Alyth Belsize junior club round-up:
Jewish News Maccabi Junior Football League U8
Alyth Belsize White VS Hendon United Red
This was always going to be a tough game considering how well Hendon started. Our star from the last game, Gabby Stern, again played very well and we were tackling well most of the game.
Sadly, it all became too much for us… our heads didn’t drop and all the players tried hard as a team to restore hope – shots were fired at the opposing goal and there were some great saves by our two goalies Joni Klein and Seth Cohen.
The team battled well but it remained a one-sided affair.
Jewish News Maccabi Junior Football League U8
Alyth Belsize Black VS NWLJ
Daniel Tyler and Noah Shapiro both scored hat-tricks, with Adam Gonen and Ethan Cantor also finding the back of the net.
Jewish News Maccabi Junior Football League U7
Alyth Belsize Black VS HMH Netanya
We were hungry to win last Sunday and it showed right from the start. Playing six-a-side, we started with Zoe Cutner and Austin Kindler at the back and Ely Boyd as our number one. We had a solid midfield of Sam Gatty and Ami Morad, with Ben Craig up front. Zoe and Austin rotated with Jonah Phillips and Tom Dolan, and Rafi Rosenfield played very well when rolling on and off with Ami.
Everyone played so well during the match, that it was very difficult for us to choose who should be subbed at any time, and when to make those substitutions.
We attacked constantly and it didn’t take long for relentless Alyth Belsize pressure to yield our first goal. Sam finally made sure the ball hit the back of the net after great link-up play with Ben. Ami had a couple of spectacular long shots, one a free-kick that hit the post and the second from well outside the area that just bounced wide.
Alyth remained 1-0 up throughout the first half but this was not going to be enough, and a sudden break from HMH Herzliya resulted in a fierce shot zipping towards our goal. Ely had little to do, so the fact that he was in position and focussed to deal with the shot was outstanding. With fingers stretched, he pushed the ball away from the goal preventing the equaliser. If we had gone in at half-time at 1-1, the game could have panned out very differently.
Sam worked absolutely tirelessly, and Ben ‘Messi’ Craig was also phenomenal, earning himself a hat-trick for his efforts and displaying fantastic skill throughout the second half. In fact, all the players were brilliant on Sunday and, with a taste for victory, have proven to all of us what desire and hard work, focus and staying in positions can achieve!
Well done everyone! Myself and Sophie are so proud of you all. Let’s take this new-found confidence forward to the next round of the cup this coming Sunday, when we welcome back injured super-defender Harry Abrahams.
comments