All eyes will be on Wingate & Finchley on Sunday morning when Oakwood will be looking to cause one of the biggest-ever upsets in Jewish football. They take on JC League Cup winners Hendon United Sports Club A who are looking to complete a cup double. Danny Caro looks ahead to the big match, meets the teams and also looks at the remaining matches in the JC MSFL.
NB - good luck to the Team GB squad looking to retain their European Maccabi Games Trophy title in Marseille this weekend.
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JC MSFL SEASON 2011/12 ROLL OF HONOUR:
JC Cyril Anekstein Cup: Winners - Hendon Utd Sports Club A, Runners-up: Brady Maccabi A
JC Barry Goldstein Trophy: Winners - UJIA, Runners-up: NW Neasden C
JC MSFL Premier Division: TBC
Division One: Champions - Oakwood, Runners-up - Brixton Old Boys A
Division Two: Champions - Hendon Utd Sports Club B, Runners-up - Camden Park
Division Three: Champions - Glenthorne Utd B, Runners-up - Shirley Park
Division Four: Champions - Brady Maccabi B, Runners-up - Athletic Bilbaum
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PETER MORRISON TROPHY FINAL
OAKWOOD vs HENDON UNITED SPORTS CLUB A
Ric Blank, the joint-manager of Oakwood, says his team will need to pull out all the stops if they are to cause one of the biggest-ever upsets in Jewish football and stop Hendon United Sports Club A from completing a cup double at Wingate & Finchley on Sunday.
SEE OAKWOOD HISTORY & PEN PICS
FINAL SQUADS:
OAKWOOD: Oli Gee, Adam Levine (capt), Rob Davidson, David Cohen, Jonny Beilin, Eddie Manson, Ilan Scorah, Eric Lewis, Stefan Isaacs, Dan Ash, Dan Geey, Daniel Abrams, James Abrams, Brad Wine, Ian Tussie, Antony Kintish, Josh Rubin, Matt Geey, Jason Lindsay, Ben Myers, David Epstein,
Managers: Ric Blank, Alex Schock
HENDON: Russell Corin, Josh Bentley (capt), Alex Gilbert, Paul Bentley, Josh Lipman, Martin Smulovitch, Motti Colman, Alex Rosenthal, Rafi Kon, Ben Kon, Ben Lauffer, Ari Last, Greg Corin, Yoav Kestenbaum, Avidan Last, Danny Kon, Dovid Korman. Manager: David Garbacz
Venue - Wingate & Finchley FC, KO - 10.30am
JC star man: Ari Last (Hendon)
DC Prediction: Oakwood 0 Hendon Utd SC A 2
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JC MSFL PREMIER DIVISION
TOP-SCORER
15 - Mike Pearson (Faithfold)
LONDON MACCABI LIONS A vs REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A
While the title is all but in the bag for Hendon, Lions and Redbridge are the two teams that can catch them, although they’d need a miracle and a hatful of goals to deny the Hammers.
Eilon Kennet is keen to ensure his troops finish above his former club. Kennet and co go in search of a league double on Sunday after beating the Lions 2-1 at Fairlop earlier this month. Steve Summers and Sam Sollosi were the marksmen for RJC, with the ever-dependable Oli Craig registering for the Lions.
A delighted Kennet singled out Sam Sollosi, Richie Kaplan and Danny Sugarman for special praise but he knows that only a big team performance will be enough to stop a Lions team out for revenge.
Lions joint-player-manager Josh Newman was unhappy with the manner of both goals conceded in the corresponding fixture. He knows that RJC possess a top-notch forward line, with Adam Bolle a leading contender for JC Team of the Season.
Under Newman, and his father Malcolm, the Lions have turned Rowley Lane into a real fortress this season, losing just one, against Hendon last time out.
A Lions victory would cement second place at least, and keep alive their lingering title hopes.
Referee Dan Cohen will take charge of proceedings following his razor sharp performance at last weekend’s JC Cyril Anekstein Cup final.
Venue – Rowley Lane, Ref – D. Cohen
JC star man: Sam Castle (Lions)
DC Prediction: LM Lions A 2 Redbridge JC A 2
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FAITHFOLD A vs BRADY MACCABI A
Brady will look to bounce back from last weekend’s cup final heartbreak when they make the short journey to Edgware to take on Faithfold at the Hive.
Josh Rosenfeld’s men felt that luck went against them against Hendon at Wingate last Sunday and the manager will be looking for a reaction from his players.
I expect Brady to want to put down a marker for next season and remind Faithfold that they are a force to reckon with. There is absolutely zero chance that Rosenfeld will let them come out of the changing room feeling sorry for themselves and Faithfold should be ready for a right royal battle.
Looking ahead to Sunday, Brady boss Josh Rosenfeld told JC Sport: "We're just looking to go out there and put last week's result behind us.
"With both teams having nothing to play for it should be quite a decent game of football. We have plenty of players missing from last weeks.
"The boys are all still absolutely gutted about the result but we move on and learn for next year."
Dan Perkins was Faithfold’s matchwinner when the teams met in September and another enthralling contest is on the cards.
Superhoops boss Zuriel Solomon cut a frustrated figure last weekend when his team blew any hopes of a top three finish in the 4-0 mauling at the hands of FC Team.
Solomons gave a brutally honest assessment at the final whistle. He told JC Sport: “The result summed up our season.”
Missing key players, the team missed a whole host of chances and they will be looking to keep Brady no. 1 Oli Colmans busy throughout.
The Faithfold manager is keen to finish on a high. He told JC Sport: "After a long season which has been very uneventful, we will try and enjoy our last game.
"Last week was probably our worse performance of the season, but we will be better this week.
"Brady will want to put last Sunday behind them so we will have to be on our game as they have a very good team."
The midfield area will be key on Sunday with Faithfold captain Alex Levack and Alex Kaye likely to come up against Lee Platt and Josh Gordon.
JC team news: Faithfold have named a full-strength squad with the exception of Alex Taylor.
Venue – The Hive, Ref – N. Cooper
JC star man: Daryl Phillips (Faithfold)
DC Prediction: Faithfold A 3 Brady Maccabi A 2
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DIVISION THREE
TOP-SCORER
30 – Craig Sandford (Glenthorne Utd B)
NORTH WEST NEASDEN C vs BLIZZARD STORM
Neasden C will look to overcome last weekend’s cup disappointment and secure third place when they take on the Blizzard boys on Sunday.
Manager Louis Taylor has admitted that he regrets not practising penalties before the JC Barry Goldstein Trophy final against UJIA, although probably not quite as much as Jose Mourinho.
Rumour has it that Taylor has been struggling to get hold of Elliot Setyon and Benji Gourgey since Sunday. The word on the street is that the pair have been locked in talks with directors of Pizza Hut ahead of a drama new penalty-style advert promoting the Euros.
There are still plenty of tickets available on Sunday with fans probably remembering January’s dour bore draw between the teams.
Blizzard are unable to improve on sixth place and the team below them cannot catch them, so Simon Linden’s men have absolutely nothing to lose going into the game.
"Neasden is always a tough game," said a determined Linden. "They will want a top three finish too I'm sure. It's going to be a hard 90 minutes.
"However, I always fancy us against Neasden - there's a good bit of southend rivalry and the Mullers and Specks of this world won't lie down against neasden. Bring it on!"
I can see goals aplenty on Sunday, and if their match heads are screwed on, a Neasden win.
JC team news: With Oli Joseph and Stefan Simons both out, Ryan Colet could be seen up top. These are rumours at this stage
Ref – S. Ansher
JC star man: Ryan Colet (NWN)
DC Prediction: NW Neasden C 3 Blizzard Storm 2
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UJIA vs CATFORD & BROMLEY MACCABI
UJIA will parade the cup before Sunday’s match against the Cats before setting off for an open top bus ride through north London to show off the JC Barry Goldstein Trophy.
I was absolutely delighted for manager Darren Rolfe and co for winning at Wingate at the second attempt. They played some excellent football before holding their nerve to finish the job in the shootout.
I would like to see Rolfe let Jeremy Leigh take a penalty if the U’s are awarded one on Sunday. Leigh was down as the ninth taker in last weekend’s dramatic shoot-out and he’s keen to show his teammates some unbelievable tekkers.
Looking ahead to the team’s final game of a memorable season 2011/12, Rolfe told JC Sport: “We’re still buzzing from Sunday’s result against Neasden in the BG Cup and the squad are vibrant.
“We have a full squad available for our last game against Catford. Matt Radstone is 50-50 as he became a father this week for the first time. UJIA juniors are looking very strong for next season.
“We will be taking this fixture very seriously as a win could take us into third spot if Neasden drop points against Storm.
“Catford won’t be a walkover as they have some very good players amongst them. They get the ball down and play some nice football, however our back four have been resolute all season and have only conceded one goal in the last four games.
“At the other end we have had Assi, Tony and Naz who are such a threat to any defence in this league.
“If I were a betting man I'd put my money on a home win.”
The Cats have played well in patches this season, but consistency has been a problem. The club breathed a sigh of relief after avoiding relegation, but the hard work starts now. It’s clear they need to bring in five or six quality and experienced players to ensure they fortunes improve next season.
UJIA beat the Cats 2-1 in November, with goals from y Ashley Freeman and Ben Nassim, and I can’t see the visitors curtailing their party mood.
JC team news: Eli Baraty, Ashley Stokes and Guy Ben-Aroya are doubtful with the match clashing with the Maccabi GB Table Tennis Championships.
Venue – Chase Lodge, Ref – N. Cohen
JC star man: Tony Plaskow (UJIA)
DC Prediction: UJIA 3 Catford & Bromley Maccabi 1
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ALSO SEE:
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
JC CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP FINAL HENDON A vs BRADY A
JC BARRY GOLDSTEIN CUP FINAL UJIA vs NW NEASDEN C
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PHOTOGALLERIES
JC CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP FINAL HENDON A vs BRADY A
JC BARRY GOLDSTEIN TROPHY FINAL UJIA vs NW NEASDEN C
JC MSFL DIVISION ONE REDBRIDGE JC B vs BRIXTON OB A
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