Sport
North London derby victory helps Galaxy keep title race alive
North London Galaxy blew the title race wide open as they condemned Raiders to their first defeat of the season.
January 14, 2020 10:04
North London Galaxy blew the title race wide open as they condemned Raiders to their first defeat of the season.
January 14, 2020 10:04MGBSFL DIVISION ONE
NORTH LONDON RAIDERS 0 NORTH LONDON GALAXY 1
The decisive moment of the match saw an excellently clipped ball into the channel by Zac Rose which released Jayden Tomlinson through down the wing whose dangerous cross was inadvertently bundled over the line by a Raiders to give Galaxy three crucial points.
Jubilant Galaxy boss Luke Lewis told JC Sport: "We've played Raiders seven times - won 4 drawn 2 and lost 1 - today was a defensive master-class and resembled Man United’s win away at the Etihad not long ago."
Asked about the recipe for the win, Lewis replied: "Concentration for the 90, ridiculous amounts of hard work and bond like no other won us the game today - I couldn’t be prouder of my boys.
"We know how Raiders play, we know their danger men and quite simply we know how to nullify them. We restricted Raiders to virtually no chances as you’ll see from the highlights and despite having little possession, should’ve actually won the game by two, three or four goals."
The win helped Galaxy leapfrog Hertswood Vale into second place, four points behind Raiders with a game in hand.
Lewis went on to say: "We only had 12 today after a few last minute injuries, illnesses and a Jamie Murray bender and yet still my boys dug deep and play out of their skins. Thankfully Raiders didn’t have Charlie Kasler today - lacking anyone creative to find passes and provide quality on the ball, but nonetheless we deserve all the praise in the world and fully deserved all three points. "
Raiders joint-manager Gideon Gale told JC Sport: "It's safe to say today was one to forget and thoroughly disappointing. Having dominated the ball, we were unable to breakdown a resolute defence and made a number of sloppy mistakes.
"This is definitely a week to forget and we look forward to putting it right. Thankfully the league is still in our hands and we looking forward to lifting the trophy come May!"
RAIDERS: Dan Lipman, Daniel Behar, Josh Bloom, Bradley Lander, Jordan Nathan, David Nezri, Yarden Sharon, Matt Warner, Jake Yudelovitz, Liron Mannie, Aron Gale. Subs: Charlie Cohen, Tal Cohen, Ben Rosen
GALAXY: Zack Nathan, Nicholas Barnett, Zac Rose, Jayden Tomlinson, James Belchak, Joe Bellman, Josh Burchhardt, Jordan Freeman, Jordan Grundman, Ethan Kessel, Joey Gold. Subs: Dylan Kaye, Luke Lewis