Sunday football round-up: week 31

NL Raiders A are Premier Division champions, Redbridge A hit 10, while Los Blancos, FC Team B, Hendon A and AFC Flixton have all made it through to Cup Finals…

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

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PETER MORRISON CUP SEMI-FINALS:
Harmen 0 AFC Flixton 4
Hendon United A 4 London Lions Spartans 1

BARRY GOLDSTEIN TROPHY –SEMI-FINALS:
Los Blancos 3 Camden Town 2
NL Raiders B 4 FC Team B 5 (AET)

PREMIER DIVISION:
North West Neasden 1 NL Raiders A 4
Redbridge Jewish Care A 10 FC Team A 0

DIVISION TWO:
L’Equipe 3 NL Raiders C 3

DIVISION THREE:
Hendon United B 3 KS Reunited 4
Shacharit Donetsk 2 Maccabi London Lions Green 7

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM NORTH WEST NEASDEN 1 NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A 4

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WEEK 31 MATCH REPORTS

REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 10 FC TEAM A 0

NORTH WEST NEASDEN 1 NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A 4

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CUP FINAL DETAILS:

PETER MORRISON CUP FINAL:

AFC Flixton VS Hendon United Sports A VS Norstar London Raiders A

(Final to be played on 17 May at Oldham Athletic FC’s Boundary Park – KO: 3.00pm)

CYRIL ANEKSTEIN CUP FINAL:

Hendon United Sports A VS Norstar London Raiders A

OFFICIALS:
Referee: Neil Cooper
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Silver
Assistant Referee 2: Steve Levy
Fourth Official: Martin Lavender

(Final to be played on 3 May at Wingate & Finchley FC – KO: 2.30pm)

BARRY GOLDSTEIN TROPHY FINAL:

Los Blancos VS FC Team B

OFFICIALS:
Referee: Laurie Benson
Assistant Referee 1: Neal Cohen
Assistant Referee 2: Elliott Mayer
Fourth Official: Keith Goodman

(Final to be played on 3 May at Wingate & Finchley FC – KO: 6.30pm)

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TEAM OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

GOALKEEPERS:

DAVID GROSSMAN (FC TEAM B)

DEFENCE:

ADAM TAUBER (AFC FLIXTON)
MICHAEL WARWICK (AFC FLIXTON)
GIDEON CHAIN (L’EQUIPE)
DAN ANDREWS (NORTH WEST NEASDEN)
JOSH TIANO (NORTH WEST NEASDEN)

MIDFIELD:

ADAM GILLMAN (AFC FLIXTON)
JON BREGER (FC TEAM B)
DAN BREGER (FC TEAM B)
GREG CORIN (HENDON UNITED A)
ARI LAST (HENDON UNITED A)
LIRON MANNIE (NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A)
JAMES BERKLEY (REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A)
SAM SOLLOSI (REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A)

STRIKERS:

BEN BINDER (FC TEAM B)
RICHARD SALMON(FC TEAM B)
DOVI FEHLER (HENDON UNITED A)
JON KAY (L’EQUIPE)
AARON SPALTER (MACCABI LONDON LIONS GREEN)
DAVID DINKIN (NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A)
MATT STOCK (NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A)
DANIEL GARFINKLE (REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A)

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WEEK 31 TEAM OF THE WEEK

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GOAL OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) ADAM SHAFRON (REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A) – Taking the ball out of defence, played a great one-two with Sam Sollosi, before slotting home

2) JAMES NEIDLE (HENDON UNITED B) – Centre-back had edged forward, the ball fell to him around 35 yards from goal and he took a touch before unleashing an absolute crackerjack right into the top corner

3) AVI KORMAN (HENDON UNITED A) – Finished off a magnificent team goal – a 20-pass move from back to front ending with the ball played wide to Korman who unleashed an unstoppable first time drive into the bottom corner

4) DOVI FEHLER (HENDON UNITED A) – One of the passes of the season from Dave Seitler split the Lions defence in two, setting up Fehler who finished brilliantly beyond the onrushing goalkeeper. A triple back flip celebration followed

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SAVE OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) DAN FINEGOLD (L’EQUIPE) – The midfielder went in goal during second half and pulled off a superb one handed-save down to his left to push it out for a corner.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) JOSH LEWIS (L’EQUIPE) “Having no goalkeeper, I decided that three of the boys picked at random would do 30 minutes each in goal, which I thought would be a risk, but turned out really well! The lucky winners were Rob Simons, Dan Finegold and Ian Baron.”

2) ADAM GLEKIN (HENDON UNITED B) – “Our captain James Neidle didn’t have his best game but I think he’ll be telling his grandchildren about the goal he scored today, I’ve been playing in the MSFL for a decade and can’t recall seeing many better.”

3) DAVID GARBACZ (HENDON UNITED A) – “Stuart Delmonte said he wanted us and now he’s got us in what will be a tremendous North v South shoot out at Oldham. Up the South – we’re coming to get you!”

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GOALSCORERS CHART WEEK 31

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PETER MORRISON CUP SEMI-FINALS: (Number in brackets represents division of team)

HARMEN (PREM) 0 AFC FLIXTON 4
Flixton ensured their long trip down south was a worthwhile one as they came away from Rowley Lane with this comprehensive win against the ten men of Harmen.

Strikes from Adam Gilman, Leor Sidle, Michael Warwick and an own goal saw them to the win, with joint-manager Stuart Delmont telling jewishnews.co.uk: “It was a game that was won at half-time with us 3-0 up. Every player down to the four substitutes who all came on, contributed to a fine win.”

Flixton are now in two cup finals, after having won their Premier Division last week with two games to spare, and are still in the Kings Cup, where they face Chorlton Athletic in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

Harmen went into the game without six of their big players, James Gershfield, Marc Foster, Daniel Green, Mike Pearson, Rob Blackman and Ricky Rinder. Danny Cohen, their stand-out performer on the day, came in to the starting line-up with only 15 minutes before kick-off and played like he had been at right-back all year, not featuring in only his third game of the season.

Harmen’s Oli Leslie told jewishnews.co.uk: “To come this far in our first season as a new squad is a tremendous effort, currently third in the league and reaching the semi finals of the Morrison cup but next year we are determined to go further and win both of these competitions and the Anekstein cup. With the additions to the squad that we have planned for the summer, we’re confident of achieving these goals. The spirit is amazing amongst the boys and we will now kick on and secure third spot in the league.

“We are very disappointed with the outcome of the game especially as all of their goals came from mistakes that we made, however they capitalised on this and took the chances that they were presented with. It’s always difficult having to travel up or down the country for a big fixture like this and I’m sure Stuart and the boys enjoyed their three-hour trip back to Manchester a lot more than we enjoyed our 15 minute journeys home.

“We wish Flixton all the best in the rest of their season. They will face a difficult test in Hendon and it is difficult to pick a winner at this stage. I can see it going to extra time before the tie is decided.”

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HENDON UNITED A (PREM) 4 LONDON LIONS SPARTANS 1
Hendon kept alive their dreams of winning a cup double as goals from Dave Seitler, Avi Korman and Dovi Fehler, together with an own goal saw them though.

Hendon manager David Garbacz told jewishnews.co.uk: “This was probably our best performance of the season – everything we did wrong a few weeks ago against Raiders we did right today and some of the football we played at times today was truly exceptional. Our front three of Greg Corin Dovi Fehler and Dave Seitler were superb and caused endless problems to seasoned and current Maccabiah players as their pace and movement made them too hot to handle. In midfield, Ari Last was truly back to his best – how we’ve missed him for most of this season but he’s come back more determined than ever to lead us to these two cup victories.

“The game itself was extremely entertaining and was played at a good tempo between two excellent teams. Chances fell to both sides but there is no doubt we were far more clinical. Overall I thought we dominated and were comfortable for the most part, although there was a 10 minute period after they got one back in the second half when we were under the cosh and they were a bit unlucky not to score a second which could have got us panicking. Lions put out a strong team as expected but the turning point was probably as early as the first 10 minutes when we got gifted a priceless early goal thanks to Dovi running everything down and their keeper smashing the ball against a defender and into the net. That really settled us and once we got our second there was only ever really going to be one winner.   They will come again though I’m sure as the team is full of excellent players and credit to them and Andy for the spirit which the game was played and their magnanimous acceptance of defeat.

“Our motivation for this match was huge – despite two trebles in three years, Hendon players are constantly overlooked for National tournaments in favour of others and today the incentive, as well as getting to the cup final, was to show that some of these boys definitely deserve far more recognition than they get.

“Finally, as expected Raiders clinched the league today and all at Hendon wish them enormous congratulations – they fully deserve it having been the most consistent team this year – we’ll be hoping they plan their celebrations for the night of May 2nd  the day before the Cyril Anekstein final.”

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BARRY GOLDSTEIN TROPHY SEMI-FINALS: (Number in brackets represents division of team)

LOS BLANCOS (1) 3 CAMDEN PARK (1) 2
The Blancos boys came back from 2-0 down – and scored two goals in the last five minutes to book their place at Wingate.

Adam Waters got them back into the game ten minutes into the second half, before Simon Moses leveled the score from the penalty spot five minutes from time.

Jeff Gross then capped off a dramatic comeback by firing in the winner in the 90th minute.

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NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS B (1) 4  FC TEAM B (2) 5 (AET)
Team will grace Wingate & Finchley for the first time in the club’s history after they won this epic nine-goal encounter.

Ben Binder scored twice, with Andy Sheena, Richard Salmon and a penalty from goalkeeper David Grossman sealing the most dramatic of wins.

Player-manager Mitch Young told jewishnews.co.uk: “Firstly congratulations to all my players and everyone involved at the club. To reach our first final at Wingate as a club is a historic moment and I’m extremely proud of everyone.

“Secondly credit must go to Raiders for their performance, what an outstanding game, two very committed well organised clubs giving everything for their team for a place at Wingate. The game was very even and either side would have felt unlucky not to win. We had to come back from 0-2 down and then 3-4 down in extra-time, this showed unbelievable character, commitment and passion from my players and they deserve all the credit.

“Raiders are a top side and they have only lost a couple of games in two seasons so to progress to the final is a huge achievement and now we are looking to win it and finish the season with the double. Finally the referee had a great game. letting the game flow and got the big decisions right.”

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PREMIER DIVISION:

TABLE
FIXTURES & RESULTS

NORTH WEST NEASDEN 1 NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS A 4
A hat-trick from David Dinkin – including two penalties, plus Matt Stock’s far post header saw the Raiders to the win which saw them crowned Premier Division champions.

Raiders manager Rob Richman told jewishnews.co.uk: “We’re delighted and so proud at securing the Premier Division title. It’s a dream to win the most coveted prize in Jewish football and is great reward for all the effort, hard work and dedication the entire squad has put in all season. The players deserve all the plaudits as they really have been a joy to manage all season.

“Obviously it is extra special being our first Premier division title, just looking at the names of the teams who have won it over the past 10 years makes you realise how special the achievement is. We join an illustrious group who have won the premiership title and we are delighted to do so.

“We have won the most games, scored the most goals and conceded the least so I think it’s fair to say we are deserving of the title.  Hendon pushed us close and made it very exciting but whereas last year they were just ahead of us this year the roles were reversed.”

Dan Andrews scored for Neasden, for whom manager Stirling Kay told jewishnews.co.uk: ” First of all I would like to congratulate Raiders on winning the League, they were the best side we had faced this year and are worthy champions. This was always going to be a very hard game for us to pick up three points, and we started badly by giving away a penalty after 10 minutes so we were always chasing the game from a very early stage. It was looking bleak when they scored their esecond, but as we’ve done in most of our games, we showed great spirit, and got back into the match with the goal of the game from Dan. From there, we grew in confidence and for the first 20 minutes of the second half you could sense that they weren’t so sure of themselves, we had some half chances but the next goal was going to be vital.

“Unfortunately the third goal came from a free-kick where their centre-back was left unmarked, we then threw everything we could at them and left ourselves exposed and their fourth came from another penalty. The truth was that we were beaten by a far better team and we weren’t good enough to break them down.  We move on to our next game knowing we need eight points from our remaining four games to survive.”

MATCH REPORT

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REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 10 FC TEAM A 0
Redbridge moved clear in third spot as five goals from Daniel Garfinkle helped them to this emphatic win.

Nathan Sollosi helped himself to a brace, with Craig Sandford, Adam Shafron and Sam Sollosi completing the scoring.

MATCH REPORT

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DIVISION TWO:

TABLE
FIXTURES & RESULTS

L’EQUIPE 3 NORSTAR LONDON RAIDERS C 3
Two goals from Jon Kay, along with player-manager Josh Lewis’ strike helped L’Equipe earn a point in a six-goal thriller.
Lewis told jewishnews.co.uk: “Going into the game knowing that our Division Two status was secure, I told the boys to go out and enjoy the game with no pressure on the result.

“Having no goalkeeper, I decided that three of the boys picked at random would do 30 minutes each in goal, which I thought would be a risk, but turned out really well! The lucky winners were Rob Simons, Dan Finegold and Ian Baron.

“We went 1-0 down, but heads didn’t drop, with Jon scoring with a great lob against his old club. Josh then stepped up to score direct from a corner to put us 2-1 up, before just before half-time, Rob and Jon linked up really well for Jon to take it round the keeper and finish nicely.

“They scored straight after, and then Dan pulled off a stunning stop to keep us ahead, but their pressure resulted in an equaliser. Both teams had chances to win, but in the end a draw was a fair result and we’re happy with a point from our last game of the season.”

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DIVISION THREE:

TABLE
FIXTURES & RESULTS

HENDON UNITED B 3 KS REUNITED 4
KS claimed just their third league victory of the season, winning this seven-goal thriller.

It proved to be a good day for the Gordon family, with captain Zack Gordon scoring a hat-trick, and brother Josh Gordon also on target. Manager James Lewis, who wasn’t at the game, told jewishews.co.uk: “We were delighted to get a long overdue win on the board.”

The visitors found themselves 2-0 up inside 20 minutes, and almost made it three but for an excellent clearance off the line by Chaim Strom. Hendon finally got back into the game, and having missed several guilt-edged chances, Sammy Epstein eventually tidily finished with his left foot to bring them back into the game.

They continued to dominate after the break, but were hit on the counter-attack to trail 3-1. However, a stunning 30-yard thunderbolt from centre-back and captain James Neidle flew into the top corner, and a minute later they were level when Avi Mocton nodded in after Gab Saul’s free kick had hit the bar. However, just when Hendon were thinking that all three points were there for the taking they were hit by another sucker punch which ultimately decided the game.

Hendon player-manager Adam Glekin told jewishnews.co.uk: “We weren’t at the races today. The first 20 minutes they wanted it more than we did. We improved and created a hatful of chances, but the goals we conceded were criminal. The most frustrating thing was to work so hard to come back to 3-3 and within a minute of equalising to let their guy waltz through our whole defence despite looking like Bambi on ice. Luckily, we have a chance for quick revenge and we look forward to playing them again next week. Our captain James Neidle didn’t have his best game but I think he’ll be telling his grandchildren about the goal he scored today, I’ve been playing in the MSFL for a decade and can’t recall seeing many better.”

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SHACHARIT DONETSK 2 LONDON MACCABI LIONS GREEN 7
Lions ended their season in style recorded this emphatic defeat over Donetsk.

Aaron Spalter helped himself to a hat-trick, Jonathan Peters scored twice, with Grant Bates and Dan Reuben also on target.

Lions joint-manager Jonathan Meltzer told jewishnews.co.uk: “It was a good way to end a successful campaign. David and I were really impressed with how we have developed as a young team and that showed in our mature performance on Sunday. We had a good performance from Aaron who has really matured in last month and would not be surprised to see him challenge for league player of season.

“Shacharit Donetsk had been missing their goal machine Adam Ellis which was a shame given we wanted to show our revenge but it was a great advert to the MSFL league to see to young teams play a game in good spirit.”

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