CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP ROUND TWO
KING CROWN 1 MACCABI LONDON LIONS BLUE 7
Man-of-the-match CONNOR PERLMUTTER eased Lions Blue into the third round of the Cyril Anekstein Cup with a sizzling hat-trick
On a blustery Chase Lodge morning, London Lions Blue began their cup run away against unbeaten Division Three leaders King Crown. With this tie having the makings of a potential banana skin, Lions knew they had to take the game seriously in order to progress in the competition.
Both teams started fast with tackles flying in; however it was Lions who took an early lead. James ‘Jimmy Goals’ Gold turning his marker before being brought down in the box. Penalty Lions and Dan Green made no mistake, keeping up his good scoring form.
Twenty minutes in and the Lions backline had yet to be tested, before Joel Reuben had a moment of madness. A free-kick was floated into the box and headed towards goal when Reuben decided to lauch himself across goal with a flying one-handed save which drew gasps from the watching crowd. Unfortunately with him being a centre-back and not the goalkeeper the referee had no choice but to point to the spot and Reuben got his matching orders. But the Lions were given a reprieve as Ben David's penalty hit the post.
Things got worse for Lions as King Crown registered a dramatic equaliser, with Ben Garfield profitting from a penalty-box scramble.
This woke Lions up and Jamie Kyte's men began to play simple football, with Ben Lampert and Ric Jacobsen pulling the strings from midfield and Richard Gold dropping into centre back, keeping the Lions backline steady alongside Cameron Most.
With 15 minutes of the half left, Perlmutter got his first and arguably best goal of the game with an audacious lob from 20 yars flying over the keeper’s head. It got better for Lions just two minutes later, with Perlmutter grabbing his second with a calm and composed finish after taking the ball down on his chest and slotting past the King Crown keeper.
The second half started with Lions stepping up a gear. Gold, Perlmutter and Lampert both had good chances, before James Gold made it 4-1 and four in four for him, chesting the ball down, nutmegging the defender and finding the bottom corner with a well placed strike.
Four became five with the excellent Lampert scoring a David Beckham-esque curling free-kick from 25 yards before a comical own goal made it six.
Harry Franks and Will Beresford came on, adding quality to the midfield, before finally Perlmutter completed his hat-trick with 10 minutes to go. Adam Kosky made a rampaging run down the left flank before crossing low for Perlmutter to finish and complete a well-deserved treble.
After the game a jubilant Jamie Kyte had this to say: "This was a much deserved win that puts us in the next round of the competition. Our aim for the season is a good cup run and I am delighted with the result.
"Playing with 10 men for most of the game was a challenge, but the team responded brilliantly and I’m very proud."
King Crown boss Jacob Kadoch told JC Sport: "We were very good in the first half and should have been ahead. The lads dropped in the second half, but I firmly believe that if we played our first team we would have won, and I'm very confident saying that.
"Ben Retter and Ben Garfield played very well. The players who I brought are in fighting to be in our first team, but they'll need to do better if they want to get in.
"The league is what is most important for us and we will show that and bring back the first team next week.
"We will get better and absolutely I have every belief we can win the title. The team has been impressive and they will impress furthermore as the season progresses. Now that the distractions are out the way we can focus on the priority."
LIONS: Adam Kosky, Richard Gold, Matt Green, Joel Reuben, Cameron Most, Conor Perlmutter, Dan Green, Ben Lampert, Ric Jacobson, James Gold
