By
David Gold
South Manchester 2nd finished their league season on a high as they damaged Manchester Maccabi 3rds’ title hopes with a 3-2 victory.
Joey Lazare, Simon Mattison and Aaron Searle were the goal-scoring heroes in a game where Max Rose and Harry Myers netted for Maccabi.
Neil Collins, manager of South Manchester manager, said: “It was a superb performance of grit and clinical finishing saw them off after we had gifted them an equaliser.”
Lazare’s pace troubled the Manchester back line from the start and it eventually helped the home team in front as he cut in from the left before slotting a fine finish into the far corner of the net.
Maccabi were level soon afterwards as Gary Stewart, in the South Manchester goal, missed his attempted clearance and allowed Rose an open goal to equalise.
South continued to threaten though and they found themselves back in front by half time as Yoni Tenzar’s quick feet created the time and space to set up Mattison to fire home the second.
In a relatively even second half Maccabi had periods of sustained pressure as their passing threatened to produce an equaliser. They should have levelled with a quarter of an hour remaining, but Josh Hayes’ header crashed off the bar. And were made to pay as just five minutes later Searle slotted home from Lazare’s through ball.
There was still time for Myers to pull another goal back with a delicate chip after he beat a defender, but it was too little, too late for the visitors, whose manager Martin Simons was left concerned that his team’s title charge could unravel completely.
“I think we deserved to get more out of the game but we’re not playing well at the moment and if we don’t buck our ideas up we will fall by the wayside.”