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Lee sends Maccabi 1st into round three

A brilliant brace from Alex Lee ensured Maccabi 1st maintained inter-club bragging rights, with a 5-1 victory over their second string confirming their place in round three of the Jewish FA Cup.

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PETER MORRISON TROPHY ROUND TWO
MANCHESTER MACCABI 2nd 1 MANCHESTER MACCABI 5

A brilliant brace from Alex Lee ensured Maccabi 1st maintained inter-club bragging rights, with a 5-1 victory over their second string confirming their place in round three of the Jewish FA Cup.

Another Sunday and the first chance both Maccabi teams to kick on in the Peter Morrison. With not only a place in the next round at stake, it was always going to be a tasty encounter.

Both managers had warned before the game not to play the occasion but to concentrate on their game. Within the first five minutes it was evident that the occasion was perhaps getting to some of the players on both teams with a few heated exchanges and sloppy football to match.

It would be Maccabi 2nd who would strike first with a dangerous free-kick flicked in neatly by target man Ben Gould. Maccabi 1st team had been stunned.

Maccabi 2nd stood strong and withstood the pressure as the 1st team started to get into their groove. It was from another free-kick where the next goal came from. 17-year-old centre back Max Foster towered above the rest to head home for the first team and claim his first ever first team goal.

Half time was around the corner and with five minutes left of the first half, Alex Lee popped up in the box for to claim Maccabi 1st's second of the game.

At half time the message was clear. For the 1sts team, it was "lets not get complacent," and the 2nd team it was more a case of "hold the shape and remain in the game".

The second half started very much like the first, sloppy and bad tempered. Fifteen minutes into the second half and up stepped talismanic winger Ryan Silvester to make it 3-1 to Maccabi 1st team and easing the pressure slightly.

Louie Libbert caused Maccabi 1st trouble all day and was trying his hardest to bring Maccabi 2nd back into the game.

Maccabi 1st team were starting to go through the gears and were rewarded with another goal from Oli Grant.

The 1sts sealed the game with 10 minutes to go. They were awarded a free-kick 25 yards out, and up stepped Lee. Like Beckham against Greece in 2001, Lee curled the ball with pinpoint accuracy into the top corner giving the on looking goalkeeper no chance and sealing the victory in style.

Maccabi 1st manager Martin Simmons was quick to play down the comfortable scoreline. He said: "We weren’t at our best today. In fact, it was probably our worst performance of the season.

"We let the occasion and the opposition get to us and need to make sure that next time we concentrate on our game.

"Next week we’re playing in the County Cup and it will be a whole new ball game."

2nd team manager Sheldon Lee said: "It was disappointing to lose by such a heavy margin. We were very much in the game and let ourselves down by conceding silly goals from set pieces.

Maccabi 1st: J.Shapiro, Maynard, Jackson, Foster, Loofe, Grant, Lewis, D.Herman, Silvester, Lee, S.Shapiro, B.Finegold

Maccabi 2nd: Levy, Dennison, Yardley, J.Davies, Clayton, Hamburger, Gellman, Libbert, Kaye, A.Herman, Gould, Newman, Modlin, S.Davies

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