Hendon United Sports Club A will play North London Raiders A or Maccabi London Lions A in the final of the Peter Morrison Trophy after crushing second division Raiders C in today's semi-final, while L'Equipe dented Lions B's hopes of silverware on Matchday 29 of the MGBSFL.
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WEEKEND COVERAGE:
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: ML LIONS vs MET POLICE BUSHEY
PHOTOGALLERY: ML LIONS vs MET POLICE BUSHEY
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DANNY CARO'S MATCHDAY 29 AWARDS
SAFE OF THE WEEK: Mark Glucksman (L'Equipe)
REFEREE OF THE WEEK: Keith Goodman (NL Raiders C vs Hendon A)
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JC TEAM OF THE WEEK: THE CONTENDERS
GK - Daniel Pike (SPEC FC)
DEFENDERS - Dan Breger (FC Team B), Danny Berg (Redbridge JC A)
MIDFIELDERS - Mitch Young (FC Team B), Avi Korman (Hendon Utd SC A), James Bell, Ian Baron, Daniel Cordell (all L'Equipe)
STRIKERS - Josh Webber (Boca Jewniors), Yoav Kestenbaum (Hendon Utd SC A), Grant Bates (L'Equipe)
MANAGER - Nick Stern (L'Equipe)
REFEREE - Dan Fox (Redbridge A vs Blizzard Storm), Keith Goodman (NL Raiders C vs Hendon A)
Send nominations to dcaro@thejc.com
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DANNY CARO'S SAVE OF THE WEEK
- MARK GLUCKSMAN (L'Equipe) - pulled off yet another contender for save of the season, tipping away a 20-yard shot that was moving from left to right and hit with such venom Nick Stern thought it would take off his hands! However nothing fazes our "7ft northern hero" and he outstretched one of his huge claws/fist to turn the ball over the bar. It set the tone for the whole team and we are really pleased with his performances during our five-game unbeaten run
- ROB MURRAY (SPEC FC) - at 1-1 in a must-win game, Rob threw himself at the ball, brave as a warrior. The ball hit him straight in the face, SPEC picked up the ball loose ball, broke and scored a dramatic last minute winner. Absolute scenes
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JC QUOTE OF THE WEEK: THE CONTENDERS
- DAVID GARBACZ (Hendon A) - QUOTE 1 - "Raiders were exceptionally well-organised and I thought did really well, showed great commitment and deserved their goal at the end. They played far better than their league position would suggest and for a while were hard to break down"
- DAVID GARBACZ (Hendon A) - QUOTE 2 - "Once we got the first though there was only ever going to be one winner and we topped off our win with some nice goals in the second half, plus a funny Ronnie Rosenthal moment from Yoav Kestenbaum. Thankfully we were 4-0 up at the time"
- DAVID GARBACZ (Hendon A) - QUOTE 3 - "It should be a great occasion and I'll be making sure the boys don't eat too many matzahs in the coming weeks so we go into the match at full fitness"
- JASON STEIN (Oakwood B) - "For Andy to say the ball hit the player before it hit his hands – thus it’s not an intentional handball – completely ignores the fact that the SPEC defender is an unnatural position with his hands high in the air. Had it been seen it properly, no referee could have turned it down. The guy has his hands higher than a 12 year old doing the YMCA"
- RICKY LAWRENCE (SPEC FC) - "I've seen Jason's comments and whilst I appreciate their frustration at losing so late, I think it's an incredibly blinkered view. Rob Murraydona has hurled himself at the ball heroically and it's hit his knee, shoulder and then around his armpit. To have given a penalty would have been extremely harsh. I won't get into how they behaved after the game, we'll simply enjoy a fantastic three points - a great way to end what's been a terrific league campaign"
- SIMON LINDEN (Blizzard Storm) - "We're glad to finish what's been a tough season. My main job now is to keep the group together, bring in a few more players and start fresh next season. We need a good pre-season and a lot more commitment next year in order to bounce back and be in the mix for a return to the Premiership. We lost 12 players last summer and in hindsight, it wasn't the right time to get promoted. However we have learnt a lot from this year and I do hope we can return to the top-flight with a lot more about us and a good winning mentality"
NICK STERN (L'Equipe) - QUOTE 1 - "There is no doubt that Lions had the majority of the possession but they didn’t know how to handle the tactics of L'Equipe let alone a team who showed passion and desire from minute one. It was men versus kids, old versus young, fat versus thin and, most importantly, experienced versus inexperience and though a draw, I am proud to say that the old-timers came away the happier and we congratulate Scrabble on inevitably winning the league now"
NICK STERN (L'Equipe) - QUOTE 2 - "I would have bitten off your hand for a draw prior to the game and though 2-0 up a draw was a great result and we carry on, on our five-game unbeaten streak which we will hope continues till the end of the season"
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SEE MORE MGBSFL PHOTOGALLERIES
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CUP DRAWS
CYRIL ANEKSTEIN FINAL
North London Raiders A vs Oakwood A
Wingate & Finchley FC
April 17, 2.30pm KO
Officials: Referee - David Lazarus, Assistant-referees - Stuart Ansher, Bob Caplin. 4th official (reserve referee): Mark Jacob
PETER MORRISON TROPHY UPDATE
Hendon A will play the winner of ML Lions A vs NL Raiders A (who play their semi-final on April 6, 8pm at Rowley Lane)
FINAL: May 8 at Wingate & Finchley
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YOUR WEEKEND REVIEW STARTS HERE:
PETER MORRISON TROPHY SEMI-FINAL
HENDON STILL A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH, SAYS GARBACZ
NORTH LONDON RAIDERS C 1 HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB A 5
Holders Hendon booked their place in the May 8 final at Wingate after crushing Raiders C 5-1.
Strikes from top-scorer Dovi Fehler, Yoav Kestenbaum, Ari Last, Avi Korman and Ben Kon sets up a meeting against the winner of Wednesday's semi between Lions and Raiders at Rowley Lane.
Hendon boss David Garbacz told JC Sport: "We played well overall but we did miss a host of chances and were possibly too open for my liking in the last 20 minutes."
NLR's David Domb told JC Sport: "For 45 minutes I'm pretty sure that Hendon side were stunned. We were disciplined, well-organised and looked pretty good on the break but just couldn't find the final ball. We were unlucky to go in a goal down - the fact is Hendon were in a game I'm sure they weren't expecting.
DC Prediction: Raiders 0 Hendon 4
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MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
TOP-SCORERS
24 - Daniel Garfinkle (Redbridge JC A – including 3 for RJC B)
22 - Dovi Fehler (Hendon A)
HATS OFF TO BLIZZARD, SAYS JACOBS
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 7 BLIZZARD STORM 2
Redbridge finished in seventh heaven as they returned to winning ways with an emphatic victory over basement battlers Blizzard at Fairlop, with goals from Sam Sollosi (2), Nathan Sollosi, Daniel Garfinkle, Adam Goldman, Danny Berg and David Fialka.
RJC boss Jon Jacobs told JC Sport: "It felt like an end-of-season friendly and with only pride to play for, Blizzard gave it their all but were just not good enough."
Jonti Aremband (2) replied for Blizzard, with manager Simon Linden telling JC Sport: "We're glad to finish what's been a tough season. My main job now is to keep the group together, bring in a few more players and start fresh next season."
DC Prediction: RJC 4 Blizzard 0
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OAKWOOD A P HARMEN P
Match postponed - Harmen forfeited
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DIVISION ONE
TOP-SCORERS
27 - Reiss Mogilner (Brady Maccabi)
17 - Jacob Richler Kleiman (Oakwood B), Richard Salmon (FC Team B including one for A team)
IT JUST DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS, SAYS LAWRENCE
SPEC FC 3 OAKWOOD B 1
SPEC FC concluded their league campaign on a high, finishing the weekend in top spot after completing a league double over Oakwood B, thanks to two own goals and a strike from Elliott Wallis.
SPEC FC player-manager Ricky Lawrence told JC Sport: "We weren't anywhere near our best this morning, but I don't think there's many better feelings than a last-minute winner."
DC Prediction: SPEC 2 Oakwood 2
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BRADY MAKE FLYING START TO RUN-IN
FAITHFOLD B 1 BRADY MACCABI 5
Brady were back to their brilliant best as they maintained their promotion challenge with a big win over Faithfold via strikes from Matt Frohlich, Michael Kenley, Reiss Mogilner, Sam Monjack and an own goal.
A Brady spokesman told JC Sport: "2016 has been a disappointing year for Brady so far, but having set ourselves the target of taking nothing less than four wins from our last four games we got off to a good start."
DC Prediction: Faithfold 1 Brady 2
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RAIDERS WIN PLEASES YOUNG
FC TEAM B 3 NORTH LONDON RAIDERS B 0
Two goals from top-scorer Richard Salmon ensured FC Team B close in on the promotion places as they overpowered Raiders B in Harefield.
Lorian Madanes completed the scoring, with FC Team player-manager Mitch Young, who made two assists, telling JC Sport: "We bossed the game from start to finish and in truth should have been six or seven. It was a very pleasing performance."
DC Prediction: Team 2 Raiders 1
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DIVISION TWO
TOP-SCORERS
18 - Zak McLeod (Scrabble FC), Josh Bloom (ML Lions B)
17 - Danny Sherman (Scrabble FC)
ICE-COOL JOSH SPINS WEB OF MAGIC
BOCA JEWNIORS 2 CATFORD & BROMLEY MACCABI 2
Two penalties from Josh Webber earned Boca Jewniors a battling point as they stopped the Cats in their tracks.
Ashley Stokes (2) earned a point for the Cats.
Boca's Anton Nyman told JC Sport: "A point was a fair result. There was a great team spirit willing to fight out there today which was good to see."
DC Prediction: Boca 1 Catford 4
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HENDON POINT SEALED WITH A (SLU)KIS
FC TEAM C 1 HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB B 1
Another strike from United hotshot Benni Sluckis ensured it finished all square between FC Team C and Hendon B after a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
DC Prediction: FC Team 2 Hendon 3
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STERN 'PROUD' OF GOLDEN OLDIES
MACCABI LONDON LIONS B 2 L’EQUIPE 2
Grant Bates and Rob Simons registered as L'Equipe produced one of the results of the weekend as they held Lions B to do long-time leaders Scrabble FC a huge favour.
L'Equipe boss Nick Stern told JC Sport: "Though of course we were disappointed to concede two late goals, I must reiterate how proud I am of the 11 warriors that played today."
DC Prediction: Lions 5 L’Equipe 2
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