#MGBSFL: Sunday football round-up: week 9

by Andrew Sherwood

The top-two in the Premier Division were both held to surprising home draws, Hendon B stay clear at the top of Division Two, while there was a first league win of the season for Catford…

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PETER MORRISON CUP SECOND ROUND DRAW

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RESULTS AT A GLANCE (SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL REVIEW):

SUNDAY CHALLENGE CUP FIRST ROUND:
Olympia 3 North London Raiders A 2

PREMIER DIVISION:
Camden Park 1 Maccabi London Lions A 1
Faithfold A 0 Blizzard Storm 3
Hendon United A 3 FC Team A 3
Redbridge Jewish Care A 3 Harmen 3

DIVISION ONE:
FC Team B 6 Brixton Old Boys 1
Los Blancos 2 Real Sosobad 2
North London Raiders B 2 Redbridge Jewish Care B 4
Oakwood B 1 Faithfold B 0 (MATCH ABANDONED AFTER 51 MINUTES DUE TO INJURED PLAYER)
SPEC 1 Brady Maccabi 4

DIVISION TWO:
Catford & Bromley Maccabi 1 Boca Jewniors 0
FC Team C 0 Maccabi London Lions B 3
Hendon United B 4 Temple Fortune 1
L’Equipe 4 Athletic Bilbaum 3
North London Raiders C 2 Faithfold C 5
Real Hendon 0 Scrabble 4

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PHOTO GALLERY FROM HENDON UNITED B 4 TEMPLE FORTUNE 1

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM HENDON UNITED B 4 TEMPLE FORTUNE 1…

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WEEK NINE MATCH REPORTS:

HENDON UNITED B 4 TEMPLE FORTUNE 1

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LEAGUE GOALSCORING CHART – WEEK 9

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TEAM OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

GOALKEEPERS:
BEN LAW (SCRABBLE)
LEE FEGAN (TEMPLE FORTUNE)

DEFENCE:
SEAN LADIER (BLIZZARD STORM)
JOEL ISAACS (CATFORD & BROMLEY)
JAMES NEIDLE (HENDON UNITED B)
ED BRAFMAN (MACCABI LONDON LIONS B)

MIDFIELD:
JONTI AMBERALD (BLIZZARD STORM)
ANDREI GRAYSON (BLIZZARD STORM)
REISS MOGILNER (BRADY MACCABI)
JONNY GAHAN (FAITHFOLD C)
GIDEON BARTH (HENDON UNITED B)
AVI MOCTON (HENDON UNITED B)
RICKY ENGLEMAN (NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A)
NICK LEWIS (NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A)
ELLIOT ESPINOZA (SCRABBLE)

STRIKERS:
DAN GORDON (FAITHFOLD C)
LORIAN MADANES (FC TEAM B)
MARK SMITH (L’EQUIPE)
DAVID DINKIN (NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A)
ZAK MCLEOD (SCRABBLE)

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TEAM OF THE WEEK

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GOAL OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) AVI MOCTON (HENDON UNITED B) – Curled a delicious curling, first-time shot high into the net

2) JONO NESBITT (HENDON UNITED B) – Produced another cracking, curling finish, which was not too disimilar to Nocton’s (above) effort

3) ROB BENSON (TEMPLE FORTUNE) – A brilliant, low-driven free-kick which arrowed into the corner of the net

4) ANDREI GRAYSON (BLIZZARD STORM) – A stunning 30-yard strike which flew into the top corner, described by his manager as being ‘the goal of the season’.

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SAVE OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) LEE FEGAN (TEMPLE FORTUNE) – Back-peddling and off balance, still managed to tip over a superb dipping 40-yard effort

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) ADAM GLEKIN (HENDON UNITED B) – “I didn’t think it was our best performance which is a shame considering the Jewish News cameramen were in attendance, but it was relatively comfortable.”

2) ADAM GLEKIN (HENDON UNITED B) – ” Our goals were of good quality, I’ll need to watch the JN video back to work out which goal was better out of Jono Nesbitt and Avi Mocton.”

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SUNDAY CHALLENGE CUP FIRST ROUND:
OLYMPIA 3 NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A 2
Goals from Jonny Kay and Ben Rosenblatt weren’t enough to see the Raiders avoid a first round exit at the hand of an impressive Olympia side.

Manager Rob Richman told jewishnews.co.uk: “We’re disappointed to go out of the competition at the first round, but having been pitted against last year’s finalists and then turning up with just 11 men we knew it was going to be a really difficult task. Unfortunately we gave our opposition too much respect in the first half and gifted them some soft goals which resulted in us being 3-1 down at half-time.

“In the second half, we completely outplayed our opposition and were very unlucky not to draw level when Dinkin just couldn’t stretch enough to tap home a 90th minute equaliser. It would have been much deserved after a really superb second half showing. This cup always provides a stern test, the opposition are decent sides with many of the players playing to a high Saturday level too so we can be very pleased with our morning’s work.

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PREMIER DIVISION:

FIXTURES & RESULTS:
TABLE:

CAMDEN PARK 1 MACCABI LONDON LIONS A 1
Camden surprisingly dropped points at home to the Lions, for whom Dom Feldman scored.

Michael Khalastchi equalised for Camden, for whom manager Will Castle told jewishnews.co.uk: “It wasn’t a great day at the office for Camden. We started sloppily and gave away a poor goal from a mistake very early on giving ourselves an uphill battle. We started to improve towards the end of the first half and came out for the second half looking really good. We equalised and then proceeded to dominate play, had several chances to nick a winner but we unfortunately couldn’t come up with the goal we needed. Credit to Lions, they defended well and kept us at bay and I think a draw was a fair result in the end.

“We now have a few tricky fixtures coming up including playing Raiders twice in consecutive weeks so its important we get our rhythm back after a couple of disappointing results.”

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FAITHFOLD A 0 BLIZZARD STORM 3
Storm claimed their second League win of the season to put some distance between themselves and the bottom of the table.

Faithfold manager Dan Beresford told jewishnews.co.uk: “I’ve never seen a more one-sided game lost.”

Josh Bharier scored twice for Storm, with Andrei Grayson also on target. Player-manager Simon Linden told jewishnews.co.uk: “It was a very important three points. Faithfold deserved more from the game, they had a lot of chances but didn’t defend well. As a group we showed we wanted it more, including a goal of the season contender from Andrei, it was a big win and hopefully we can kick on from here.”

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HENDON UNITED A 3 FC TEAM A 3
Hendon missed out on sharing joint-top spot, as they were surprisingly held at home by an ever-improving FC Team side.

Ari Nevies, Greg Corin and Zac Lewis were all on target for the hosts, for whom player-manager David Garbacz told jewishnews.co.uk: “Unlike last week, we started well today and were in total control of the game after taking a two-goal lead after 30 minutes, but another uncharacteristic mistake where we gave the ball away deep in our half lead to them capitalising and halving the deficit before half time.

“When you go through a bad run it takes small things to knock confidence and we knew it would be tough psychologically to get over the line for the win in the second half. After they equalised early in the second half we re-grouped well and did look the likelier winners. After numerous Yoav Kestenbaum inspired chances down the right hand side we finally put a move together which lead to a great finish by substitute Zac Lewis in the 88^th minute and 99 times out of 100 that would have been that. Inexplicably we switched off to a ball launched into our box just 2 minutes later and they managed to scramble in an equaliser. It was a really disappointing drop of points but is probably testament to the fact that for the first time in a number of years we aren’t playing with our usual confidence and belief  and we are making very elementary mistakes which seem to be always leading to goals.

“FC Team played well – we knew they would be looking to play to their strengths in the air and we knew they’d be up for a battle. They have some good skilful players as well and it shows what a good competitive league it is this year. The league might we won with a record low number of points this season with nearly all teams capable of taking points of each other so we must not be too disheartened as it is still very early days. That said, we are starting to feel a bit like Chelsea although I can’t blame the ref for this setback. We need a win and some of our performances this year have been unacceptable. We must improve to turn it round though and we need to step up to the challenge.”

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REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 3 HARMEN 3
Redbridge stay top of the table on goal difference, despite being held to a point in their own six-goal thriller.

Sam Sollosi, Steven Summers and Daniel Garfinkle all on target for Jon Jacobs’ side.

Bradley Sharp, Dominique Cheniart and James Gershfield scored for Harmen, for whom joint-manager Joel Alterman told jewishnews.co.uk: “We had a slow start this week which was disappointing, falling two goals behind after half an hour. Nevertheless, the comeback was great to watch and emphasises our never-say-die attitude. The new Harmen make it very uncomfortable for the opposition to get into a rhythm and we will see how far we can go.

“Redbridge showed this week that they are a very tough team to play against and we wouldn’t be surprised to see them challenging for top honours come the end of the season.”

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DIVISION ONE:

FIXTURES & RESULTS
TABLE

FC TEAM B 6 BRIXTON OLD BOYS 1
Team claimed their second win from three league games as two more goals from Richard Salmon helped them to this emphatic win.

Danny Moss, Lorian Madanes, Jon Breger and Dylan Young were also on target, with player-manager Mitch Young telling jewishnews.co.uk: “A poor first half was sorted out at half-time where we played very well and could have scored a lot more. We need to start games better but overall a satisfying display and congrats to 17-year-old Dylan Young on scoring his first goal for the club.”

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LOS BLANCOS 2 REAL SOSOBAD 2
Third hosted fourth, and it somewhat unsurprisingly ended in a share of the spoils.

Adam Hersh and Jono Gaon scored for Blancos, but strikes from Sam McCarthy and Scott Kay ensured the visitors left with a point.

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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS B 2 REDBRIDGE B 4
Redbridge made it two league wins from three games as two goals from Josh Orgel helped them to this win.

Jay Lawrence and Scott McKenzie were also on target, with Matt Greene and Josh Goldstein scoring for the Raiders.

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OAKWOOD B 1 FAITHFOLD B 0 (GAME ABANDONED AFTER 51 MINUTES DUE TO INJURED PLAYERS)
A broken leg suffered by Faithfold striker Ben Zloof resulted in the game being abandoned with 51 minutes on the clock.

Oakwood were leading 1-0 at the time, through James Abrams’ strike. Manager Jason Stein told jewishnews.co.uk: “I feel very sorry for Ben Zloof who I rate hugely as a player and I know he’s a top lad as well.

“The Faithfold team showed great dignity in the way they dealt with the injury in the aftermath of the abandonment and they were a credit to their teammate.

“Obviously the football plays second fiddle when the game ends like that and I imagine the league will arrange a replay. The game was played in good spirits between two competitive sides and it’s obviously a horrible incident for all.

“Everyone at Oakwood would like to wish Ben a speed recovery.”

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SPEC FC 1 BRADY MACCABI 4
Brady increased their lead at the top of the table as another hat-trick from Reiss Mogilner helped them on their way to this win.

Joel Reuben scored their fourth, while Zack Neiman replied for SPEC. SPEC player-manager Ricky Lawrence told jewishnews.co.uk: “Unfortunately Brady were the better team from the second minute to the last.”

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DIVISION TWO:

FIXTURES & TABLES
TABLE

CATFORD & BROMLEY 1 BOCA JEWNIORS 0
Catford climbed off the foot of the table as they claimed their first league win of the season.

Player-manager Jeff Gotch led by example, claiming the winning goal in just the fourth minute. He told jewishnews.co.uk: “I said it was coming and to a man we battled extremely hard. It wasn’t the prettiest game for the neutral, but we got the job done and three points is three points

“We scored a very early goal and in the first 15 minutes, we hit the bar and had numerous chances, we should have been out of sight. But fair play to Boca, they came into it and looked dangerous at times but failed to test our goalkeeper, which was down to the whole back four who were immense, but special mention to Joel Isaacs who was different gravy.”

Boca’s Anton Nyman told jewishnews.co.uk: “It was a game very much ready for the 0-0.  Unfortunately we didn’t turn up early on in the game and were punished four minutes in. Although we grew into the game and had a late chance cleared off the line – it was very much a midfield battle than one of many chances and we can only hope to work on these slow starts to games.”

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FC TEAM C 0 MACCABI LONDON LIONS B 3
Lions made it four wins from four, as goals from Ed Brafman, Josh Bloom and Daniel Mattey saw them to the win.

Manager Samuel Marchant told jewishnews.co.uk: “At many times today it was a scrappy game and it was only 1-0 at half-time, which could’ve been for either side. But when we got the ball down on the floor and played simple football, we had some great phases.

“There was no better place than Old Camdenians to get back on the victory trail after last week, and we did well. Although we went down to 10 men with 15 minutes to go, with no substitutes left and Josh Nagli getting injured, we put the game to bed after Bloom neatly tucked away a corner and Daniel Mattey, on his return, beat two men and rounded the keeper with five minutes to go to close out the match.

“There were plenty of positives for us today and we need to continue building and playing our brand of football with our philosophy if we are to continue winning games in our league, and with four wins from four in the league, the team is in a great situation.”

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HENDON B 4 TEMPLE FORTUNE 1
Hendon maintained their impressive early season form thanks to this ultimately comfortable win – which did though include two injury time strikes.

Cracking strikes from Avi Mocton and Jono Nesbitt, either side of Rob Benson’s equaliser gave Hendon a 2-1 half-time lead, before a late double from substitute Gideon Barth wrapped up the win.

Fortune player-manager Jonathan Cohen told jewishnews.co.uk: “I thought Lee Fegan was excellent in goal for us this week with two superb saves, and in all honestly I thought the final score flattered Hendon.  They were worthy winners but we were in the game the whole time.

“Hendon saw a lot of the ball for sure but they scored three of their goals from our poor clearances and we restricted them to just a few shots which were mostly from distance.  We must improve, get some wins on the board and get closer to our opposition but this week we had just 11 players and I think in the end fresh legs made the difference.  Adam may have said it wasn’t their best performance but we frustrated them for sure.”

PHOTO GALLERY

MATCH REPORT

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS ABOVE…

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L’EQUIPE 4 ATHLETIC BILBAUM 3
L’Equipe claimed their third league win from four games as a hat-trick from Mark Smith helped them to the points as they edged this seven-goal thriller.

James Mendel hit their fourth.

Robert Rodney scored twice, with Benjamin Bell also on target. Manager Eli Gottlied told jewishnews.co.uk: “It was an extremely frustrating game with many contentious decisions. We will build on this and look forward to the reverse fixture.”

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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS C 2 FAITHFOLD C 5
Faithfold made it back-to-back wins and 13 goals in two games, as a hat-trick from Dan Gordon helped them to this entertaining win.

Dave Sherman scored twice, with manager Rob Shooman telling jewishnews.co.uk: “They are a very good team and ran the first half, scoring a very scrappy goal and an excellent drive, to put them 2-0 up at the break .

“We were playing into their hands and game plan, but at half-time we changed our tactics and they had no answer.

After scoring our first goal we just grew in confidence and totally dominated, scoring five excellently taken goals. The way my boys came back in the second half was truly first class, the way they implemented all we talked about at half-time shows they are willing to listen and perform.

“This was a very emphatic win for them and they totally all deserved it, all 14 players !”

Goals from Nick Haringman and Charles Braunstein saw the Raiders into a tow-goal lead, with manager Zack Gothelf telling jewishnews.co.uk: “It was a real game of two halves. We were thoroughly deserving of our half-time lead, but a real change of play saw Faithfold come out stronger and we struggled to hang on to the points.”

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REAL HENDON 0 SCRABBLE 4
Scrabble made it five wins from five as two goals from Zak McLeod helped them to this comfortable win.

Joshua Flax and Danny Sherman were also on target, with manager Ray Abrahams telling jewishnews.co.uk: “We found it hard to get the ball down and play on a heavy and bumpy pitch, and credit to Real Hendon who battled hard and made it difficult for us to play our passing game.

“Once we made the breakthrough and scored either side of half-time it changed the game, and with Real pressing us in the second half we were able to exploit the gaps they were leaving at the back and put the game out of their reach with two more goals.

“We have to be pleased with today’s result and in particular keeping another clean sheet. I’m very proud of my team who have now won five out of five in the league.”

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