It won’t be the year of the underdog

YOU CAN’T beat the buzz of a cup upset – in any standard of football. Be it the World Cup, FA Cup or even the Cyril Anekstein Cup, the little guy beating the big guy and defying the odds is what sport is all about.

I’ve been involved in several myself, most famously North West Neasden’s victory over the all-conquering Scrabble team of the early 1990s, and I still tell people about that shoot-out, when I saved three penalties and stuck the win- ning shot past Adam Solomons. Cup surprises are few and far between these days in Maccabi football, but teams should take a leaf out of L’Equipe’s book. Having pushed holders North London Raiders A close in the Anekstein, they went one better in the Morrison Trophy and knocked first division Los Blancos crashing out.

Manager Nick Stern has put together a close-knit group who are doing well in the second division and personify everything that is good about Jewish football right now.

Carl Breindel has been selected to attend the National Talent Camp by the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA) in December. The camp is organised by the Youth Sports Trust, which is part of Sport England, and features 350 teenagers across 10 different sports.

Carl is one of only four U19 selected by ETTA this year and he will receive further training to obtain national and international umpiring qualifications.

Another man with reason to celebrate is trampoline star Josh Newman. He has been short-listed for the Active Essex Young Sports Personality of the Year awards, to be held at Colchester United FC in December.

It’s also been a week of celebrations in the Caro household, and I’ve been encouraged by my rabbi, Yitzchak Schochet, to say a few words. I’ve just completed 10 years at the JC and had a birthday but attention now turns to my eldest daughter, Ella, who will be batmitzvah this weekend. A huge mazel tov to my star of the week. See Danny Caro’s weekend round-up at thejc.com. Email dcaro@thejc.com and/ or follow Danny on Twitter:@djcaro