There are some mouth-watering matches on Matchday 27 of the season, with Lions U21 and South Manchester battling it out for a place in the final of the Peter Morrison Trophy, while Oakwood A and Redbridge Jewish Care A will be looking to boost their MGBSFL Premier Division title credentials and Redbridge B hope to seal the Division One title.
March 30, 2017 15:28
PHOTOGALLERY: CAC SEMI-FINAL - FINCHLEY CITY vs REDBRIDGE A
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PETER MORRISON TROPHY SEMI-FINALS
Maccabi London Lions under-21's vs South Manchester Sports Club 1st (April 2, Rowley Lane)
Maccabi London Lions Masters vs North London Raiders A (April 9)
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CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP FINAL
Maccabi London Lions A vs Redbridge Jewish Care A
April 23, KO - 10.30am
Wingate & Finchley
YOUR WEEKEND PREVIEW STARTS HERE:
PETER MORRISON TROPHY SEMI-FINAL
MACCABI LONDON LIONS UNDER-21 vs SOUTH MANCHESTER SPORTS CLUB 1st
Opportunity knocks for both Lions U21 and South Manchester – two of the surprise packages of this season’s Jewish FA Cup.
The Lions edged past their A-team on penalties in the last eight. Now they are just 90 minutes from reaching the final. I doubt any of their players will sleep on Saturday night, although manager Joe Zender will be sure to order a strict curfew.
Goalkeeper Reuben Rabstein and striker Max Kyte are the biggest names – having represented London Lions in the Herts Senior County League with flying colours.
But the latest crop off the Rowley Lane conveyor belt are making headlines of their own. Sam Hamerton and Nathan Anders will be looking make things tough for South hot-shot Adam Lavin, while Fred Kramer was their match-winner in an earlier round.
By all accounts, South Manchester have the best coach in Jewish football, and I’m not talking about Neil Collins. They have a state-of-the-art team bus carrying them into the capital, boasting all the mod-cons. I’ve never heard chairman Jonny Davis so excited.
South showed tremendous character to keep their cup dreams alive against the MJSL Rep Team last week. They rallied from 2-0 down, with Lavin firing a double to send them through.
Wing wizard Toby Levy will be looking to impress, while veteran Mark Stewart will be responsible for keeping Kyte quiet.
Like Lions, South also won a tie on penalties, beating Redbridge A after a six-goal thriller. And they have a top goalkeeper in Alex Davies. He will be a key man once again.
Ahead of kick-off, South boss Neil Collins told JC Sport: “We look forward to travelling to London, again, and eating the bagels post game - they are always nicer down South for some reason.
"We stumbled over the line last week against the MJSL rep team so the boys know they have to prepare and perform better against a very strong opposition.
"We are without a couple of key players, but that's amateur Jewish football for you!"
Nerves could get the better of both sets of players on Sunday and it wouldn’t surprise me if it went all the way to penalties. Then it becomes a lottery.
LIONS (from): Reuben Rabstein, Sam Hamerton, Nathan Anders, Fred Kramer, Mikey Perkins, Max Misrahi, Nick Barnett, Josh Burns, Jack Mattey, Jamie Cohen, Max Kyte, Charlie Dryer, Jonny Rosen, Jacob Caplin
Venue – Rowley Lane, KO – 2.15pm
JC star man: Jack Mattey (Lions)
DC Prediction: Lions 1 South 1 (Lions to win on penalties
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MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
LEAGUE TABLE (TOP 3)
1. Oakwood A Pl. 17, W. 13, Pts. 42
2. Hendon A Pl. 17, W. 12, Pts. 37
3. Redbridge A Pl. 14, W. 11, Pts. 34
OAKWOOD A vs MACCABI LONDON LIONS A
Oakwood could be crowned league champions on Sunday – if they beat Lions and Redbridge lose to FC Team. It promises to be a nail-biting day.
The mighty Oaks have worked so hard to get into this position and they will be looking to finish the season with a bang.
Few could argue if they win the title – they have won the most matches and lost the fewest in the top-flight and conceded a paltry 12 goals in 17 games. They have been the model of consistency since losing to title rivals Redbridge in September, but they are not patting themselves on the back just yet. The next 90 minutes are huge.
Joint-manager Dan Kristall told JC Sport: “We go into Sunday’s season finale off the back of an unbelievable run since our Morrison exit in December.
“We’ve dropped two points in our last 10 league games and without doubt proved a lot of people wrong. Wherever that takes us in May, we are incredibly proud of our season.
“We do expect Redbridge to finish off the job as they have a relatively straightforward run-in against teams with very little to play for, but you never know in football and for us it has been a season of progress. Whatever happens, we will take that momentum into next season.
“To be in with any chance of finishing top, we know that we must keep the pressure on Redbridge and to do that we must beat an in-form Lions team fresh off the back of beating Hendon last week.”
Indeed Kristall has the utmost respect for the Lions, whom they crushed 5-1 at the Lane in December. Sam Cantor, Guy Helman, David Woolman, Jonny Quinn and Leor Sidle were the scorers that day.
Kristall went on to say: “This will not be an easy task. They have really picked up since their managerial change earlier in the season.
“Both Ryan and Will have put together a very good team and they have been rewarded with a cup final in a few weeks time.
“Our performance at their place in December was right up there with the best of our season. We made a real statement that day against a full-strength Lions team.”
Lions showed great concentration and desire against Hendon last week. But they will face a challenge of a different kind against an Oakwood gunning for title glory.
It wouldn’t surprise me if they drafted in a couple of big guns as they know what’s at stake, but rest assured Oakwood will leave nothing on the pitch and earn the right take maximum points.
JC team news: Dean Caplin returns in goal, Sam Cantor and Alex Lee face late fitness tests. Leor Sidle misses out injured. Rafi Stone returns and Oakwood welcome back Simon Davies for the first time since December. He returns from his Russian adventure.
POSSIBLE SQUADS:
OAKWOOD (from): Dean Caplin, Harvey Kay, Alex Lee, Dale Bradman, Lee Warner, Rafi Stone, Simon Davies, Kyle Bentwood, Thomas Prais, Dan Rose, Guy Helman, Brad Wine, David Woolman, Leor Sidle, Zach Collins, Sam Cantor, Jonny Blain
LIONS (from): Will Beresford, Ryan Springer, Jonny Ellis, Max Hassell, Jamie Jackson, Sam Lewis, Harry Marlow, Jack Rifkin, Adam Abadi, Richard Gold, Adam Arnold, James Gold
Venue – Nicholas Breakspear, KO – 10am
JC star man: Simon Davies (Oakwood)
DC Prediction: Oakwood 2 Lions 0
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CAMDEN PARK vs NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A
Last season’s champions Raiders will be looking to cement a quickfire double over a Camden Park team they beat 3-0 a fortnight ago.
A deadly double from Oscar Wagner set L’Orange up for their ninth league win of the season and they will be looking for another three points and clean sheet ahead of next weekend’s season-defining Peter Morrison semi-final against Lions Masters.
“I expect a tough game this Sunday,” Raiders boss Dan Shafron told JC Sport.
“Camden are in a transition stage and they didn’t make it easy for us two weeks ago. Whilst we controlled most of the play and deserved the three points, they will probably have more confidence at their home pitch and I’m sure they’ll look to try and keep us at bay for as long as possible.”
Camden’s 2-2 draw against Woodford secured another season of top-flight football, but manager Stirling Kay will be looking for an improvement against one of the big boys.
He told JC Sport: “Obviously, at any time, this would be a difficult game, but we are missing several players on Sunday and we are trying very hard to fulfil this fixture we are waiting on injuries late fitness tests on two players.
“I know the players we have available will give everything to give Raiders a run for their money.
“Unfortunately we only have one team whereas Shaf can choose from three teams, so we, as many other teams are at a major disadvantage.
As Kay mentions, superior strength in depth could hold the key on Sunday.
JC team news: Camden welcome back Steve Murad and Stuart silver to the squad.
POSSIBLE SQUADS
CAMDEN (from): Steve Murad, Stuart Silver, James Castle, Josh Tiano, Kane Gilbery, Max Gordon, Johann Jordi, David Khalatschi, Michael Khalatschi, Sacha Nusenbaum, Jake Saunders, Max Saunders, Richard Silver, Richard Harris, Ben Harris, Nick Kagan, David Kanzen, Dan Banth, Guy Marks
RAIDERS (from): Jake Doffman, Josh Morris, JJ Spiro, David Rhodes, Alex Bloch, Joe Cohen, Alex Elf, Jonny Kay, Adam Joselyn, Alex Elf, Oscar Wagner, David Dinkin, Liron Mannie, Matt Stock, Ben Ellis, David Nezri, David Cohen, Nick Lewis, Jono Rochwerger
Venue – Hadley FC, Ref – Richard Jay, KO – 10pm
JC star man: Adam Joselyn (Raiders)
DC Prediction: Camden 0 Raiders 2
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REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A vs FC TEAM A
I’ve heard reports FC Team are struggling to field a side against title-chasing Redbridge, which is the last thing the Oakwood management will want to hear.
Mitch Young told me Redbridge “are the best side” FC Team have played this season, and it will be a long morning for the visitors if they turn up with a scratch side out.
While FC Team must regroup, Redbridge approach the business end of the season with all to play for.
Yes they will have one eye on the Oakwood result, but they have already secured their place in a cup final and no-one can take that away from them. Let’s just hope Dean Nyman isn’t in charge of selecting the cup final suits (Ed. only joking Deano!!!)
Redbridge were at their rampaging best in the cup last weekend and they will fancy their chances, and running in a fair few goals, of registering their 12th win of the campaign.
Boss Jon Jacobs told JC Sport: “We aim to keep the pressure on Oakwood and hope that Lions can do us a favour and take points off them in their final game.”
It’s finished 10-1 in favour of Redbridge last month and you have to fear for FC Team second time around.
JC team news: Redbridge welcome back Nathan Sollosi from the University of Nottingham and Dean Nyman from the University of Life.
POSSIBLE SQUADS
REDBRIDGE (from): Dan Lee, Danny Berg, Ryan Cole, Sam McCarthy, Zac Neiman, Darryl Rubin, Adam Hakimi, Danny Hakimi, Ben Sollosi, Matt Berkley, James Berkley, Russell Goldstein, Nathan Sollosi, Sam Sollosi, Daniel Garfinkle, Steve Summers, Dean Nyman
FC TEAM (from): David Gordon, David Grossman, Jamie Breslaw, Andrei Grayson, James Korn, Dan Breger, Freddie Marks, James Millman, Jason Wood, Mitch Young, Danny Moss, Connor Perl, Adam Rones, Richard Salmon, Alan Aaronson, Eddie Sternberg
Venue – Old Parkonians, Ref – Richard Jay, KO – 10am
JC star man: Russell Goldstein (Redbridge)
DC Prediction: Redbridge 4 FC Team 0
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DIVISION ONE
LEAGUE TABLE (TOP 3)
1. Redbridge B (Promoted) Pl. 15, W. 13, Pts. 40
2. Lions B (Promoted) Pl. 16, W. 12, Pts. 38
3. Scrabble FC Pl. 18, W. 12, Pts. 38
HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB B vs NORTH LONDON RAIDERS B
Raiders and Hendon are oceans apart quality wise. Raiders are in a battle for fourth spot, which could secure a slot in the new, proposed JEuropa League competition next season.
As predicted, they ran out emphatic winners against Bilbaum last week and I can see Hendon going much the same way.
Any team boasting the likes of Jake Gilbert, Jacob Gold and Will Ufland is likely to stretch even the meanest defence, and Bilbaum parted like the Red Sea.
L'Orange ran out 5-1 winners in November - when the goals were shared around - and they will be looking for easy pickings against a Hendon team low on confidence.
The Reds were thumped 5-1 by Faithfold A earlier this month - and the Greens have since folded. They are struggling to score and the floodgates could open if Raiders score in the first 20 minutes.
POSSIBLE SQUADS
HENDON (from): Yehuda Fink, Akiva Fink, Blake Buckman, Saul Cohen, Ezekiel Jacob, James Neidle, Gaddy Piazza, Glen Turner, Ronen Weinstein, Marc Benamram, Stuart Harris, Gideon Barth, Daniel Holder, Gideon Gale, Adam Glekin
RAIDERS (from): Richard Bloom, Charles Braunstein, Matt Leader, Mark Leader, Anthony Goodmaker, Anthony Shaw, Alex Goodman, Josh Goldstein, Alex Elf, Ben Cherkas, Simon Buchler, Marc Woolfe, Josh Green, Jake Gilbert, Jacob Gold, Will Ufland, Rob Benson
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – Robert Caplin, KO – 10am
JC star man: Ben Cherkas (Raiders)
DC Prediction: Hendon 1 Raiders 5
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MACCABI LONDON LIONS B vs REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B
There’s simply no need to dress up this game – victory would secure the title for Redbridge. It’s as simple as that.
Going into the game with a two-point advantage, they can even afford to lose as they have a game in hand and a superior goal difference, but rest assured Sam Rank and co will leave nothing to chance.
Redbridge will travel to the Lane with revenge on their minds. Benji Weinberger and Daniel Fattal were the marksmen as Lions won a thriller in Essex 2-1 last month. Fattal won it with the last kick of the game.
But there was no hangover for Redbridge, who have beaten Scrabble twice since. And they cannot wait for Sunday.
“This is the last of three cup finals that the RJC B boys have had over the last few weeks,” Rank told JC Sport.
“The boys have passed the test in flying colours with two brilliant wins against, at the time, promotion-chasing Scrabble.
“This Sunday will be the toughest game of the season so far, against a good Lions B side. RJC B have been by far the most consistent team this season in MGBSFL Division One.
“The boys work-rate, commitment, attitude and mentality has been spot on, and it is a pleasure for me to guide the boys to the heights they have achieved this season.
“Sunday is about a number of things - hopefully, winning the league, that the boys deserve so much. The boys know a win on Sunday and the title will be theirs.
“To win the title especially, at your main rival ground is massive statement, and I very hopeful this can be achieved.
“Earlier on the season, the boys felt they were very unlucky to suffer their only defeat of season to Lions, by conceding in 93rd minute, so this game will be about putting that record straight.
“The squad available for Sunday is a managers dream, with quality all the over park, with Caplin, Sapler, Gayer, Bean (Kante) and Ben Yosef.
“This will be round one of two big battles for the clubs. With both A teams playing in Cyril Ankstein Cup final later on in month.
“The boys cannot wait for that first whistle to be blown, and neither can I. I am expecting a tight contest, but with quality, commitment and attitude the boys show, the Division One trophy will be brought back to Essex.”
The Lions have had a clear rest since their penalty shoot-out defeat against their A-team in the cup.
They are unbeaten in 90 minutes this year and will be looking to keep the title race alive for another week.
Lions boss Sam Marchant told JC Sport: “Stepping away from my involvement for a second, it’s first vs secodnd - it’s the chance for Redbridge to win the title and it’s a chance for London Lions to guarantee their promotion.
“This game has everything at stake and should be a blockbuster.
“Although promotion is nearly sealed (unless we have a goal difference of minus 16 in our final two games), we know the title is still on the line. If we beat Redbridge, we go back top of the table and the pressure is fully on Redbridge to perform and win the title as they have been expected to do since December.
“We know Redbridge will want revenge for us inflicting their first league defeat on them at their own ground in the dying seconds of the game and although there is silverware at stake, there is also plenty of pride.
“We expect Redbridge to come out firing in their usual physical manner and they will be fully prepared for the game.
“Our squad is relaxed and in a good situation at the moment, having had a near impossible task in December become possible by winning every single league game since the mid-season break.
“With promotion being the target and that nearly achieved, we are content but with a potential title at stake, we will not be holding back.
“Having beaten Redbridge twice this season, albeit one being a hotly-contested pre-season friendly, we know what it takes to beat them and believe we can do the same this Sunday.”
This game is impossible to call. It looks set to be a classic battle of cat and mouse.
JC team news: Redbridge have a full-strength to choose from for Sunday’s “colossal game”.
POSSIBLE SQUADS
LIONS: James Harpin, Adam Abadi, Nathan Anders, Zac Rose, Nick Landesberg, Daniel Behar, Josh Bloom, Ed Brafman, Charlie Cohen, Dan Green, Sammy Kingston, Benji Weinberger, Ben Winters, Elia Cohen, Dom Feldman, Michael Kenley, Matt Perlman
REDBRIDGE (from): Scott Shear, Richie Caplin, Jordan Sapler, Dan Andrews, Scott McKenzie, Sam Rank, Daniel Bean, Kane Hopps. Adam Goldman, Brad Gayer, Dean Ben Yosef, Jack Van Gelder, Anthony Cope, Adam Noble, David Fialka, Joe Jordan
Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – Neal Cohen, KO – 10am
JC star man: Sam Rank (Redbridge)
DC Prediction: Lions 2 Redbridge 2
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DIVISION TWO
LEAGUE TABLE (TOP 3)
1. L'EQUIPE (CHAMPIONS) Pl. 18, W. 15, Pts. 47
2. Temple Fortune Pl. 19, W. 11, Pts. 39
3. Redbridge C Pl. 18, W. 9, Pts. 32
L’EQUIPE vs TEMPLE FORTUNE
Temple Fortune will be looking to complete a highly successful season in style when they visit champions L’Equipe.
Jordan Sharifian – their primary goal-getter – has been stealing the headline for most of the season, but now goalkeeper Lee Fegan is the latest flavour of the month. Five consecutive shut-outs at any level of football is something to be proud of.
Fortune will feel they have a point to prove after allowing a winning position to slip against L’Equipe in November. So I expect a fast start.
Boss Simon Linden told JC Sport: “It's a game that the whole football club is looking forward.
“L’Equipe are champions and deservedly so. It’s going to be a tough game but based on recent form and a string of five straight wins we go into this one with confidence and belief that we can finish the season on a high.
“If we can get our job done and win the three points on Sunday then that is all I can ask from my team.
“We set ourselves a task to go unbeaten when we lost to RC UK in December and have almost delivered that goal with a fine run of form.
“Win against L'Equipe and hopefully it will be enough to win promotion and division 1 football next season.”
I believe this could be the perfect time for Fortune to play L’Equipe, who suffered their first league defeat last weekend.
Stern told JC Sport: “I wouldn’t call last week a disappointment as having spoken to all my players, they are still smiling and enjoying being called champions wherever they go.
“This week we go up against a very special opponent in the form of TFFC. As you know it’s where I started my men’s career and I have so much time and respect for that whole club. “They are a class outfit and with all the mess that is going on in MSFL right now, they have been able to stick together, continue playing and show real commitment each and every year.
“They are a class outfit and with all the mess that is going on in MSFL right now, they have been able to stick together, continue playing and show real commitment each and every year.
“To be honest I would like nothing more than to see L Equipe as a club, one day mentioned in the same breath as TFFC.
“However that won’t stop up from doing everything we can to get back to winning ways.
“Sadly we have a few more absentees this week as players are up and down the country celebrating the title win.
“After a hard slog I completely understand this and can only thank the 12 warriors that are turning up on Sunday as I know that each and everyone will do the shirt proud.
“This is our penultimate game of the season and we hope to get back to winning ways very quickly.
“One final thing from me, I would like to publically express my disbelief that a mainstay of Jewish football, Faithfold, has folded. If this doesn’t give the league the kick they need to make wholesale changes to ensure that 11-a-side Jewish football continues then I am not sure what will.
“We have managed to stick together for 10 years now and we want the league to do everything to make 11-a-side Jewish football more accessible to ensure that the league continues.
“The AGM will be one of the most heated ever and I hope by the time it rolls round a real plan has been put in place to simply make things better.
“I have so much respect and to be honest love for David Wolfe I just hope he appreciates how precarious the situation is right now.
No doubt L’Equipe will give this match and Sunday’s opponents the respect they deserve, but I’m backing Fortune to finish the season in style.
Venue – Old Finchleians, Ref – Daniel Fox, KO – 10am
JC star man: Adam Speck (Fortune)
DC Prediction: L’Equipe 1 Fortune 3
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RC UK FC vs HERTSWOOD VALE
Sunday will be a backs-to-the-wall job for Hertswood Vale, according to joint-manager Jacob Emanuel.
"We have three games left, two of those are against RC," Emanuel told JC Sport. "Despite not having played them as of yet, myself and Jack know enough about them to suggest that Sunday could be a very difficult morning.
"On their day, Avi Markiewicz and Dovi Vogel are just two of a great bunch of players who turned over a number of higher opposition teams in the cup.
"This week I've been bombarded with texts from Fortune manager Simon Linden, with tactics as his side look to finish above RC UK and gain promotion.
"However, we're going into Sunday's game with a nothing to lose mentality. Of course, we are still looking to finish away from the bottom of the table, but in a game which few are expecting a result, that could in fact be our inspiration to pull of a big shock.
"We know that we need to defend a whole lot better this week to have any chance - a season-ending injury to Theo Gluckstein and with Danny Feuer missing out due to stag-related activities have increased the size of the task, but I'm confident that our new centre-back partnership will emerge victorious.
"After scalps against Fortune and Redbridge already this season, RCUK would do well not to underestimate us."
RC UK go into the game on a high after ending the unbeaten run of champions L'Equipe. Their fans sang 'can we play you every week'.
Mordy Weiler was the star of the show, and his team-mates must look to get the ball to him at every opportunity.
But RC UK have unlimited attacking threats and I expect them to have far too much ammunition.
JC team news: Hertswood are missing captain Josh Wood and Elio Elia for this week's game. However, it's not all doom and gloom as top-scorer Josh Cohen returns, with Harry Graham looking to add to his 5 goals in his past 3 outings.
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – Stuart Ansher, KO – 10am
JC star man: Mordy Weiler (RC UK)
DC Prediction: RC UK 4 Hertswood 1
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BOCA JEWNIORS vs FAITHFOLD B
Faithfold's flag has been flying at half mast following the demise of the club's A-team.
Their demise has come as a huge wake-up call to the league, nonetheless David Garson's men will be looking to prove a point on Sunday.
The season promises so much, thanks to the goals of Richard Fogelman, but it's as though they are going through the motions now.
Faithfold's Avi Garson told JC Sport: "It's a sad week for all of us at Faithfold as the A-team folded with only weeks left to go.
"So we'd like to put Faithfold at the back of the paper for the right reasons. With only two games left in the season we are looking to go out with a bang.
"We will be playing very attacking football and press Boca intensely. Chase Lodge is a small pitch and we are taking a large squad so there's no reason we can't do so."
Boca were humiliated 9-1 by Faithfold in the first meeting. That was their biggest defeat and a real low-point.
But they will be all the better for some testing recent fixtures against the top two teams and it's important they treat Faithfold with the same mind-set.
Boca's Anton Nyman told JC Sport: "With three games to go, we see this fixture as one of the most winnable to end our season on a high.
"We need to be resilient and stop giving away easy goals but I think we can get something from this game."
Faithfold have some big-hitters present to ensure they make the headlines for the right reasons this week.
JC team news: Chaim Bordon is back for Pesach and returns to first-team action for Faithfold. Bordon has a remarkable record with seven goals in only three games - possibly the best conversion ratio in the league and he will be looking to improve that vs Boca. Avi Garson has recovered from a pulled hamstring. Louis Taylor, David Benaim and Johnny Gahan return too.
Oli Kyte has been ruled out with an injured hamstring and Boca are “still sweating on the fitness” of striker Ben Lederman
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – Paul Dobkin, KO – 10am
JC star man: Chaim Bordon (Faithfold)
DC Prediction: Boca 1 Faithfold 3
