JC MSFL DIVISION TWO
CATFORD & BROMLEY MACCABI 0 LOS BLANCOS 4
Los Blancos came away with a valuable three points notching their 10th win of the season to move them into pole position for second place following a 4-0 win at Catford & Bromley.
In a very well fought first half, Josh Gaon showed superb composure in the box to slide in the opener around the half hour mark after a lightening counter-attack led by Julian Gertner and Adam Hersh.
That doesn't tell the full story though of the opening exchanges as Blancos had Josh Cohen to thank for not being behind before Gaon's opener. A well-drilled Catford side eventually got their passing game going after a tentative opening period and had five good chances in as many minutes before Blancos broke away to net their first.
Today was Blancos' first clean sheet in a while and it is no doubt down to Cohen's command of the area during Catford's first, and ultimately last spell of sustained pressure.
Whilst Gaon's goal opened up the game, good moves on a good playing surface were snuffed out by two stubborn defences, and half time came with a slender lead for the away team.
In the second half, as a tiring Catford pushed more men forward in an attempt to force an equaliser, Blancos started to find more and more room down the wings as they started to really hurt Catford on the counter. Three tactically astute substitutes by LB stalwart Joel Minsky saw the away team consolidate their position and put some gloss on the scoreline that their attacking play deserved.
Gaon got his second, finishing well on the half volley after a counter down the right to put the game beyond Catford - and the opposition - with no subs to call on - had little left in the tank to put in a response. A pacy LB front line capitalised and a third and fourth quickly followed.
Player-manager Hersh got his name on the scoresheet slotting in a rebound as Adam Waters' superb dink on the run (Carlos Vela-esque) cleared the goalie but cannoned off the bar.
Waters got the goal he deserved, chasing down a long ball over the top and getting to there just ahead of the onrushing goalie. As calm as you like, Waters rounded the remaining defender who had tracked his run to slot into an empty net.
Blancos chairman Joel Minsky told JC Sport: "We're at the business end of the season now, so of ultimate importance is getting the three points, but we are also very happy with our performance today.
"To keep a clean sheet and put away four against a well organised team is a credit to how we played from front to back - with a particular highlight being how we used the counter.
"Catford gave us a good fight today, and over our two games against them this season I'm surprised they're in a relegation battle - they're much better than that."
Catford captain Adam Luria told JC Sport: "We struggled for a team this week and had no subs. We missed three one-on-ones in the first half and then didn't play well enough to deserve anything from the game after that. On to next week ..."
