CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP ROUND TWO
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 4 FAITHFOLD DOC MM A 1
Faithfold A came with a strong squad, including Louis Naughten, David Leiwy and Daniel Garfinkle. While RJC had returning legend Dean Nyman back in the team, and the masterful skillsman Sam Sollosi making his first appearance for the A's this season.
The game started at a frantic pace, with both teams attacking, but a mistake from RJC A defence let Garfinkle in and he finished well to put the top-flight team ahead.
RJC responded positively, confident that with the quality on show, they could turn the game around. The home side dominated the play and had a number of chances to level, with Nyman going close with a number of strikes, including one that hit the woodwork.
Faithfold attacks were few and far between, with their biggest threat coming on the counter-attack. But they defended stubbornly and went into the break a goal to the good.
Sam Rank's message to RJC players was to "keep playing and be patient, once a goal is scored the heavens will open." Rank introduced Adam Noble and Jamie Bernstein to bring more shape and pressure in the RJC midfield and this paid immediate dividends.
The home side equalised 15 minutes into the second half when the RJC midfield, who were now dominating the Faithfold, pressed high, and after good work from the trio of Noble, Jamie Bernstein and James Berkley, the latter played the ball to the in-form Nate Kashket who lashed a sensational drive from the corner of the 18 yard box into the opposite corner, leaving the Faithfold A keeper with no chance.
RJC forged ahead five minutes later, when good work from Bernstein, Sollosi and Nyman allowed Berkley to receive the ball in the penalty box and in true Moussa Dembele style, he weaved in and out of three challenges and finished with his weaker right foot into the top corner - another great goal.
The third goal came shortly after, when the RJC midfield once again won the ball and gave the ball to Sam Sollosi, and he scored a trademark Eden Hazzard style goal, weaving in and out of three challenges and finishing emphatically from 12 yards.
The icing on the cake came in the final seconds of the game, when David Fialka, who was returning from a two-year injury hell, capitalised on awful defending to tuck into an empty net, to give RJC A a 4-1 win over opposition from the division above.
Overall RJC A put together a very good performance. Gaffer Rank felt they should have been leading at the break, but the second half performance was "just stunning. From 1-15 today everyone deserved it".
A delighted Rank told JC Sport: "Our objective this season is of course to win Division One title, but I challenged the boys to show that we are Premier Division quality and they did not disappoint."
Rank went on to praise the midfield performance in the second half of Noble, Jamie Bernstein and Berkley as "simply sensational".
Commenting on the return of "legend" Dean Nyman, Rank commented: "This should be final piece in jigsaw for RJC A, and this should enable us to win the league and cup.
"We're unbeaten in 2018/19 season and top of league, I can’t ask for much more."
REDBRIDGE: Dean Caplin, Richard Gold, Dan Andrews, Adam Bernstein, Adam Kemper, Scott McKenzie, Carl Dobrin, James Berkley, Sam Sollosi, Nathan Kashket, Dean Nyman. Subs: Jamie Bernstein, Antony Cope, David Fialka, Adam Noble
SCORERS: Kashket, Sollosi, Berkley, Fialka
FAITHFOLD: Avi Markiewicz, Yoan Avrila, Gideon Caller, Eli Davila, Avi Mocton, Darra Rezagi, Louis Naghten, David Leiwy, Lorian Madanes, Yarden Sharifian, Daniel Garfinkle. Sub: Avi Garson
SCORER: Garfinkle
