Champions Redbridge sign off with five-star second half show

Division One champions Redbridge B turned on the style in the second half as they delivered a five-star display in the last 45 minutes to win at relegated Brixton.

MGBSFL Division One:
Brixton Old Boys 1 Redbridge Jewish Care B 5
Sunday, 12 April, 2015

The pre-match excitement had centred on two facts – 1) Redbridge were playing their first game for eight weeks, their first since becoming Champions and 2) already-relegated Brixton weren’t pulling out of the game unlike other teams.

Redbridge started the game as though they hadn’t played for ages and were not game sharp at all. Matt Kemp, starting in goal on his return from university kept Redbridge in the game with a string of good saves, before Jordan Sapler rashly upended the Brixton attacker. The awarded penalty was taken and missed but this served to galvanise a highly motivated Brixton who took the lead with another penalty, this time converted by Jamie Kent.

Redbridge were way off the pace and went into the break deservedly 1-0 down. Manager Jon Jacobs reminded his players that they weren’t champions for nothing and demanded that the second half was one to entertain the capacity crowd at Clowes. The wind and concrete ground were no excuse but the technical ability of the Solossi boys and James Berkley was not working on a day where top scorer Garfinkle was misfiring.

The game changed with a goalkeeping howler. Scott Oldstein sent a speculative shot in, the goalkeeper had it, fumbled it and it trickled into the net. Two minutes later ,the move of the game which was totally out of keeping with the match. Nathan Sollosi sent a beautiful diagonal ball straight onto the foot of Daniel Garfinkle who first time on the half volley sent into the corner of the net.

Brixton’s heads dropped and Jacobs delivered a triple substitution with the A team of Sam Rank, Adam Bernstein and Amir Nathan to deliver the coup de grace . Once ahead, Redbridge went through the gears and goals three, four and five came from Bernstein and the hat-trick completing Garfinkle.

Jacobs said: “As bad as the first half had been, the second was superb and a fabulous way to sign off the Division One season. Now the planning can begin for next season.”