A goal from David Preston the points following a hard fought victory against Jaffa in a match played in testing conditions
March 5, 2012 16:37Jerusalem 1 Jaffa 0
A goal from David Preston the points following a hard fought victory against Jaffa in a match played in testing conditions.
Neither team could quite overcome the driving rain and sodden pitch to play the football they wanted to in the first half, and, in the end, when the conditions cleared, a solitary goal from a corner at the beginning of the second half was enough to give Jerusalem the points.
Jaffa fought hard but Jerusalem dug in and their resilience, along with another outstanding performance by goalkeeper Fransisco Salgado, was enough to keep the visitors out.
Jerusalem now have four wins and a draw in their last five games, and are keeping the pressure on the league leaders.
Raanana 1 England 0
Ra'anana ground out three points following a gripping battle against England A.
Still reeling from dropping out the cup to Jaffa in midweek, England A, last year's champions, were desperate keep themselves in contention for league.
Ra'anana knew this was one of the biggest games of their season a win putting England almost out of touching distance.
Both teams started brightly with Ra'anana packing the midfield and containing the forward runs from the England strikers.
Despite some early pressure England were unable to find a way through the Ra'anana defensive line with Natan Wiesenberg and Rafi Shachat in fine form.
Both teams came close as they pushed for a lead before the break – with Ra’anana keeper Robin Burkeman and Herschel Gutman combining to snuff out a clear chance.
Ra’anana threatened on the counter-attack with Naftali Kanikofsky hitting the crossbar only to see the rebound bounce down towards the goal-line and scrambled away.
The game was balanced on a knife edge and some cynical fouls crept in as England tried to contain Ra’anana's wide players.
Both teams suffered injuries and as the intensity continued but then came the decisive moment. Ra’anana won a free kick on the 65th minute. The resulting shot from Naftali K was finely saved by the keeper but he only could manage to clear it to Eitan Aaronson who followed up well and made no mistake in slotting it away.
The match became stretched as gaps began to open at both ends, but the Ra’anana defence held strong.
The league's other match saw Ashdod win a nine-goal thriller against Aviv.
Results:
Jerusalem 1 Jaffa 0
Raanana 1 England 0
Ashdod 5 Aviv 4
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