Hendon versus Oakwood is the pick of the fixtures on Matchday 20 of the MGBSFL season, while Redbridge Jewish Care A and Camden Park go in search of glory in the Cyril Anekstein Cup.
February 2, 2017 13:14
ByDanny Caro, By Danny Caro
PETER MORRISON TROPHY QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
---------------------------
---------------------------
MATCHDAY 19 PHOTOGALLERIES
REDBRIDGE JC A vs SOUTH MANCHESTER
MANCHESTER MACCABI vs NL RAIDERS
---------------------------
---------------------------
YOUR WEEKEND PREVIEW STARTS HERE:
CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP ROUND FOUR
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A vs CAMDEN PARK
Sunday is a game both Redbridge Jewish Care A and Camden Park dare not lose. But something has to give.
Redbridge are still recovering from their Peter Morrison Trophy exit at the hands of South Manchester. I expected them to do the business on home soil, but it was not to be.
Manager Jon Jacobs has spent much of the week lifting chins off the ground and no doubt they will be ready to go again. It is not often they score three goals and fail to win a game.
The lottery of penalties is a test of character and bottle and if Camden take them the distance, I expect RJC to do the business second time around.
The teams have already met twice this season, with RJC winning the first encounter 3-0 while Camden exacted revenge 2-1 in the return league match, with strikes from Rob Hershkorn and Josh Marks.
Camden played with no fear that day and Max Saunders will set his team up to be organised and disciplined, keeping a close eye on the creative talents of Sam Sollosi.
RJC still harbour double aspirations but they have to be at their ruthless best to overcome resilient opponents on Sunday.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
RJC (from): Jay Jaffa, Dan Lee, James Berkley, Russell Goldstein, Zack Neiman, Adam Hakimi, Danny Hakimi, Nate Kashket, Sam McCarthy, Darryl Rubin, Nathan Sollosi, Daniel Garfinkle, Steve Summers, Dean Nyman, Ben Sollosi, Scott Oldstein, Russell Goldstein
CAMDEN (from): Steve Murad, Dan Baneth, Kane Gilbery, Rick Harris, Robert Hershkorn, Nick Kagan, David Kanzen, David Khalastchi, Michael Khalastchi, Alon Hershkorn, Jake Saunders, Max Saunders, Ezra Zipper, Sacha Nusenbaum, Hadrian Darman, Max Gordon, Johann Jordi, Josh Marks
Venue - TBC, Ref – Mark Jacob, KO – 10am
JC star man: Zack Neiman (Redbridge)
DC Prediction: RJC 2 Camden 1
---------------------------
---------------------------
MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
TOP-SCORERS
16 - Zac Lewis (Hendon Utd SC A)
15 - Reiss Mogilner (Brady Maccabi)
OAKWOOD A vs HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB A
Revenge is the name of the game for a Hendon team who trail Oakwood by four points following last weekend’s 3-1 defeat.
SEE PHOTOS FROM LAST WEEK'S MATCH
I watched about 75 or so minutes of what was a high quality performance from Oakwood, and boy did they take their chances.
Their defence was stretched and tested early on, but on each occasion goalkeeper Dean Caplin came up with the answers. And once they settled, they were ruthless in and around the Hendon penalty area.
You will do well to see a better strike than Kyle Bentwood’s stunning opener. He couldn’t have hit it any sweeter. And Brad Wine’s unerring finish was the sign of a class player.
Truth be told, Alex Lee looked as surprised as his teammates when his free-kick evaded Arthur Caplin and found the top corner. Whereas Hendon’s openings were snuffed out, Oakwood had the real killer touch in front of goal. And when Rocky Spitzer finally found a way past Caplin it was too little, too late.
So on to Sunday now and Oakwood know the importance of a repeat performance. Joint-manager Dan Kristall told JC Sport; We go into the reverse fixture and round two after our hard-fought win over Hendon last week.
“As stated post-match, we expect a big response from Hendon. I’m sure David has been on the phone to his absentees from last week and I’m sure he will rile up his troops for a big performance.
“They are firmly in the box-seat as they know that if they avoid defeat, they will be big title favourites.
“In our favour is that strangely we did not play our best football last week, yet still came away with a really good victory.”
Dale Bradman, Lee Warner and Leor Sidle also caught the eye last week, while the industrious Dave Woolman kept energy levels high in the second half and Ben Lauffer kept things ticking over in the middle of the pitch.
Kristall added: “As much as David may refer to them “battering us” in the second half, the game was already won and if we look at the first half, we were by far the better side. We had complete control and other than the threat of the occasional counter-attack, we were in complete control.
“We didn’t need to play football in the second half, the onus was on Hendon to break us down which they only managed to do deep into stoppage time.
“We are one week further on and have players with more minutes under their belt. Both Harvey Kaye and Kyle Bentwood hadn’t played for six weeks until last week.
“We feel confident that if we apply our game-plan and defend as well as we did last week, we can keep up our fantastic run of form.
“We know that to beat Hendon again, we will have to be at our very, very best.”
Hendon boss David Garbacz pointed to some key men missing last week. The experienced Russ Corin was one of them, but after a good first 20 minutes, they lacked bite and cutting edge. Simon Peterman was sorely missed and unless they can bolster in midfield they will find things tough again.
Looking ahead to the game, Garbacz told JC Sport: “Including all the cup finals we have played in recent years, I make this the biggest game that Hendon has played since we last won the title. Win, and we are very much back in pole position, lose and it is out of our hands.
“Although the result last week was incredibly disappointing, the overall performance was not. In the second half especially I thought we were outstanding and on another day, with only a tiny bit of luck, we would have forced ourselves back into the match.
“We therefore go into Sunday full of belief and confidence, but the talking stops once we get out on the pitch and ultimately only the result this week matters. Thankfully we have a couple of important players back for Sunday and we should be able to name at least 14 players as opposed to just the 11 we named last week. This will give us far more options whatever the score-line during the match which is a big bonus.
“We have full respect for Oakwood and what they’ve achieved both this year and in previous years, but once kick-off commences this week the boys know that everything will be on the line and we must make sure we make no mistakes, concentrate fully for every minute and come what may, we somehow have to find a way to win.
“It will be tense and frenetic I’m sure and it will be everything Sunday morning football should be. “
There’s nothing more for me to add than may the best team win.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
OAKWOOD (from): Elliott Jackson, Dean Caplin, Lee Warner, David Cohen, Alex Lee, Kyle Bentwood, Dale Bradman, Guy Helman, Brad Wine, Sam Cantor, Ben Lauffer, Zach Collins, Ben Lauffer, David Woolman, Jonny Quinn, Dan Rose, Leor Sidle, Rafi Stone, Luke Brookner
HENDON (from): Arthur Caplin, Greg Corin, Alex Rosenthal, Zac Garbacz, Ben Kon, Avi Korman, Yehuda Korman, Ari Last, Simon Peterman, Ari Nevies, Dovi Fehler, Josh Harris, Zac Lewis, Moses Seitler, Yoav Kestenbaum, Simon Peterman
Venue – Hadley FC, Ref – Richard Jaye, KO – 10am
JC star man: Ben Lauffer (Oakwood)
DC Prediction: Oakwood 2 Hendon 1
---------------------------
---------------------------
MACCABI LONDON LIONS A vs BRADY MACCABI
Lions were far from their best in the Morrison against FC Team. But they got the job done.
Like their Rowley Lane stablemates, they go into the derby in good form knowing a victory would take their above Brady. And they have two games in hand.
The arrival of Brad Sharp gave Lions great energy last Sunday. We scored one, set one up and is pushing for a start.
Brad Dryer was Brady’s star performer in the 2-0 win over SPEC FC last week. The return of Ben Kohler from a broken leg has lifted everyone in the camp and they will be determined to finish the weekend above Lions.
Joint-manager Josh Dagul told JC Sport: “Four wins on the bounce has given the players the confidence that we can compete in this league and Sunday's game is no more than another test of our ability.
“We'd like to wish Sam Castle a massive mazel tov on his wedding this Sunday and I have no doubt he would like nothing more than three points against Lions.”
The action will be fast and frenetic and I can see both sets of fans going home happy after an action-packed encounter.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
LIONS (from): Declan Green, David Sacal, David Slovik, Will Beresford, Alex Taylor, Richard Gold, Ryan Springer, Ben Lampert, Oli Craig, Max Hassell, Jamie Jackson, Harry Marlow, Sam Sloma, Alex Rose, Elliot Stern, Adam Arnold, Adam Burchell, Max Kyte, Adam Stolerman, Sam Arghebant, James Gold, Udi Amiel, James Gershfield
BRADY (from): Josh Miller, Jordan Nathan, Henry Ziff, Dan Cohen, David Cohen, Eli Dagul, Brad Dryer, Reiss Mogilner, Sam Monjack, Ben Kohler, Sam Castle, Ricky Rinder, Dan Harrod, Josh Newman, Casey Sharpe
Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – Martin Lavender, KO – 10am
JC star man: Henry Ziff (Brady)
DC Prediction: Lions 2 Brady 2
---------------------------
---------------------------
NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A vs SPEC FC
Dan Shafron breathed a sigh of relief after his Raiders team successfully negotiated a tough cup outing in Manchester last weekend.
The clean sheet was much-needed while the long-range striker from Adam Joselyn was a real collector’s item. The travelling NLR fans had expected to see the likes of Liron Mannie, Ben Ellis or Matt Stock register, but it was midfield general Jos who delivered the killer blow.
NLR are odds-on picking up what would be their fifth league triumph of the season when basement battlers SPEC come to their Wembley home.
Shafron told JC Sport: “Our performance in Manchester last Sunday was a long time coming and has given us a platform to build on for the rest of the season.
“The boys have shown that they can push themselves to another level and have risen the bar in terms of expectations.
“We shouldn’t settle for anything less and we must now apply the same level of effort and desire every week.”
SPEC FC failed to score for the fourth time this season as they went down to their 10th league defeat of the season against Brady Maccabi last week.
Manager Ricky Lawrence will be tempted to play Mourinho-style tactics and park the bus, but that will depend on the attitude and organisation of his team.
Lawrence told JC Sport: "We are down to the bare bones on Sunday, only being able to field an 11 with a last-minute arrival, unfortunately it's not the sort of signing that saw fans surrounding our training ground holding all sort of obscene banners.
"Darren Lawrence attracts no such crowd. We will give it our absolute best though as we have attempted to do each week this season. We're hopeful that one week we will provide a giant-killing."
NLR have the bit between their teeth after their uplifting cup triumph and I can see them doing the business again on Sunday.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
NLR (from): Jake Doffman, Josh Morris, Alex Bloch, David Rhodes, JJ Spiro, David J Cohen, Joe Cohen, David Dinkin, Adam Gold, Jonathan Rochwerger, Joe Cohen, Nick Lewis, Matthew Stock, Liron Mannie, Nyv Bogaire, Ben Ellis, Jordan Marks, David Nezri
SPEC (from): Simon Roth, Simon Bagel, Ryan Fox, Marc Hecht, Dan Cohen, Jon Kaye, Ben Kaye, Laurence Rosenthal, Craig Cohen, Rob Murray, David Kendall, Robert Murray, Sam Roth, Dan Amram, Elliott Wallis, Nick Wallis, Ben Kaye, Ricky Lawrence, Daniel Pike
Venue – The Ark, Ref – Martin Fox, KO – 10am
JC star man: David Dinkin (NLR)
DC Prediction: Raiders 4 SPEC 0
---------------------------
---------------------------
WOODFORD WANDERERS vs FC TEAM A
Daryl Kay didn’t mince his words when he caught up with JC Sport ahead of Sunday’s showdown with FC Team.
A run of seven consecutive league defeats has consigned many Woodford fans, but not Kay who believes his players can pull clear of the relegation zone.
He told JC Sport: “This Sunday is the first of four cup finals for the boys - our mentality is‘all or nothing for these last four games.
“We’ve had a pretty tough ride the past few weeks, we’ve played all the best teams one week after another and have been waiting for our chance to play FC Team again after, quite frankly, embarrassing ourselves last time out.”
“We’ll be going for it big time this Sunday, it should be a cracker.”
FC Team produced a strong performance in the Jewish FA Cup last week but they were edged out by Lions A.
Manager Mitch Young is targeting a league double after FC Team beat Woodford 6-3 in October with doubles from Lorian Madanes and Richard Salmon.
In a game where Woodford need to pull out all the stops to win, the battle between Adam Shafron and Salmon will be key to the outcome.
JC team news: Woodford welcome back Ell Gold “who has been a huge miss for us, spending months on the sidelines with a mysterious groin injury” and Harrison should be fit to start after making his comeback a couple of weeks back.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
WOODFORD (from): Ben Rosenthal, Adam Shafron, Jerome Marks, Paul Biller, Alex Aviram, Ricky Fox, Darryl Green, David Green, Jason Patmore, James Ryan, Tom Alexander, Ryan Silkman, Dan Wexler
FC TEAM (from): Ed Bloom, David Gordon, Dan Breger, Andrei Grayson, Gary Hill, James Milman, Danny Moss, Connor Perl, Adam Rones, Richard Salmon, Jason Wood, Mitch Young, Eddie Sternberg
Ref – Robert Benardout, KO – 10
JC star man: Adam Shafron (Woodford)
DC Prediction: Woodford 2 FC Team 1
---------------------------
---------------------------
DIVISION ONE
TOP-SCORERS
10 - Oliver Sade (Finchley City)
9 - Josh Bloom (ML Lions B), Josh Bharier (Scrabble FC)
FINCHLEY CITY vs NORTH LONDON RAIDERS B
High-flying Finchley City are raring to go ahead of Sunday’s promotion six-pointer against Raiders B.
With games in hand on all the teams above them, Joel Holder’s troops will be looking to claim the scalp of experienced opponents who were back to their best last week.
Back-to-back wins over Scrabble mean that confidence is sky high and a big crowd is expected.
Ahead of kick-off, Holder told JC Sport: “Our last two fixtures have been postponed, so the boys can't wait to play against Raiders on Sunday.
“This will arguably be our toughest league game of the season to-date, as Raiders are clearly one of the best teams in the division.
“Redbridge dropping points last week has blown the league wide open. The champions this season will be the team who has the best head-to-head against the top 5, so it's imperative we get a result on Sunday.
“We have watched Raiders play this season, so we know what to expect. They play a very similar way to us.
“Confidence is high at the camp and we have a full squad of 16 players available. It's going to be a big test on Sunday, but the boys want to keep our recent form intact and show our title credentials.”
Raiders could finish the weekend in second place if things go their way. Anthony Goodmaker, Alex Goodman, Jacob Gold and Will Ufland registered in the 4-2 win over Los Blancos and boss Jonny Adelman knows his big-match players must all stand up and be counted against their ambitious opponents.
I’m predicting goals aplenty in what will be a big test of Finchley’s credentials.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
FINCHLEY (from): Yossi Lanning, Josh Aziz, Shim Bensoor, Eli Davila, Josh Gaon, Josh Kanter, Rafi Kon, Gabriel Krieger, Oliver Sade, Daniel Sinclair, Jono Gaon, Dan Polak, Moshe Fehler, Daniel Kozielek, Sam Leader
NLR (from): David Simnock, Ben Sheldon, Matt Leader, Mark Leader, Lewis Blitz, Anthony Goodmaker, Anthony Shaw, Danny Bloom, Charles Braunstein, Jake Gilbert, Alex Goodman, Elad Hertshten, Jack Roberts, Josh Alswang, Toby Katz, Sam Shooter, Will Ufland, Ziv Berreby
Venue – Capital City, Ref – Daniel Fox, KO – 10am
JC star man: Danny Bloom (NLR)
DC Prediction: Finchley 2 Raiders 2
---------------------------
---------------------------
HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB B vs SCRABBLE FC
Ray Abrahams walked into his office like The Wolf of Wall Street on Monday following Scrabble’s epic league victory over Oakwood B.
Many teams would have folded in an intimidating environment but everywhere you looked, there were real warriors across the Scrabble team as they held on to seal a crucial 2-1 win which has put them smack bang in the promotion mix.
A very proud Abrahams referred to his players as “heroes”. He told JC Sport that following Zac McLeod’s red card, the “camaraderie and determination to take the three points drove us on”.
With table-toppers Redbridge B dropping points, “things are back in our hands,” according to Abrahams who saluted his team’s “best performance of the season”.
Rob Blackman, Brandon Sassoon, Josh Pugh, Elliot Espinoza, Dan Green, Josh Bharier and Danny Sherman all registered 9/10. Captain marvel Sassoon was rock solid while Green played like a man possessed. And with Los Blancos and Faithfold A to follow, this is the beginning of an important part of Scrabble’s season.
Abrahams told JC Sport: "We have been playing some great stuff in the last few weeks and we have shown both our attacking qualities two weeks ago against Athletic Bilbaum when we hit four goals and then a real top performance defensively when down to 10 men in last week's win at Oakwood.
"We have to now keep up that level in our remaining games and pick up as many points as we can. It's going to be really tough trying to secure a top two place but we are confident that we can stay in the leading pack.
"We've played most of our rivals home and away now but they all have to play each other so it will be interesting to see who takes points off of each other.
"We just have to win as many games as we can and try and improve our goal difference which could be worth an extra point at the end of the season."
Hendon start as major underdogs on Sunday. They’ve won only once in 11 matches and have conceded 44 goals. Added to that, their home form has been abysmal so if Scrabble score early doors the floodgates could open.
JC team news: Scrabble will add new arrival Tom Prevezer to their squad. In-form Danny Sherman is missing this week and Zak McLeod plays his last game before a two-match suspension. Adam Zaidman continues in goal.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
HENDON (from): Yehuda Fink, Gideon Barth, Marc Benamram, Gideon Gale, Oliver Garbacz, Stuart Harris, Ezekiel Jacob, James Neidle, Jono Nesbitt, Matan Ozin, Gabriel Saul, Daniel Holder, Adam Glekin, Ronen Weinstein
SCRABBLE (from): Adam Zaidman, Rob Blackman, Adam Waters, Daniel Stock, Elliott Espinoza, Daniel Green, Brandon Sassoon, Josh Bharier, Tom Prevezer, Sam Stead, Zac Summerfield, Josh Pugh, Zak McLeod
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – Keith Goodman, KO – 10am
JC star man: Josh Pugh (Scrabble)
DC Prediction: Hendon 0 Scrabble 5
---------------------------
---------------------------
LOS BLANCOS vs MACCABI LONDON LIONS B
Nick Grosse experienced his “proudest moment” as Blancos manager against Raiders B last week.
Although the result didn’t go his way, gaffer Grosse commended his team’s “passion, commitment, teamwork, willing and determination” on a day they gave everything.
Grosse welcomes back some key players and he told JC Sport: “I hope those returning next week can maintain the high standards.”
Dean Rosenthal fired Lions to their sixth success of the season against Hendon last week. It was a game in which Sam Marchant’s men didn’t need to get out of first gear. They won hands down.
Blancos will make things tougher, but I think Lions will have too much on the day.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
BLANCOS (from): Nick Grosse, Joel Barnett, Sam Cramer, Joe Davis, Svi Freedman, Josh Gertner, Tim Heynes, Benjy Israel, Avishai Kestenbaum, Josh Landy, Alex Lewis, Elliott Moslawy, Josh Kramer, Jeff Gross, James Joseph
LIONS (from): James Harpin, Nathan Anders, Dan Green, Sammy Kingston, Daniel Behar, Ed Brafman, Charlie Cohen, Daniel Fattal, Dom Feldman, Benji Weinberger, Elia Cohen, Michael Kenley, Josh Bloom, Dean Rosenthal, Adam Abadi, Sean Ekon, Ben Winters, Harry Kurlander, Guy Surkis, Zack Linden
Venue - Hertswood, Ref – Neal Cohen, KO – 10am
JC star man: Guy Surkis (Lions)
DC Prediction: Blancos 1 Lions 3
---------------------------
---------------------------
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B vs ATHLETIC BILBAUM
Redbridge B experienced the Sam Rank hairdryer for the first time after the 4-4 draw against Faithfold A last week.
Rank admitted the Greens deserved their point, but he was deeply disappointed by the level of his Redbridge team.
However, he should be rightly proud of their nine match unbeaten streak and he will challenge his players to continue their excellent form against Bilbaum on Sunday.
“The wake-up call the boys needed if RJC B are going to win the league,” Rank told JC Sport after the Faithfold game.
“The boys will be working very hard on the training field to move to levels I know they can do.”
Availaibility looks excellent for Sunday. Rank told JC Sport: "The boys know they need to up performance levels dramatically. Some of them walked onto the pitch thinking the game was already won before a ball was kicked last week.
"We disrespected the opposition by trying to overplay the ball at times and not working off the ball.
"This week the RJC B boys have discussed this in detail and this will not be happening again.
"A good training session were the basics were worked on was very good to see from the manager.
"We go into this week fixture against Bilbuam with a new mentality, that will be showed on Sunday.
"I am expecting a big performance and I'm confident we will return to winning ways."
Bilbaum have failed to score in their last two matches and the odds are stacked against them on Sunday.
Matt Berkley was RJC’s match-winner when the teams met last month and with top-scorer David Fialka back in the fold I can see them completing the double over the Baums.
JC team news : RJC B are at full-strength for this encounter.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
REDBRIDGE (from): Scott Shear, Daniel Andrews, Daniel Bean, Matthew Berkley, Richie Caplin, Kane Hopps, Ben Chernoff, Jamie Bernstein, Bradley Gayer, Adam Goldman, Joe Jordan, Scott McKenzie, Adam Noble, Anthony Cope, Sam Moss, Sam Rank, David Fialka
BILBAUM (from): Ben Bell, Jacob Brunner, Ben Cantopher, Sam Deaner, Jamie Fireman, Daniel Goldhill, Jonah Gordon-Boyd, Eli Gottlieb, Julius Judah, Ben Lewis, Rob Rodney, Jamie Fireman, Jay Rosenthal, Nick Shinder, Barnaby Powell
Venue – Old Parkonians, Ref – David Lazarus, KO – 10am
JC star man: David Fialka (Redbridge)
DC Prediction: Redbridge 2 Bilbaum 0
---------------------------
---------------------------
DIVISION TWO
TOP-SCORERS
25 - Richard Fogelman (Faithfold B)
19 - Jordan Sharifian (Temple Fortune)
BOCA JEWNIORS vs TEMPLE FORTUNE
February is a key month for Temple Fortune in terms of the promotion race.
Following Sunday’s trip to Mill Hill, they host Real Hendon followed by Faithfold B so it’s crucial Simon Linden’s men continue to put points on the board.
That man Jordan Sharifian produced the goods again in the 3-1 win over Faithfold B last week. Michael Woolf, Michael Goldberg and Jake Marks came in for praise as they secured three precious points.
Fortune boss Simon Linden told JC Sport: "It's the same old story, we have a few in and a few out. We need to build on last week's win and it's crucial that we pick up another three points on Sunday.
"We do not under-estimate Boca, especially their recent form."
But Fortune face a challenge of a different kind on Sunday against Boca. The heady heights of back-to-back wins were quickly forgotten about as they were outplayed by leaders L’Equipe.
They failed to deal with L’Equipe’s long throws and capitulated in the second half.
Boca's Anton Nyman told JC Sport: "We need to bounce back after last week's second-half horrors.
"We have good relations with Temple Fortune and will be hoping for a good game Sunday weather-permitting.
"It's going to be a big challenge, with a couple of key absentees including the free-scoring Sam Simon and Brett Schuman who have all of our last three league goal-scoring but we believe in ourselves to get a job done on Sunday."
And I can see them struggling to nullify Fortune’s attacking threat.
JC team news: There is "still no" Aron Barnes who is recovering from injury for Fortune who welcome back Lee Fegan in goal which means Brett stead will be back on pitch.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
BOCA (from): Will Martyn, Joshua Cinna, Oliver Kyte, Jamie Leboff, Joseph Leigh, Michael Myers, Anton Nyman, Ben Retter, Michael Rosenthal, Brett Schuman, Jonathan Winton, Matt Davis, Sam Simon, Benjamin Lederman
FORTUNE (from): Lee Fegan, Brett Stead, Gideon Wetrin, Rob Jay, Robbie Berwald, Michael Goldberg, Adam Lenz, Jake Marks, Adam Speck, Jordan Sharifian, Gab Stone, Ollie Squires, Michael Woolf
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – Steve Levy, KO – 10am
JC star man: Michael Woolf (Fortune)
DC Prediction: Boca 1 Fortune 4
---------------------------
---------------------------
CATFORD & BROMLEY MACCABI vs REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B
Redbride B, much like their respective A and B teams, are doing the club proud this season.
Josh Hambling's men start the game in second place and they will be heap more misery on a Catford team who have won just once in their last nine.
With matches against Hertswood and Raiders C on the horizon, this is an important part of RJC's season. They have not conceded in over 180 minutes and have the mentality to match their work-rate.
Catford were hit for six against Mill Hill last week. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what has gone wrong for them this season, but it's important they concentrate on the next game only. As analysing their defensive performances between now and November will leave Jeff Gotch having sleepless night.
They are capable of matching Redbridge in all areas and will be determined to make a real statement of intent before it's too late, so expect plenty of goals.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
CATFORD (from): Guy Ben-Aroya, Lawrence Bloom, Tal Cohen, Jeff Gotch, Joel Lassman, Joe Levy, Callion MacGregor, Yarden Sharon, Ashley Stokes, Lioz Tov, Richard Winton, Gavin Fox, Alex Newman, Jacob Richler-Kleiman
REDBRIDGE (from): Scott Shear, Amir Nathan, Jimmy Castle, Josh Cohen, Jacob Kaye, James Law, Rafe Neiman, Ben Oldstein, Craig Phillips, Jordan Sapler, Matt Zartz, Lee Cutler, Barry Green, Dan Lipman
Venue – Christs College, Ref – Andy Myerson, KO – 10am
JC star man: Joel Lassman (Catford)
DC Prediction: Catford 3 Redbridge 3
---------------------------
---------------------------
HERTSWOOD VALE vs RC UK FC
Cup kings RC UK FC mustn't expect the red carpet treatment when they travel to basement battlers Hertswood Vale.
Avi Markiewicz's men have knocked two top-flight teams out of the Jewish FA Cup in their first season, but it's back to the bread and butter of the league as they look to close the gap on the top two.
However, there is a certain fear factor in the Hertswood camp ahead of kick-off. Let's just hope they haven't had a dodgy lasagne.
The hosts still await their first MGBSFL win, but victory over RC UK would make managers Jacob Emanuel and Jack Shulman strong candidates for JC Manager of the Week.
Emanuel told JC Sport: "I'm not particularly looking forward to this weekend. Although we have pulled a strong squad together this week, having trained with RC UK earlier in the season, we believe that we are facing the league's best side on Sunday.
"Having said that, Jack and I are only too familiar with the threat posed by Markiewicz and Vogel having played alongside them at London Rovers, whilst we are confident of drowning out the prowess of Jonti Aremband.
"Despite an emotional reunion for club chairman Vivian Emanuel, who has both managed and chaired a number of the RC UK squad in the past, trust me when I say we'll be leaving all niceties off the pitch on Sunday morning.
"RCUK may have beaten big opposition in Oakwood A and Camden Park in recent weeks, but they haven't travelled to the fortress yet. Sunday should be interesting."
RC UK you have been warned.
JC team news: Hertswood are missing top-scorer Josh Cohen and captain Josh Wood this week, whilst co-manager Jack Shulman is likely to miss out through injury. THey do however see the return of Ashley Hirschberger, Adrian Leibovitch and Elio Elia, whilst the dynamic duo of Jordan Harris and Harry Graham return from Bristol.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
HERTSWOOD (from): Yaacov Goldin, Adam Cohen, Ben Davis, Jacob Emanuel, Danny Feuer, Josh Goodman, Charles Hollis, Joshua Webber, Jordan Harris, Harry Graham, Ashley Hirschberger, Adrian Leibovitc, Elio Elia
RC UK FC (from): Joseph Corin, Jonti Aremand, David Brown, Gideon Caller, Dudi Edreyi, Leor Harel, Jake Lewis, Aaron Luftig, Avi Markiewicz, Avi Mocton, Dovi Vogel
Venue – Tempsford Green, Ref – Mike Cowan, KO – 10am
JC star man: Aaron Luftig (RC UK)
DC Prediction: Hertswood 1 RC UK 4
---------------------------
---------------------------
L’EQUIPE vs FAITHFOLD B
Faithfold B will be the latest team to try and halt L'Equipe's merciless march towards the title. But they go into the game on the back of two defeats which has seen them slip out of the promotion zone.
Richard Fogelman missed last week's defeat against Temple Fortune, although reports that he has gone AWOL following an aborted move to a Premier Division team on Deadline Day have proved false.
Faithfold lack an obvious goal touch when Fogelman is absent, something L'Equipe have in abundance. Andy Smith was in a league of his own last Sunday, putting four past Boca in a top-notch individual performance.
This is a very different L'Equipe side now, not just in formation but also in mentality - the title is in their sights now.
Boss Nick Stern told JC Sport: "We have another huge game this weekend against Faithfold. To be honest, as their A’s have no game so we are not sure which team will show up but we are ready to play, and battle against any team that we come up against.
“We want to continue our brilliant run and defend our home fortress and we know that nothing less than a victory will do
“We have a couple of absentees this week but still 17 players wanting to play so some tough decision ahead.”
Faithfold will do their best to stop them but L'Equipe are men on a mission to succeed in their 10th season and they will tick all the boxes again on Sunday.
Venue - Old Finchleians, Ref - Steve Russell, KO – 10am
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
L'EQUIPE (from): Grant Bates, James Bell, Scott Bennett, Matthew Gilbery, Marc Glucksman, James Mandell, David Prager, Rob Simons, Mark Singer, Andy Smith, Nick Stern, Richard Alexander, Tamir Grant, Jon Kay, Max Martin
FAITHFOLD (from): David Garson, Ben Kfir, Dan Lowen, Daniel Abrams, David Benaim, Avi Garson, Josh Garson, JJ Marrache, Michael Patterson, James Stanton, Tomer Weider, Richard Fogelman
JC star man: Jon Kay (L'Equipe)
DC Prediction: L'Equipe 3 Faithfold 1
---------------------------
---------------------------
MILL HILL DONS vs NORTH LONDON RAIDERS C
Goals are guaranteed on Sunday when mid-table rivals Mill Hill Dons welcome Raiders C.
Raiders featured four different scorers in the win over Hertswood - their third win on the spin.
And they will be on a revenge mission of sorts as the Dons beat them 3-2 in a real thriller in October.
But NLR boss Sam Rose is taking nothing for granted. He told JC Sport: "Four on the spin would be a great achievement if we can pull it off, but we are well aware of the challenge Mill Hill pose and will need to be at our best.
"We took a while to find our rhythm last week and know we can't afford the same this week.
"This squad has fantastic strength in depth and the ability to really go out there and put on a great performance. I'm really looking forward to this week's game."
Zach Cohen inspired the Dons to their fifth win since joining the league. They played with real freedom against Catford and at times their football got manager Brandon Hamme off his chair.
But they will need to show discipline to match their flair against a Raiders team with experience throughout.
The battle of the strikers - Nick Haringman and Zach Cohen will definitely be one to watch.
JC team news: NLR captain Nick Haringman returns from a bout of tonsillitis to the Raiders line-up as does Dan Lovat who's missed a few weeks out.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
DONS (from): Sam Cicurel, Zach Cohen, Adam Isaacs, Sam Kahn, Tommy Lennard, Josh Moses, Zach Perez, Nick Phillips, Jordan Rinsler, James Segal, Joel Sinclair-Horne, Ryan Kramer
RAIDERS (from): Andrew Cohen, Alex Elf, Adam Leveson, Joel Macader, Jay Rosenthal, Robert Samuelson, Anthony Shaw, Alex Sherr, Callum Stein, Liam Stein, Ricky Zeiderman, Nick Haringman, Josh Daniels, Jonny Blain, David Domb
Venue – Mill Hill Parks, Ref - Paul Dobkin, KO – 10am
JC star man: Adam Leveson (Raiders)
DC Prediction: Dons 2 Raiders 3
---------------------------
---------------------------
ALSO SEE:
GOAL OF THE WEEK: Kyle Bentwood (Oakwood A)
SAVE OF THE WEEK: Jake Doffman (NL Raiders A)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK Avi Markiewicz (RC UK FC)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Josh Shaffer (RC UK FC)
MANAGERS OF THE WEEK: Dan Kristall and Ric Blank (Oakwood A)
REFEREE OF THE WEEK: Brandon Pieters (Redbridge JC A vs South Manchester SC 1st)