There is something quite unique about the blend of players involved in this season’s Peter Morrison Trophy competition.
On one hand, you have players at, shall we say, the twilight of their careers. And on the other, you have young boys just starting out in the men’s game.
London Lions joint-manager Tony Gold and coach Darren Yarlett recently voiced their concerns about where future British Maccabiah players were coming from.
Numbers in the 11-a-side game are on the decline throughout the country, with the computer generation, the lure of Premier League football and the smaller sided game proving more attractive for some.
But HMH boss Avi Goldberg believes the future looks bright following his team’s stunning win over Brady Maccabi. “Our under-18’s showed why the next generation of Jewish footballers is alive and well,” he said.
And AC Whetstone must not be overlooked either, with Clive Nathan describing young Noah Bier as one of the “best young defenders in the league”.
By and large, experience got the better of youth last weekend, with Dan Castle, Adam Gishen, Nigel Goldthorpe, Alex Bourne, Adam Harvey, Wayne Davidson and Braham Hochenberg of the Masters Reps lasting the distance against King Crown.
Indeed the roll-on/roll-off rule certainly played into the hands of the more experienced teams.
Another thing that caught my eye was the number of multi-team clubs in the competition. HMH put out three teams, while Maccabi London Lions have entered four. Andy Landesberg’s multi-talented Spartans team must be considered dark horses.
* Maccabi London Lions have restructured their management committee as the club continues to expand its teams and organisation under chairman Andrew Landesberg.
The new line-up also features David Kyte, David Hyman, Nigel Burns, Elaine Taylor, Tony Gold, Nathan Kosky, Stephen Barnett, Mark Jacob, Daniel Jacobs, Jamie Kyte, Johnny Meltzer and David Pollock.
* My star of the week is Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet of Mill Hill United – the synagogue, not the football team.
His sermon at the yizkor service was incredibly powerful and uplifting, and certainly had the members nodding in approval. Literally every word struck a chord. Trying my best to fight back the tears, he certainly made a traumatic first experience one I will never forget.
