#MGBSFL: Sunday football round-up: week 13

by Andrew Sherwood

Harmen pile more misery on Hendon, Real Hendon end impressive Cats’ league form, while Los Blancos & Redbridge B play out a 10-goal thriller…

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

PREMIER DIVISION:
Blizzard Storm 2 FC Team A 8
Camden Park 0 Oakwood A 1
Harmen 3 Hendon United A 0
NL Raiders A 4 Faithfold A 0

DIVISION ONE:
Faithfold B P Woodford Wanderers P (FAITHFOLD FORFEITED MATCH)
FC Team B P Real Sosobad P (WATERLOGGED PITCH)
Los Blancos 5 Redbridge Jewish Care B 5
North London Raiders B 1 Brady Maccabi 3
Oakwood B 0 SPEC 1

DIVISION TWO:
Athletic Bilbaum 1 Scrabble 3
Catford & Bromley 0 Real Hendon 2
FC Team C P Temple Fortune P (WATERLOGGED PITCH)
Hendon United B P North London Raiders C P (WATERLOGGED PITCH)
L’Equipe 2 Maccabi London Lions B 6

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VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM CATFORD & BROMLEY 0 REAL HENDON 2…

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TEAM OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

GOALKEEPERS:
RUSSELL CORIN (HENDON UNITED A)

DEFENCE:
SAM LIPTON (BRADY MACCABI)
ADAM AMINOFF (FC TEAM A)
MAX HASSELL (HARMEN)
ALEX LEVACK (HARMEN)
JOSH MORRIS (NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A)
DALE BRADMAN (OAKWOOD A)
LEE WARNER (OAKWOOD A)
HEZZIE RAYMOND (REAL HENDON)
MARTIN SMULOVITCH (REAL HENDON)
MARC HECHT (SPEC)

MIDFIELD:
OLI KENNER (BRADY MACCABI)
ELLIOT STERN (HARMEN)
BEN HARIELY (FC TEAM A)
DARREN RUSSELL (LOS BLANCOS)
GUY SURKIS (MACCABI LONDON LIONS B)
KYLE BENTWOOD (OAKWOOD A)
JOSH SHERIDAN (SCRABBLE)

STRIKERS:
OLI LEIGH (BRADY MACCABI)
DAVID JOSEPH COHEN (FC TEAM A)
JAMES GERSHFIELD (HARMEN)
CHAIM GOTHOLD (REAL HENDON)
RA NOE (REAL HENDON)
DANIEL GARFINKLE (REDBRIDGE B)
DANNY SHERMAN (SCRABBLE)

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TEAM OF THE WEEK

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GOAL OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) DANIEL FATTAL (MACCABI LONDON LIONS B)
Fired in a spectacular volley, direct from a perfectly delivered Sammy Kingston corner

2) JOEY LAZARE (BRADY MACCABI)
Received the ball on the edge of the area and curled it beautifully into the top right corner

3) DANIEL GARFINKLE (REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE B)
The ball was zipped into Garfinkle’s feet, he brilliantly touched the ball around the defender, ran onto the ball and finished empathically

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SAVE OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) GUY BEN AROYA (CATFORD & BROMLEY)
Despite being plagued by a second half back injury, somehow flung himself to his left to parry away a curling Chaim Gothold shot

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS:

1) JASON STEIN (OAKWOOD B)
“I could sit here and moan about us having an outrageous amount of possession, about us living in the SPEC half, but I won’t do that because SPEC deserved that win today.”

2) OLIVER LESLIE (HARMEN)
“I do not remember the last time a team completely dominated this Hendon side and at the same time managed to stop them scoring.”

3) DAVID GARBACZ (HENDON UNITED A)
“This is the first mini crisis that I and a number of the Hendon players have ever had to endure and we don’t like it.

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WEEK 13 LEAGUE GOALSCORERS CHART

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PREMIER DIVISION:

FIXTURES & RESULTS:
TABLE:

BLIZZARD STORM 2 FC TEAM A 8
FC Team claimed an important – and impressive – win as they moved out of the bottom two in the table.

David Joseph Cohen scored four, Shim Bensoor found the back of the net twice, with David James Cohen and Rob Sanford completing the rout. Manager Ben Gilbey told jewishnews.co.uk: “It was a great result, exactly what the doctor ordered. We controlled the game and played some really nice football at times on what was a very small pitch. They couldn’t contain the Jewish Messi, David Joseph Cohen, who ran riot on the defense and debutant Bar Hariely, showed what a great signing he will be as well.

“Now it’s time for us to push on and push up the league, with a big game against Harmen next Sunday, the win is all that we are thinking about!”

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CAMDEN PARK 0 OAKWOOD A 1
The O’s moved up to third spot, Kyle Bentwood’s strike earning them the points.

Manager Daniel Kristall told jewishnews.co.uk: “It was a tough match against a strong and competitive Camden team. In a tight first half with few opportunities, we came out in the second half with a lot more purpose and direction which secured us the points.

“A Kintish cross five minutes after half-time, was met beautifully in the box by Kyle Bentwood, which was enough to seal the win and on another day with better finishing and more accurate final third passing/crossing, it could have been a much more comfortable victory.

“A big credit should go to Dale Bradman for a last ditch tackle in the final minute which was worthy of winning any match. We now move on to two season defining games before the Chanukah break.”

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HARMEN 3 HENDON UNITED A 0
Hendon’s season moved to a new level of disappointment as they were comprehensively beaten at Harmen, who now join them in joint-fourth spot.

James Gershfield helped himself to a hat-trick, with joint-manager Oliver Leslie telling jewishnews.co.uk: “We have come along way since losing our two opening fixtures to Redbridge and Raiders. We conceded a total of 11 goals in those games and I think everyone wrote us off after the Raiders game. Since the Raiders game we have gone on a six-game unbeaten run in the league conceding seven goals. We have adjusted our style of play and today was most definatley the most impressive Harmen performance to date. The management team are extremely proud of our boys and have no doubt that this win can give the team that confidence to go on and win some silverware this season.

“The game was over after 30 mins courtesy of a hat-trick from the league’s leading goalscorer- James Gershfield. We continued to control the game and in truth should have scored at least another two goals with chances from Arnold and Gershfield. Hendon our still a top side and I am sure will be fighting for the title come the end of the season. I do not remember the last time a team completely dominated this Hendon side and at the same time managed to stop them scoring.

“I have to give shout outs to new signing Alex Levack and Elliot Stern- both were brilliant today. while Max Hassell was a beast at center-half, having his best performance in a Harmen shirt today. James Gershfield was struggling with an ankle injury before kick-off and scored a hat-trick- Enough said!”

Hendon manager David Garbacz told jewishnews.co.uk: “This is the first mini crisis that I and a number of the Hendon players have ever had to endure and we don’t like it. We need to turn it round, show far more professionalism and remind everyone what a serious talented team we are. The league is now totally out of the equation, but for me the remaining league matches are vital to prove to ourselves more than anything that we will not crumble and that we still have what it takes.

“We will go all out in the two domestic cups and we will still believe we have the class to win one of those this year. Today we made three basic defensive errors in gifting them all three goals, the first one after about 30 seconds. It isn’t acceptable and cannot keep happening. Russell Corin was probably our Man-of-the-Match in keeping the scoreline down in the second half as we pushed forward in search of some consolation, making at least three world class saves.

“Harmen were good but didn’t have to be great when we were so poor defensively in the first half. I thought Alex Levack was outstanding at the back for them and hardly gave us a chance. He’s a great signing for them. Mind you he played for Lions against us last week, Harmen this week. I presume he’ll be signing for Oakwood in time for next week’s match!”

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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS A 4 FAITHFOLD A 0
The champions made it six wins from six thanks to goals from Jordan Marks, David Dinkin, Ben Ellis and Alex Kaye.

Raiders manager Rob Richman told jewishnews.co.uk: “It was another pleasing win and we move to the top of the league and to six wins from six played in the league this season.

“Full credit to Faithfold who battled hard epitomised by an excellent shift put in by their captain Joel Lassman. We scored early and then controlled the rest of the game. Our make shift goalkeeper Jon Green didn’t have a save to make all game and we grabbed the goals our play deserved in the last thirty minutes to put an accurate reflection on the game.”

“We move on to Blizzard next week where we hope to continue our good form.”

Faithfold manager Dan Beresford told jewishnews.co.uk: “With so many people away or unable to make the game, we gave a great account of ourselves, falling behind after 10 minutes, but then we stuck at it and dug deep, defended well, but just had nothing in the final third.

“We kept them quiet in the second half, then after a few mistakes conceded another three. To be honest, we should have lost by one or maybe two, but four was not a fair reflection. They were not great and obviously missing a few players because that team could not win the league.”

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DIVISION ONE:

FIXTURES & RESULTS
TABLE

FAITHFOLD B P WOODFORD WANDERERS P

FAITFOLD FORFEITED MATCH – POINTS AWARDED TO WOODFORD

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FC TEAM B P REAL SOSOBAD P

MATCH POSTPONED – WATERLOGGED PITCH

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LOS BLANCOS 5 REDBRIDGE B 5
Both sides failed to close in on the top of the table, but they did play out a ten-goal thriller.

Daniel Garfinkle scored a hat-trick, with Jay Lawrence and David Fialka also on target.

Adam Hersh scored twice for Blancos, with Darren Russell, Benjy Israel and Saul Hoyland earning them a point.

Blancos’ Jonathan Ison told jewishnews.co.uk: “Another 5-5 draw but this time, we came back from a losing position instead of throwing the points away, with Russell cooly converting in the last 10 minutes of the game to equalise. With 11 players named in the squad, and Hersh passing a very late fitness test to make it 12, we were once again down to bare bones.

“We played well, and who knows what the score would have been if their A team had a game, with A team striker Garfinkle getting three or four of their goals.

“I look forward to the next time I have a selection dilemma, and that when our whole squad is available (has not happened this season yet) I know we can mix it with any team in the league – A’s, B’s or C’s!”

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NORTH LONDON RAIDERS B 1 BRADY MACCABI 3
Brady stay joint-top of the table thanks to two goals from Reiss Mogilner and Joey Lazare’s strike.

Brady player-manager Josh Dagul told jewishnews.co.uk: “I got the reaction I was looking for from the team today. Despite finding ourselves behind to an unfortunate own goal from Joel early on, we reacted well and Joey picked out a screamer to take us into half-time level. In the second half, we knew that we had to be patient whilst leaving no room for errors at the back and that’s exactly what we did – Sam Lipton making his debut at centre-half was excellent throughout. We should’ve won more comfortably and killed the game off before the 90th minute but it was a great response and result for us. We stay unbeaten and top of the league and move onto Brixton at home next week.”

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OAKWOOD B 0 SPEC FC 1
SPEC are up into third spot with this win, which was secured by a penalty from player-manager Ricky Lawrence.

Lawrence told jewishnews.co.uk: “We had a game plan and we stuck to it for the entire game. With so many players out we knew it was going to be a different game to last week but every player was great today. Oakwood may feel they had all the possession but we were happy to let them and today, it worked a treat!”

Oakwood manager Jason Stein told jewishnews.co.uk: “I could sit here and moan about us having an outrageous amount of possession, about us living in the SPEC half, but I won’t do that because SPEC deserved that win today. They came with a game plan, 10 men behind the ball and it was perfectly executed. They grabbed a goal from the penalty spot late on and held on. For a side to remain so disciplined and deep for 90 minutes, at this level, is an achievement. The fact we could not break them down is on us.

“Too many times we gave the ball away, rushed the ball out of play and generally lacked inspiration. It’s a disappointing day and then to suffer a mugging at the end and actually lose our first game of the season hurts even more.

“Our challenge now is to bounce back and end 2015 with two wins in order to keep us in the title hunt. That’s still our aim and we won’t give up. This squad has the quality, but today was a lesson for us.”

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DIVISION TWO:

FIXTURES & TABLES
TABLE

ATHLETIC BILBAUM 1 SCRABBLE 3
Scrabble moved to the top of the table as they made it eight wins from eight.

Bilbaum went ahead early on, but Danny Sherman levelled just before the break.

The second half saw most of the attacking from Scrabble with Bilbaum dangerous on the break, but the visitors took the lead through Zak McLeod midway through the second half, which came after a fantastic save by Ben Law in the Scrabble goal.

The Bilbaum keeper then made several important saves himself to keep his team in the game, but could do nothing to stop Sherman claim his second of the match eight minutes from time.

Scrabble manager Ray Abrahams told jewishnews.co.uk: “Not our best performance of the season but conditions were difficult for both sides and I thought under the circumstances both teams made the best of it.

“Had we been more clinical with our finishing today we would have won by more but I’m so proud of our achievement of eight straight wins to start the season and the boys deserve so much credit on days like today when the points had to be scrapped for and dug out of the fire in difficult circumstances. Credit to several of my players today who had tickets for Spurs or are Spurs season ticket holders and gave them up to play in this game.”

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CATFORD & BROMLEY 0 REAL HENDON 2
Real Hendon ended the Cat’s impressive league run of four straight wins as them moved up into a promotion spot.

Second half goals from RA Noe and player-manager Chaim Gothold secured the points.

Gothold told jewishnews.co.uk: “I’m very happy with the performance and result. Apart from ten minutes in the first half, we controlled the game, but fair play to Catford who worked hard and remained in the game until we killed it off five minutes from time.”

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS ABOVE

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FC TEAM C P TEMPLE FORTUNE P

MATCH POSTPONED – WATERLOGGED PITCH

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HENDON UNITED B P NORTH LONDON RAIDERS C P

MATCH POSTPONED – WATERLOGGED PITCH

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L’EQUIPE 2 MACCABI LONDON LIONS B 6
The Lions join L’Equipe on 15 points following this impressive win.

Daniel Fattal scored twice for the Lions, with Josh Bloom, Jake Hyman, Ed Brafman and an own goal completing the rout.

Andy Smith and Mark Smith netted consolations for the hosts.

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