Ian Selwyn was left searching for superlatives following his Leeds Maccabi side’s latest performance – despite them crashing out of the L&D Jubilee Cup.
Maccabi suffered a 2-1 defeat by Wykebeck Arms in the first round of the competition but not before producing a stirring display.
Dave Woolman’s late strike proved in vain for the home side but Selwyn was thrilled with his team’s showing and is hoping for more of the same this weekend.
“I would have to say that was our best footballing performance since I took over last year,” he said.
“The boys were magnificent and it’s an absolute travesty that we didn’t manage to get the equaliser and take the match into extra-time.
“We came up a very good side and it was a tough draw but I thought we played brilliantly and I’m sure we’ll play a lot worse than that this season and end up winning.
“The second-half was a real onslaught but we just couldn’t penetrate their defence until the last five minutes.
“Once we got one back we scrambled for the equaliser but it wasn’t to be.”
Having gone behind after five minutes following an uncharacteristic error by Richard Berke, Maccabi made a real fist of it as they went in search of an equaliser.
Robert Selywn and Woolman both missed chances before a swift counter-attack ended up with Wykebeck extending their advantage further on the half-hour mark.
Maccabi laid siege to the Wykebeck goal after the break but it wasn’t until five minutes from time that Woolman eventually halved the deficit.
And despite pressing for an equaliser to take the game into extra-time, Maccabi failed to score again as they crashed out of the competition at the first hurdle.
“It’s disappointing to be out of the cup after putting in such a good performance,” added Selwyn.
“But the draw wasn’t kind to us and we came up against a very good side.
“Now we’ll turn our attention back to the league and Sunday’s game with West Hunslet which will be another difficult one.”
Meanwhile, Leeds Maccabi 2nd also failed to progress beyond the first round after suffering a 7-0 defeat by Leeds Wednesday.
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