Lions win in Leeds to book semi-final cup spot
On a blustery wet morning in Leeds, MLL Spartans cruised into the semi-finals of the Peter Morrison as they beat a tough Leeds Maccabi team, who have been unbeaten all season.
Peter Morrison Trophy Quarter-Final:
Leeds Maccabi 0 Maccabi London Lions Spartans 3
Sunday, 29 March, 2015
Lions fielded seven under 21 players, all of whom played a big part in the victory. Leeds fought extremely hard for every ball, and with very difficult playing conditions, they made life difficult for Lions, and it took a 25-yard right footed shot from Man-of-the-Match Charlie Kasler to take the lead on 35 minutes.
Although Lions had begun to dominate the game, it was obvious that the Leeds half-time team talk would have been that they were not yet out of this game. Andy Landesberg, the Lions manager, made it clear, that the job was far from over, and that at least another goal was needed to kill off the Leeds spirit.
Lions responded well, and it was that man Kasler again who cut inside the box to beat one and was then taken down by another clearly inside the box, leaving the referee with an easy decision to make and to point to the penalty spot. Max Kyte, who was having an excellent game up top, stepped up and calmly side footed into the right hand corner. 2-0 Lions.
As the game rolled on, the Lions fitness and quality started to prove significant, with chance after chance coming. With 15 minutes left, James Belchak made it three, following the rebound off the bar from a fantastic David Soutar shot from 25 yards.
The Lions back four of Adam Lipman, Nick Landesberg, Guy Morris and Zac Rose were outstanding, each winning their individual battles. Marc Brahams in goal was excellent and did everything he had to do, and keeping a clean sheet was the order of the day.
Landesberg said: “This was a very professional performance in a game that so easily could have been a banana skin. The game was played in a strong, but good spirit, in very difficult conditions.
“It was by far our best performance in the competition, and made the trip back home an enjoyable one.”
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