Leeds Sunday Alliance Division One
New Ireland Wood FC 1
Leeds Maccabi 1st 2
Steven Berke scored a miraculous late winner to give Leeds Maccabi a last-gasp victory and leave boss Ian Selwyn in a state of shock.
Selwyn was ready to unleash a verbal volley when Berke took aim from fully 45-yards in the dying minutes of their clash at league leaders New Ireland Wood.
But with the Maccabi manager ready to hand out an ear-bashing from the touchline, Berke produced a moment of magic to smash the ball home and leave Selwyn in disbelief.
“When Steven picked up the ball and went to shoot I was about to shout, ‘What are you doing? Pass it!’
“But he kept going and when he shot I just thought, ‘What the hell is he playing at..’
“Then the next thing I know, the ball is sailing over the goalkeeper and into the net. It was unbelievable.
“That goal sparked wild celebrations and it really was an unbelievable goal.”
Berke’s winner ended a hard-fought game against a New Ireland side, who had taken a tenth minute lead from a quickly taken free-kick.
Dave Woolman headed Maccabi level on the half-hour mark and the visitors went on to hit the crossbar four times after the interval.
Leeds keeper Mark Miller produced a number of stunning saves but it was Maccabi who gradually took control.
Berke’s spectacular effort finally put paid to New Ireland’s resistance and moved Maccabi to within six points of the leaders with two games in hand.
And with Oakwood awaiting in the last 16 of the Peter Morrison Trophy on Sunday, Selwyn is hoping for more of the same from his side.
“We’ve had two games since the start of January and I told the players that the ‘Morrison’ word was banned.
“I didn’t want them talking about it and I don’t think they did. Now that we’ve got those games out the way, we’re ready to talk about the Morrison.
“It was a massive win for us against New Ireland and everything is coming together nicely.
“We know it will be a very tough game against Oakwood and to be fair to them, this is the draw they wanted. It’s their cup final.
“But we’ll go there and just concentrate on what we do and hopefully we can get a result.”
