUNE

Faithfold's title hopes took a dive last week in a game of two halves against promotion rivals SPEC FC. They bossed the first half in a game in which the old guard of Chaim Gothold and Gav Noe struck, only to be blown away to the tune of five second-half goals.

Faithfold’s Doron Shooter criticised the team for a “lacklustre display, both defensively and offensively, and they will be looking for a marked improvement against Fortune on Sunday.

Looking ahead to this weekend, Shooter told JC Sport: “It has been quite a whirlwind of a week for Faithold B, as we have waved goodbye to our manager Martin Smulovitch and welcomed Leor Harel to the helm in his place. This was by no means an easy decision to make, but it suited all parties and in the end we felt that the right decision was made.

"We would like to thank Martin for his service to our club and he will, without doubt, go down as a club legend after his unbelievable service to this club."

Fortune have their tails up following back-to-back wins. Lee Fegan helped them out of a hole last week, putting his retirement on hold for 90 minutes, to help them claim a 4-0 win over Scrabble. I just hope he remembered to ask for his clean sheet bonus ;)

Simon Linden’s men have scored nine goals in their last two games, and conceded just once. Striker Danny Sherman has become a key figure in the line-up. He is right up there with Richard Salmon as one of the best target men in the division and he is helping get the best out of players like Gab Stone.

The influence of the former L’Equipe boys, such as Nick Stern, Max Martin, Grant Bates and David Prager is also helping to take the club forward.

The first 20 minutes will be crucial for Fortune on Sunday. Faithfold will be looking to make a fast start but if the visitors can hang in there and adopt a no-nonsense approach to defending, they can keep their unbeaten run going.

JC team news: Faithfold still have Doron Shooter out injured after he suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury this week. But they welcome Jack Joseph back into the team and are hopeful of having Adam Hersh in the squad, and there could possibly be a debut for Zalmy Cohen.” 

Venue – West Hendon, Ref – Barry David, KO – 10am

JC star man: Gab Stone (Fortune)

DC Prediction: Faithfold 1 Fortune 1

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FC TEAM vs HERTSWOOD VALE

I’d bracket FC Team as one of the teams equipped to beat table-toppers Hertswood Vale.

A front three of Perl, Young and Salmon is about as menacing as you can get at this level and when they click, they can be unstoppable.

It’s no surprise Mitch Young’s men are the top-scorers in the MGBSFL, with 46 goals in just eight games. Perl and Salmon have already reached double figures and I’d put my mortgage on the trio passing the 20-goal mark come the end of the season.

But on Sunday they host a Vale team who are not top by luck. Hard work, organisation and meticulous planning are just three reasons the club, managed by Jacob Emanuel and Danny Hirschberger are leading the way. They identified the areas in which they needed to bolster last summer, and they are playing like a well-oiled machine. And when big questions get asked, they manage to find a way of answering them.

Last weekend was the perfect example. They stayed in the game against Mill Hill Dons and top-scorer James Millet kept his nerve to convert a last-ditch penalty cool as you like.

Ahead of kick-off, Vale joint-manager Jacob Emanuel had this to say: "Sunday represents one of our hardest matches this season. We know from their results in the league this season that FC Team are a better team than their position in the table suggests, and their ridiculously high-scoring record means that we’re going to have to be at our best defensively to come out on top.

"If we don’t start well, this could be one hurdle we’re not able to overcome.

"Having said that, I am very confident in our squad this season, and despite a lengthy list of unavailable players, we should have a strong squad out for Sunday."

Now they have to do it all over again. Maximum effort and concentration will be required against opponents who will be looking to register a statement win.

JC team news:  Danny Feuer has made a full recovery ahead of this match, looking to continue his rich vein of form for Vale, whilst Justin Mullem could be set to make his debut for the club. Ollie Marshall, Svi Freedman and Andy Gilbert remain out, while Zach Mandel is hoping to return next week. James Millet, Jonny Kaye, Adam Zaidman and Ben Mandel are all set for late fitness tests

Venue – Hertswood, Ref – Paul Dobkin, KO – 10am

JC star man: Jon Breger (Team)

DC Prediction: Team 2 Vale 2

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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS MASTERS vs MILL HILL DONS

Raiders and Mill Hill Dons start the game level on eight points, although the visitors have a game in hand.

Boss Brandon Hamme voiced frustration after the final whistle against leaders Vale last weekend, when they were denied maximum points by a last-minute penalty. He knows football can be a cruel game sometimes, but it’s important his players hit the ground running against one of the league’s most experienced teams on Sunday. Remember their game against Scrabble.

Ahead of the trip to Wembley, Hamme told JC Sport: Last week’s game was extremely frustrating; we played really well, worked hard but didn’t get the three points that I believe we deserved.

"North London Raiders Masters are a new challenge for us, with it being our first-ever meeting, we know we will need to stay alert throughout.

"The boys are desperate to get a win in the bag but we all know that we will have to work hard in order to make that a possibility."

Raiders are littered with an array of MGBSFL journeymen. Nicky Skone has a Premier Division winners’ medal locked firmly in his trophy cabinet from his time with Oakwood, while Tony Plaskow and Andrew Wolfin won silverware at Faithfold. Daniel Hodes is another reliable player with a wand of a left peg and Wayne Davidson and Jonny Blain are always good for a goal.

Joint-manager James Cartmell told JC Sport: "It should be a tough game against Mill Hill. They will be confident after a good result against Hertswood, but we are looking forward to it after a week off."

The battle between Zach Cohen and Hodes will be key to the outcome, but I’m banking on a Mill Hill win.

JC team news: Raiders have "a good squad" available and are welcoming back a handful of players from injury, including Dan Hodes, Brian Rubenstein and Robert Baker.

Harry Kalms and Josh Moses remain out for the Dons, with both looking likely to return in early 2019.

Venue – Ark Academy, Ref – Bob Caplin, KO – 10am

JC star man: Jamie Nagioff (Dons)

DC Prediction: NLR 1 Dons 3

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ALSO SEE:

MATCHDAY 12 REVIEW

DANNY CARO'S MATCHDAY 12 AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Alex Lee (Oakwood A)

MANAGERS OF THE WEEK: Dan Kristall & David Cohen (Oakwood A)

GOAL OF THE WEEK: Bradley Gayer (Fairlop FC)

SAVE OF THE WEEK: Adam Zaidman (Hertswood Vale)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Steven Black (Hertswood Vale)

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JC FEATURE MATCH

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - HMH 5 FAITHFOLD DOC MM A 1 - PHOTOGALLERY