Runaway Raiders extend lead at top of table
Norstar London Raiders A pulled further away from the chasing pack as they beat relegation-threatened Camden Park 3-1 at the Ark.
MGBSFL Premier Division
Norstar London Raiders A 3 Camden Park 1
Sunday, 2 February, 2014
With the weather once again playing havoc with the fixtures, it was left to the league leaders to keep the pressure on their rivals with the pristine artificial surface in Wembley glistening in the first sunshine of 2014.
The opening stages were fairly cagey with neither side prepared to make a mistake. The home side looked to control the game, with the returning Adam Joselyn slotting into a midfield three alongside Jonny Kay and Elliot Espinoza, whilst the fine ball-players at the heart of the Camden defence looked to thread the ball through any gaps they could.
It was Raiders who forged ahead though, twenty minutes into the game, with David Dinkin playing a lovely through ball to Jamie Wolfson who lofted the ball over the head of the on-rushing goalkeeper from just outside the area and into the corner of the net for his fifth of the season.
The visitors were noticeably rattled but regained their composure to equalise soon after. A needless foul given away just over the halfway line allowed the ball to be floated in and bundled over the line, despite the protestations of Raiders keeper Jake Doffman who claimed to have been fouled – a decision for which the referee apologised and admitted his mistake at half-time.
As half-time approach, the game was delicately poised – Camden starting to create more in midfield although lacking a cutting edge in the final third. That said, they almost went ahead on the stroke of half-time but for an outstanding goal-line from the imperious Raiders skipper David Rhodes.
The turning point in the match came soon after the break when Matt Stock was moved up front in order to threaten the visitor’s cumbersome backline. And Stock immediately repaid the manager’s faith in him by latching on to a Wolfson pass, dancing past the helpless centre-half and slotting coolly past the keeper to restore Raiders’ lead.
As the home side continued to turn the screw, the returning Oli Henry was released into the action on the left-wing and seconds later he’d put the game to bed with a powerful run and fine finish leaving the keeper with no chance yet again.
At the final whistle Raiders were celebrating pulling 17-points clear at the top of the table, albeit having playing several more games than their two title rivals.
After the game Raiders manager Phil Peters praised his side’s resilience. He said: “Since we lost to Brady at the end of last year, we’ve bounced back with five straight wins in 2014 at a time when many of our rivals are having games called off due to the horrific weather we’ve been experiencing.
“All we can do is to continue to win games, put points of the board and lay down the gauntlet to Hendon and Redbridge who still have to play each other twice as well as many other tricky opponents.
“We have a nice cup game next week where we hope to continue our good run of form going. We’re looking forward to welcoming Heaton Park Rovers down to Brunel.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
