Six will become three on Sunday as Raiders A, Oakwood B, Raiders C, Heaton Park, Oakwood A and Lions battle it out for a place in the semi-finals of the Peter Morrison Trophy, while Scrabble FC could be crowned Division Two champions in a busy programme in the MGBSFL.
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SEE MORE MGBSFL PHOTOGALLERIES
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CUP DRAWS
PETER MORRISON TROPHY QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
CYRIL ANEKSTEIN FINAL
North London Raiders A vs Oakwood A
Wingate & Finchley FC
April 17, 2.30pm KO
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YOUR WEEKEND PREVIEW STARTS HERE:
PETER MORRISON TROPHY ROUND FOUR
OAKWOOD A vs MACCABI LONDON LIONS A
Two powerhouses of Jewish football are ready to rumble in a game befitting of the final. And neither club wants to be labelled favourites, so it seems.
One thing is clear, however. Both teams have the utmost respect for one another as Oakwood look to move a step closer to their second major final of the season.
Dave Woolman was their main man last week as they completed their preparations for what promises to be one of their toughest test of the season with a four-goal salvo against FC Team. But he is likely to find things tougher on Matchday 26.
The Oakwood management will be looking for another ruthless performance as they try to follow-up their recent wonder show in the cup against Hendon.
Ahead of kick-off, joint-manager Dan Kristall told JC Sport: “So we go into the Lions den on Sunday, playing against the best team in Jewish football. With their resources, they should be big favourites for the competition.
“We really couldn’t have got a harder draw but we will be bang up for it with a big squad to choose from.
“The lads are looking forward to the challenge and we believe that we will compete with Lions, whatever team that they field on Sunday.
The Lions are going strong in the Herts Senior County League Premier Division. Max Kyte has been banging in the goals with great regularity and looks sure to start. Josh Kennet and former Arsenal starlet Austin Lipman also featured in the last round against Blizzard Storm, and the Oaks must watch out for the long-range shooting capabilities of Charlie Kasler, who scored from the halfway line in the first few seconds in that tie. Jonny Blain, I hope you are reading this!
But manager Andy Landesberg hopes to blend the perfect ingredients to end Oakwood’s hopes of a cup double.
He told JC Sport: “Sunday brings a very tough challenge against the team I regard as the favourites. They have a great combination of age, strength and experience, and they are currently in a rich vein of form.
“We will have a squad that includes youth, Saturday and Sunday team players, but our Saturday team players will be determined by who is in shape to play following the game that is played away to Buntingford Town 24 hours earlier. Hopefully three or four of them will be available.
“As I have said before, this trophy is important to the Club, and we will certainly be showing it the respect it deserves. Hopefully we have just enough in the tank to make a good game of it. We don’t have the benefit of Josh Pistol, James Gershfield and Ollie Craig as they are all cup-tied with other teams.
"I know this will not be easy, and as I said before, I actually think looking at the squad they have and those available to us, Oakwood start off as favourites. We will certainly will be giving our best shot, that I can assure you.”
Oakwood have the advantage of playing together week in, week out. They impressed me hugely against Hendon and if they nullify the threat of Kennet and Lipman, adopt a no-nonsense approach to defending and maintain their discipline then I can see them edging home. But don’t be surprised if it goes to extra-time, which could impact on Lions' Saturday boys.
JC team news: Oakwood await some late injury news and have completion for places in the attacking areas with Rawlings, Guy Helman and Sam Cantor all in contention for a starting place. Kyle Bentwood is looking forward to locking horns against his old employers. Defensively,” the injury list isn’t the most promising and Alex Lee is cup-tied”. And rumours have surfaced on social media about a certain Dan 'I've retired' Cohen possibly being involved.
Venue – Nicholas Breakspear, Ref – Mark Jacob, KO – 10am
JC star man: Josh Rose (Oakwood)
DC Prediction: Oakwood 2 Lions 1 AET
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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A vs OAKWOOD B
NLR fans were jumping for joy when they pulled first division Oakwood B out of the hat. The treble chasers have been the model of consistency this season, blowing away most of their rivals with minimal fuss and I can’t see any fairytales for the visitors on Sunday.
That said, manager Jason Stein is never one to consider damage limitation. Afterall, this is the Jewish FA Cup and miracles do happen, occasionally.
Indeed Stein has been in demand ahead of what is effectively Oakwood’s cup final. He told JC Sport: "Come in DC, the Football Focus lot are finishing up and as you can see Oakwood HQ is busy this week with both sides the subject of media scrutiny in the build-up to quarter final weekend.
"Sunday is an extremely tough game for Oakwood B. We're playing the defending champions and the second best team in Jewish football.
"Raiders will turn up in their Porsches and Ferraris and their six figure salaries thinking this is a roll-over, but we'll work incredibly hard to ensure they have a difficult morning. It's a cup tie and anything can happen. It's a great day out for the club and our share of the television money will be gratefully received.
"I will personally take inspiration from the venue: Wembley Ark. Rob may have won a couple of pots while at Raiders, but I am the man who guided Hale Betis to the 2010 National Express Trophy at Wembley. Yes, real Wembley. Not Wembley Ark like Rob. I've walked those steps, bathed in those baths and sat in that dugout. What has Rob done?
"It's a tricky one with Raiders because yes they are indeed the second best team in Jewish football, but you have to question the mentality of a side who have not won the league as many times as they should have and not won as many cups as they should have. When you have so many Tottenham supporters in your side it perhaps creates that culture of acceptance.
"I've seen Raiders play enough to know the strengths they have and I'm looking forward to it. Occasions like this are why we get into this business.
"And playing for an hour with 10 men against Woodford last week was good practice for this week when we know Raiders will dominate the ball. We know exactly how they'll play, David Dinkin holding the ball up for Matt Stock and Jordan Marks to run in behind for, Johnny Kay in the middle with his Pirlo beard - he's no Pirlo - and Alex Bloch pounding the right flank like a steam train.
"But we've got players who can mix it as well. Of course we're the underdogs and it would be easy for me to say 'we'll be happy with 4-0'... but you just never know in football."
Raiders have come through a couple of tricky tests against FC Team by playing like champions. Every time questions are asked they come up with the right answers immediately, often without ever needing to get out of first gear. They are a well-oiled machine.
And although managers Rob Richman and Jonathan Green will never allow complacency to set in, they sounded quietly confident ahead of Sunday’s showdown.
Richman told JC Sport: “Two weeks without a game and we’re back ready and willing for a huge cup game against Oakwood B. It promises to be a real classic.
"Jason has done wonders with the Oakwood B side this season; they took a calculated gamble to accept promotion to division one but it was a gamble well worth taking as they’ve more than hold their own in a very competitive division.
"Jason rightly will take the plaudits for the season to date but I’m sure he’d be more than willing to accept that his job was made so much easier by the great work Ian Tussie did before him. Tussie was a trail-blazer, an innovator when it came to match previews and I know Jason has tried valiantly but without success to match his predecessor’s record of 15 consecutive quotes of the week during the 12/13 season!
"Anyway back to Sunday, and what promises to be a really exciting cup game. We’ll be fully focused on carrying on our strong form of recent months and our cause is helped by the return of a couple of important players to the squad.
"It will be great to see David Rhodes back for his first game since his broken arm in December and Matt Stock for his first game since last May’s Anekstein cup final. They supplement an already strong looking squad whose aim will be to make sure we make it through to the next round come Sunday afternoon.
For Oakwood this is "the mother of all football games". For Raiders it’s another piece in the jigsaw in their pursuit of the treble. One I expect to pass by a fair margin.
JC team news: Jacob Richler Kleiman returns up front and Max Clynes and Dan King will make a strong centre-back pairing, but Oakwood B “have an absentee list longer than Donald Trump's false promises!”
Venue – Ark Academy, Ref – Neil Cooper, KO - 9.45am
JC star man: Matt Stock (Raiders)
DC Prediction: Raiders 3 Oakwood 0
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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS C vs HEATON PARK ROVERS
The romance of the cup is alive and kicking in this tie. Would you believe that although we’re already at the last eight stage, HPR have yet to play a game in the competition. That’s a quite incredible statistic if you think about it. The luck of the draw? No. Just that three MGBSFL teams failed to make the trip up north.
Now the team, co-managed by David Seligman and Jordan Warents, are preparing for a visit to the capital. Seligman told JC Sport: “We’ve got 15 players registered and whenever we’ve been drawn in London we’ve always managed to get a team out.”
While some of the HPR squad will head south on the day, a mini-bus load with travel earlier. Indeed Seligman will arrive in time for Will Ufland’s auf ruf and possibly be a little worse for wear by the time of NLR boss Zack Gothelf’s birthday celebrations later on.
There are a number of close ties between the clubs as Seligman used to play under Gothelf at Oakhill Lions and he describes NLR star man Marc Woolfe as “a good mate. Woolfe is a formerly of Manchester United, Preston North End and Oldham Athletic academy player, as well as HPR.
Asked about NLR, Seligman added: “Knowing Zack’s teams as I do, NLR will be well-organised but I’m expecting a fairly open game. We’re not used to 3G but due to the weather we have played a couple of times recently and it suits us.
“Sunday promises to be a nice day out for us - the weather is better down south! Raiders are favourites as we’re doing poorly in the MJSL this season. We’ve had points docked in league for playing ineligible players, which we’re not proud about, but we’ve really struggled this year.
“But we’ll be bang up for it as it’s our last remaining hope of silverware. Obviously there’s a bit of friendly rivalry which should add some spice.”
HPR’s hopes rest largely on the form of Jonny Franks, who has scored lots of goals this season and was the MJSL’s top-scorer two years ago. He is also the current top-scorer in the league. Alex Swift is another one to watch having won the Golden Boot last year. Joint-player-manager Warents, who will be between the sticks, is expected to be one of the busiest men on the pitch, someone Seligman describes as “a top shot-stopper”.
Raiders look destined to finish third in Division Two, but they would’ve bitten you hand off at the start of the season if you’d have told messus Domb and Gothelf they would reach the last four of the Morrison.
Gothelf told JC Sport: "Raiders have been looking forward to this one since the draw was made.
"As has been documented, I used to manage some of the HPR boys in his Oakhill days, including manager Seligman and the two have been dreaming of this tie for some years now.
"Fair play to Seligman and his HPR team for making the journey down - it's what this competition is all about!
"As a side note, it's Will Ufland's brother getting married, not Ufland himself!
"It should be a really good game of football - I've seen HPR play quite a bit over the last few years and I know they've got some good players and Sunday's going to be a really tough game."
With an embarrassment of riches in attack, and now that I know what I know about Woolfe, I’ll put my mortgage on a home win.
JC team news: Alex Elf, Oli Telvi, Dan Tan and Grant Waissel miss out for Raiders. Jake Yudelowitz is back in a match-day squad for the first time in a year, "much to the delight of all at the club".
Venue – Hatfield University, Ref – Steve Levy, KO – 1pm
JC star man: Marc Woolfe (Raiders)
DC Prediction: Raiders 3 HPR 1
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MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
TOP-SCORERS
22 - Dovi Fehler (Hendon A)
21 - Daniel Garfinkle (Redbridge JC A – including 3 for RJC B)
FC TEAM A vs BLIZZARD STORM
FC Team will be relieved to be playing a team below them following tough encounters against Raiders, in league and cup, and Oakwood A.
Ben Gilbey’s boys thumped Blizzard 8-2 in November when David Joseph Cohen was the chief tormentor, firing a four-goal salvo. A result Blizzard have never really recovered from.
Man for man, FC Team hold all the aces and an injury to Adam Levene will only make things harder for Simon Linden’s men.
Venue – Old Camdenians, Ref – Martin Fox
JC star man: Bar Hariely (Team)
DC Prediction: FC Team 3 Blizzard 1
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HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB A vs REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A
No-one will ever forget what happened the last time these two teams met. Hendon came away smiling that day but the onus will be on Redbridge taking maximum points as they look to keep the title race alive.
A Redbridge win would take them to within two points of table-topping North London Raiders, so Rob Richman is hoping that David Garbacz can do him a favour while L’Orange are in action in the Morrison.
Goals-wise, the teams are very well-matched but RJC have performed to a high and consistent level in the league as they look to make it 10 games without defeat in the MGBSFL.
Boss Jon Jacobs told JC Sport: “This is Battle of the Giants Part 3. In the two games played so far there has been 19 goals scored and lots of exciting attacking play, so all I wish for is the same again but with us victorious this time.
“We have tremendous respect for a Hendon side who play the game in the right spirit and like us, want to play football on the front foot so the game is definitely going to entertain the crowd at Hadley.”
A top-four finish looks most likely for Hendon who have less riding on Sunday’s meeting.
Boss David Garbacz told JC Sport: “We are looking forward to the two-week Redbridge challenge. For us the bigger game is the cup game next week but we are in good form and we go out to win every game we compete in.
“There is always expectation when we play each other and probably now even more so since the epic encounter we played out last time we met – I doubt lightening will strike twice in terms of a 6-6 draw but I would expect to see lots of goals.
“Both teams are far better offensively than defensively this season and having scored 10 goals in his last two goals Dovi Fehler is raring to go again this week and is absolutely full of confidence.
“They have many dangers – Garfinkle and the Solossi’s have been superb against us in the two times we’ve met this year and we expect our hands to be full to keep tabs on them.
“But this is a game where we have no pressure – we can go out and enjoy ourselves as we’ve done in the last two weeks where as they need the points desperately to keep tabs with Raiders.
“We want to keep our recent form going and we would love to take a psychological edge with us into next week’s cup game but we are under no illusions – it will be tough.”
The battle between Hendon’s Dovi Fehler and RJC’s Sam Sollosi is definitely one to watch in what could be a wonderful battle of cat and mouse.
JC team news: Simon Peterman is away for Hendon. Alex Rosenthal is doubtful. Ari Last returns.
Redbridge welcome back Steve Summers from his Masters game and Daniel Garfinkle from his South African adventure. Jordan Sapler has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a long term impact injury and damage to his cartilage. Jason Goldstein has not recovered from injury against Hendon in the cup tie.
Venue – Hadley FC, Ref – Martin Lavender
JC star man: Ben Sollosi (RJC)
DC Prediction: Hendon 2 RJC 3
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DIVISION ONE
TOP-SCORERS
27 - Reiss Mogilner (Brady Maccabi)
17 - Jacob Richler Kleiman (Oakwood B)
BRIXTON OLD BOYS vs NORTH LONDON RAIDERS B
The teams shared the points following an extraordinary eight-goal thriller in January in a match that did little for the blood pressure of Robert Silverman or Jonathan Adelman. Another cracker is on the cards.
Brixton are in desperate need of the points and they have shown that there is still fight in the old dog yet, picking up points when least expected.
Raiders have been pretty Jekyl & Hyde thus far, scoring some brilliant goals on a regular basis but conceding far too many.
Much depends on which Raiders team turns up. Literally …
Venue - Clowes, Ref – Robert Caplin
JC star man: Oren Sheldon (Brixton)
DC Prediction: Brixton 3 Raiders 2
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FAITHFOLD B vs REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B
Faithfold’s form has picked up when they needed it most, but they are not out of the woods just yet.
The arrival of Jamie Kent has resulted in some important wins but they could find Sunday’s contest with Redbridge their toughest for some time.
Dan Stock has produced some outstanding performances in recent weeks, thriving in a new midfield role. He has shown great leadership skills when they needed it most, while the experience of Stuart Haring has also been crucial.
Redbridge are unbeaten in three and they will arrive in north-west London full of confidence.
Joint-manager Sam Rank told JC Sport: ““The boys are very much looking forward to a big game against a re-emerging Faithold A/B side.
“The effort, commitment and passion from the boys since the turn or the year has been just amazing.
“I am very confident we can keep our unbeaten run going, especially with the current form of David Fialka, Scott Shear and Daniel Bean.”
It will be fast; it will be intensive.
JC team news: The Dobrin brothers miss out due to an family event, but the squad is otherwise at full-strength.
Venue – The Hive, Ref – Martin De La Fuente
JC star man: Daniel Bean (RJC)
DC Prediction: Faithfold 1 Redbridge 1
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FC TEAM B vs LOS BLANCOS
FC Team will be looking to finish the weekend in fourth spot as they prepare to take on Los Blancos.
The sides drew 5-5 last month and Team boss Mitch Young won’t tolerate another defensive horror show. Jono Gaon ran them ragged last time and it wouldn’t surprise be one bit if Young man-marks him.
Team were back to their ruthless best last week in Essex. Lorian Madanes pulled the strings in a 9-2 mauling of
Real Sosobad. He scored a stunning free-kick on his way to a hat-trick and it was as though the ball was stuck to his feet.
Jon Breger moved on to double figures for the season, while Adam Rones chipped in with another two goals.
Blancos have been leaking goals at an alarming rate and the sight of Richard Salmon and Andy Sheena will strike fear into their back-line.
Attack could be the best form of defence on Sunday, but it could get messy.
Venue – Old Camdenians, Ref – Mike Cowan
JC star man: Adam Rones (Team)
DC Prediction: FC Team 5 Blancos 1
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REAL SOSOBAD vs SPEC FC
If results go their way and SPEC FC do the business in Essex they could finish the weekend at the summit.
Ricky Lawrence’s boys have done well to stay in the mix in the division no-one wants to win. It looks like Woodford plus one, but with their last three games and you never know.
Lawrence told JC Sport: "With three games of the season to go and we know nine points are a must if we have any chance of finishing in the top four.
“We lost to Sosobad last time around so will be looking to correct that and come away from Essex with the win."
A three-match unbeaten run has featured a win over Brady and a draw with Woodford and it’s clear SPEC FC go into the game with momentum.
Dan Shafron received a nasty wake-up last week. He had to double, no triple check his mobile when checking the scores on the JC.com on Matchday 25. I don’t recall Sosobad ever conceding nine. They certainly lived up to their name (Ed. sorry Dan), and there’s zero chance of a repeat performance after double defensive training sessions this week.
Shafron told JC Sport: “I was away on International scouting duty last week and to say I was shocked to learn of our result was an understatement.
“I’ve spoken to several members of the squad for feedback however it’s a result I would rather leave in the past and move forward focusing on our remaining games.
“I want us to play attacking football without fear. It’s now a case of focusing on our forward play and scoring goals.
“We’ve got some fantastic players in our squad and it’s time they start believing in themselves again. Our current form is very similar to our opponents form at the start of the season.
“SPEC have turned their fortunes around in the last couple of months and will be a far tougher test than when we beat them 2-0 previously.”
Sosobad will need no encouragement to get numbers behind the ball but I’m confident SPEC will break them down and come away with the points.
Sosobad squad (from): Coulton, Levy, Lessem, Lassman, Cohen, Tiller, Geppert, Rosenthal, Crawford, Jay, Hambling, McCarthy, Smith, Shaw, Green, Rivieccio
Venue – 7 Kings High School, Ref – Stuart Ansher
JC star man: Ashley Burns (SPEC)
DC Prediction: Sosobad 1 SPEC 2
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WOODFORD WANDERERS vs BRADY MACCABI
As we saw last week, Woodford have big-match experience on their side and they will be looking to push home that advantage against Brady on Sunday.
Managers of the Week Daryl Kay and Jerome Marks will remind their players of the importance of maintaining their discipline for 90 minutes before kick-off. Oakwood lost theirs for a split second and battle as they did, they were unable to keep Woodford out.
Woodford go into another promotion six-pointer with a slender advantage over Brady – a team for whom victory would see them leapfrog the east Londoners.
Although messus Kay and Marks did not want to single out individuals last week, Oakwood boss Jason Stein highlighted the performance of Mitch Hahn. His head-to-head with Brady talisman Reiss Mogilner will be worth the admission fee alone.
With home advantage, it’s hard to look past Woodford as Brady attempt only the second team to beat them in the league this season.
Kay told JC Sport: "The boys are really looking forward to this game against Brady and after the way we handled our other title rivals Oakwood, you can understand why.
"In my opinion, we work harder than any other team in this league and the amount of points we’ve taken from losing positions is amazing. That says it all about our team, and I think, about Jerome and I as Managers – How we weren’t even considered before Daniel Shaf for the Maccabi Games Managerial position, I’ll never know!"
Josh Dagul is confident his Brady team can bounce back from the 2-0 defeat against SPEC FC. I’m expecting a big reaction on a day when their fans will dare to dream.
James Ryan will no doubt be boosted by his February Player of the Month accolade and I can see him stepping up to the plate in a narrow Woodford win.
JC team news: Woodford have an "almost fully fit squad" to choose from, with only Andy Levy (warm-weather training in Barcelona) and Ricky ‘5’ Fox (Hunting Lions in SA) unavailable as far as we know, and "we’re looking forward to seeing what Brady are all about".
Venue - Fairlop, Ref – Daniel Fox
JC star man: James Ryan (Woodford)
DC Prediction: Woodford 2 Brady 1
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DIVISION TWO
LEAGUE TABLES
TOP-SCORERS
18 - Zak McLeod (Scrabble FC)
17 - Danny Sherman (Scrabble FC)
BOCA JEWNIORS vs L’EQUIPE
Having been battered earlier in the season by L'Equipe, Anton Nyman is on a revenge mission for Boca.
However, he fears “an injury crisis will make it a long 90 minutes as they are down to the bare news”. L’Equipe must be ready to take advantage.
Andy Smith secured a hard-fought win over Catford last week and L’Equipe go in search of their eighth win of the season pushing for a top-five finish.
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – Daniel Fox, KO – 10am
JC star man: James Bell (L’Equipe)
DC Prediction: Boca 1 L’Equipe 4
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MACCABI LONDON LIONS B vs FAITHFOLD C
Most people have this down as a home banker. I’m one of them!
The Lions are flying and looking good for second place. I can’t see Faithfold spoiling the party.
Josh Bloom has hit a real purple patch and assigning Josh Barnett to man-marking duties wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.
But the home side are blessed with attacking options, although it wouldn’t surprise me if Nick Landesberg and Benji Weinberger are on duty for the A’s in the cup.
Marchant’s men have an outstanding record at Rowley Lane with the Catford result the only blip.
It’s been a frustrating season for Faithfold C. Last week’s result at home to Boca shows they are short and parking the bus might be the best way forward on Sunday.
Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – Robert Benardout
JC star man: Jamie Kyte (Lions)
DC Prediction: Lions 4 Faithfold 0
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REAL HENDON vs ATHLETIC BILBAUM
Sunday will be a good test for Athletic Bilbaum. Real have won more than 50 per cent of their matches in the league but their goals against record means they always give their opponents a chance.
I believe Bilbaum have the players to ask questions of the Real defence. They were ultimately well beaten in the first meeting this season when Gav Noe (3), Raphael Noe, Gilad Kestenbaum and
Chaim Gothold hit them for six.
The Lions result apart, Bilbaum have been building steadily and they will always score goals. Jacob Brunner, Ben Bell and Edward Green will look to play between the lines and test out the Real keeper.
The last couple of results have been good for Real and they will be confident of making the Baums drop back into the bottom half.
Venue – West Hendon, Ref – Henry Raffe
JC star man: Rob Rodney (Bilbaum)
DC Prediction: Real 2 Bilbaum 2
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SCRABBLE FC vs CATFORD & BROMLEY MACCABI
“We’re going to spoil the party on Sunday”. Those were the words of Catford boss Jeff Gotch ahead of the trip to champions elect Scrabble FC.
Ray Abrahams’s troops can see the trophy, they can smell the trophy and they hope to finally get their hands on the big prize in Willesden for the rematch against the team they edged past 3-2 in October in front of the JC cameras.
They warmed-up for the Cats with a 7-2 demolition of FC Team C and no doubt Abrahams and co will be looking to turn on the style on Matchday 26.
Earlier in the season, Catford gave Scrabble an early-season scare when they raced into a two-goal half-time lead at Borehamwood earlier in the season and they will also be aware that title rivals Maccabi London Lions have failed to beat Catford in three attempts this season.
Yet a win for Scrabble on Sunday and a Lions draw or loss at home to Faithfold and Scrabble will be champions.
“After Sunday, Scrabble don't play again until April and the simple maths are that whatever Lions do then two wins out of the last three games for the club and the title would be secured in their first season back in the league.
“Scrabble will dig deep again into their squad as they still have key players out injured but manager Ray Abrahams will try to ensure that they are again up for this game as they reach 20 games played in the league.
He told JC Sport: “We've won nothing yet and all talk of the title is banned from the dressing room.
“We have to assume that Lions are capable of winning all their remaining games and as such I now believe we need two wins.
“We’ve still got a job to do and we have to be focused in these last three games. I’m concerned that we have been leaking goals recently from silly mistakes and we have to address this starting on Sunday.
“On our day we have proved that we can beat anyone in this league but Catford are one of those sides who will make things difficult for us and Jeff Gotch will have them organised.
“This one could be a classic.”
Gotch has assured me that Catford are not planning to roll out the red carpet and have their bellies tickled.
He was rightly proud of the way they performed in the first meeting and he has great belief in the players at his disposal.
“I have a strong squad of 15 raring to make a statement against my good friends over at Scrabble,” Gotch told JC Sport.
“We were leading against them at half-time last time and we intend to take three points this time.
“Although we are towards the bottom of the league, Scrabble are aware that that is not a true reflection of the talent my squad has.
“I know the weapons Scrabble have but we won't be singling out any of their players for special treatment. We will go there knowing we have nothing to lose, with Scrabble knowing that they need the three points.”
I can see Catford huffing and puffing but think Scrabble's match management will prove decisive.
Venue – Capital City, Ref – Paul Dobkin
JC star man: Anthony Goodmaker (Scrabble)
DC Prediction: Scrabble 3 Catford 1
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TEMPLE FORTUNE vs FC TEAM C
MGBSFL fans shouldn’t read too much into FC Team’s annihilation at the hands of champions-elect Scrabble FC last weekend. They aren’t the first and they definitely won’t be the last.
On Sunday they travel to a Temple Fortune team who have come into a bit of form following the arrival of Aron Barnes. The former Lions man has helped lift spirit levels and got the squad believing again.
Gone are the days when Fortune had an inferiority complex. They know they can go toe to toe with most teams in the division, especially now that they have started scoring goals.
But Team remain the favourites on Sunday, especially with news that “a number of players are returning this weekend.
“We will be looking to get back amongst the points again on Sunday,” David Gordon told JC Sport.
“We know a couple of players at Temple Fortune having played with them last season and, despite their league position, their results have improved and we will have to be wary of them.
“With seven winnable games left we still harbour dreams of reaching the top four but we must win on Sunday to make sure we achieve that.”
JC team news: Five players return for FC Team, but the in-form Eddie Sternberg misses out.
Venue – Roger Bannister, Ref – Barry David
JC star man: Freddie Marks (FC Team)
DC Prediction: Fortune 2 Team 3
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DANNY CARO'S MATCHDAY 25 AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DOVI FEHLER
MANAGERS OF THE WEEK: DARYL KAY & JEROME MARKS
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: ADAM GLEKIN
SAVE OF THE WEEK: - GRANT WAISSEL (NL Raiders C)
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