ByAnonymous, Anonymous
MANCHESTER ACCOUNTANTS LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISON
SOUTH MANCHESTER SPORTS 1st 1 AFC FLIXTON 1
An injury-time effort from Michael Sacks saw Flixton snatch a point from the jaws of defeat to preserve their unbeaten record against an excellent South Manchester.
An even first half saw both teams display periods of dominance but creating little in front of goal. Both keepers had little to do, but were more than ready when called upon.
The second half started similarly, until a sloppy ball inside the Flixton half was intercepted by Toby Levy, who drove forward before firing towards goal and into the bottom corner, with the aid of a deflection from Michael Sacks.
After the goal, South relaxed and dropped deeper, inviting pressure from Flixton. That said, South looked comfortable and it took a bizarre turn of events for Flixton to get back into the game. Ben Peppi received a second yellow card for a persistent fouling - leaving South a man down for the final minutes.
When the Flixton goalkeeper stormed off the field with three minutes to play (of added time), a couple of minutes went by as Flixton reorganised. The referee took this as a stoppage - prompting Sacks to rise at the back post and heading home to earn Flixton a point in the 102nd minute.
The performance was a big boost to the South team after what has been a particularly tumultuous week following the fall-out between Neil Collins and ex-vice-captain Mark Stewart.
Mark, who had apologised publicly for his antics in last week’s game when he pulled up lame to get away early for the Manchester Derby, refused to respond to reports that he’s looking to leave the club he’s served for over 25 years.
Mark, along with wife, Abi, were seen house-hunting in Broughton Park on Thursday afternoon amidst talk of a move to Broughton Jewish in the Chanukah Window. Whilst Mark played with distinction for South 1st on Sunday, his son Zack, 8, was dropped by South’s under-9 team and was visibly furious when we caught up with him at the South against Flixton game where he was watching his dad.
"I'm absolutely livid that I’ve been dropped” said Zack, “I feel like I’m being victimised here. I spoke to the gaffer and he told me the decision was out of his hands and I can only assume it was his (pointing at Neil) decision to withdraw me from the team. I’ve been at South for years and I’ve made countless sacrifices for the team and feel I’ve always played with distinction and treated the club with the respect it deserved. I’m outraged!"
We briefly caught up with Neil whilst he was taking the nets down on Sunday, but he told us he had "no comment on the matter,” but “all what matters to me is that we’ve went out there today and we’ve give it 120 per cent, that’s the importantest thing, not Mark Stewart, South is bigger than one man."
Flixton joint-manager Stuart Delmonte praised his side’s never-say-die spirit and said: “We left it late and we showed great character to get something out of the game.
"I think South edged the game and will be disappointed. We pegged them back late on but I didn’t think it would be our day.
"Thankfully Mike came up trumps."
AFC Flixton now host Division One outfit Manchester Maccabi 2nd – who will begin with a two-goal disadvantage- in the Handicup first-round on Sunday.
Delmonte added: "We want to win every game we play. This will be no exception."
Meanwhile in the MJSL, Marc Magid's 2nd team drew 2-2 with Manchester Maccabi, thanks to goals from Max Herman and Mike Herz. South dominated but just couldn't convert chances into goals.
Additional reporting by Darren Witcoop