Late own goal sends holders Hendon through in cup

A last minute own goal from Adam Goldman saw Hendon ground out another cup win against a superior Redbridge side, who as the first game between the two a fortnight ago, didn’t take their chances.

Peter Morrison Cup Second Round:
Redbridge Jewish Care B 1 Hendon United A 2
Sunday, 9 November, 2014

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS TO FOLLOW…

Hendon started the game on a perfect Sunday morning for football the better side and Redbridge looked nervous, missing their captain Darren Brown and the drive of Nathan Sollosi in the midfield .

Hendon took the lead with a soft goal conceded from a cross, Brad Grant pushed the ball back and it was neatly converted from a few yards out by Rafi Kon.

This woke up Redbridge who then took the game to Hendon and deservedly equalised with a smart finish from Daniel Garfinkle after the goalkeeper fumbled Sam Sollosi’s shot.

The chances kept on coming to Redbridge and Hendon had to clear the ball off the line after smart play from James Berkley. As per the last game, Redbridge’s midfield trio of Sollosi, Bernstein and Berkley were dominating the cup holders, as the half-time interval saw the sides go in level.

Redbridge were told by their manager to leave nothing left in the tank and only be happy in winning. They took this as their mantra and tore into the Hendon backline. Chances kept on coming, Sapler had a chance to score from a corner, Niman mis-kicked in front of goal and then Garfinkle had a chance to win it with a one-on-one, but the despairing lunge of the defender pushed it wide.

With both teams playing on the counter-attack, the game was settled by a little bit of magic from Greg Corin on the right flank, his cross diverted into his own net by Goldman.

Redbridge manager Jon Jacobs said: “Quotes- Hendon have learned how to win ugly and we need to learn how to close games out .

“We have taken the champions to two minutes from time and were undoubtedly the better team for the second game running, but this time against the 11 men of Hendon.

“There was nothing but respect between the two teams and even the managers shared a joke on the side lines, but defeat was still a hard pill to swallow.

Hendon manager David Garbacz knew his team had been pushed as hard as possible and was magnanimous in victory, praising my young team and agreeing that they had been lucky to win.

“Lesson learned, you have to take your chances against the top teams , we certainly had enough of them. The challenge now is to take all the positives from this narrow defeat and go on a run in the league and join them in the Premier League for next season.”