OLIM LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL
JERSUALEM 9 REAL JERUSALEM 1
Cup holders Jersualem marched into the last four of the Olim Cup after crushing local rivals Real Jerusalem.
The two sides last met in the opening league fixture over four months ago, with Real Jerusalem getting the better of their more illustrious neighbours that day.
With the league all but mathematically won by Bambi, Jerusalem knew that to progress to the semi-finals of the cup, they would have to negotiate past the only side to beat the league pace-setters this season. Despite missing a couple of influential players, the holders dominated the first quarter of an hour doing everything but score, with no less than six good chances on goal.
However it was Real who almost took the lead, but for a fantastic save from in form keeper Daniel Boerstra in the 17th minute. Four minutes later, and with Jerusalem beginning to regret not converting from their earlier domination, Real had the ball in the back of the net, however the referee correctly disallowed it after their striker had wandered a yard or two offside.
That let-off galvanised Jerusalem who got the break through in the 23rd minute when a Real defender was adjudged to have handled in the area. Moishe Lewis stepped up to dispatch the penalty. The lead was doubled two minutes later, with Daniel Cohen finishing superbly from outside the area.
Both sides had a couple of half-chances before the interval, with both keepers saving well.
Real Jerusalem stormed out of the blocks in the second half knowing that they had to score at least twice to stay in the cup. They went close on two occasions, but with Boerstra again in formidable form, Real could not find a way past.
In the 59th minute, with Jerusalem getting back on top of the game, Moishe Lewis got the break though, as he burst through to net his second of the night to make it 3-0.
Real may have felt hard done by the goal, as Lewis appeared to have timed his run a little too early and appeared to be marginally offside, however the ref allowed the goal to stand.
A minute later it was 4-0. Calev Ben Dor released Akiva Zneimer who put Zack Lewis through and he made no mistake from the one-on-one.
A couple of minutes later and a rampant Jerusalem made it 5-0. Another great move released Ben Dor whose perfect cross found Zack Lewis for a simple finish.
Minutes 66 and 69 brought goals six and seven. First Cohen crossed for Zack Lewis to complete his hat-trick, before Amit Dinowitz was released down the left, before cutting in and slotting the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
In the 71st minute, Real got their consolation goal when Yigal Grayeff was penalised for what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate challenge in the box. Jacky Duek expertly dispatched the penalty, 7-1.
The last 10 minutes were all Jerusalem, with Francisco Salgado keeping the score down. However with five minutes to go Dinowitz finished off a good move to make it 8-1, and a minute from time, Moishe Lewis completed the rout when he got a touch on Cohen's cross for his hat-trick and Jerusalem's ninth of the night.
Jerusalem manager, Danny Newman was understandably delighted by the performance. He said: "We plan on defending the cup, as injuries have blighted our league campaign, but we still dream of winning a trophy for an unprecedented third year in a row.
"Real are a quality side and the table doesn't lie, but they were unlucky to face us on a day were every player performed to the top of their game.
"It was one of those games were everything clicked, and we would have beaten any side tonight. We even got the rub of the green with our third, which if I am being honest, was offside, but that would not have changed the result at all.
"Despite still having a few key players out injured, it was good to have both Amit and Zack back, after being out injured for over a month. They came off the bench and it was as if they had never been away, with both of them finding their scoring boots straight away.
"We await the semi-final draw in a couple of weeks time, but next week we have a massive game against Modi'in in the league. They have been one of the strongest sides this year, and if we are to finish in the top three, we will have our work cut out against a side that fancy their own chances of pipping us to the podium."
Jerusalem: Daniel Boerstra, Danny Sigal, Solomon Emekle Eze, Dan Kosky, David Preston, Akiva Zneimer, Eli Warner, Chaim Lev, Lollu Hibbert, Daniel Cohen, Moishe Lewis. Subs: Yigal Grayeff, Calev Ben Dor, Zack Lewis, Amit Dinowitz, Carlos Mazzini
Real Jerusalem: Francisco Salgado, Eden Sharma, Andres Gayan, Harel Rachmani, Tomer Amos, Akiva Lujan, Zohar Mordechai, Asael Levin, Yotam Betzalel, Alon Rachmani, Adam Bar, Nati Hasson, Jacky Duek, Meni Duek, Mario Gayan
Jerusalem goals: Moishe Lewis 3 (1 pen), Daniel Cohen, Zack Lewis 3, Amit Dinowitz 2
Man-of-the-match: - Eli Warner - the striker played in an unfamiliar central midfield role, due to injuries, and was colossal. He won virtually every header and tackle, and was the unsung hero of a dominant team performance)
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OTHER RESULTS
Aviv City 2 Raanana 2
MS Bambi 1 England 0
Jaffa 2 Ashdod 7
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TEAM OF THE WEEK
GK
Eyal Younger (Bambi)
DEFENDERS
Dan Kosky (Jerusalem)
Solomon (Jerusalem)
Gadi Itzchak (Bambi)
Shmouel Darmon (Ashdod)
MIDFIELDERS
Elias Sandler (Jaffa)
Ofir Firouz (Ashdod)
Akiva Aaronson (Raanana)
STRIKERS
Moishe Lewis (Jerusalem)
Zack Lewis (Jerusalem)
Shlomi Taboul (Ashdod)
MANAGERS
Danny Newman and David Preston (Jerusalem)
