Shapiro keeps Sedgley in the mix
FOOTBALL Saul Shapiro is confident Sedgley Park Celtic can maintain their surprise title bid.
The MJSL new boys have been in excellent form of late and they kept their cool to beat Reich in an 11-goal thriller.
After Sedgley’s game at Frederick Raid beat the big freeze, the latest win moved them into second spot behind defending champions Haroldeans.
The Merseysiders have a two-point advantage and have a game in hand over their rivals.
But with both teams still due to meet, Sedgley’s hat-trick hero Shapiro is in confident mood.
The Sedgley skipper said: “It was a tough game with eight of our top players missing, including goalkeeper Sam Franks.
“A combination of some sloppy defending and giving the ball away led to a quick collapse and we trailed in the opening stages of the second half. But we were dominant for the remaining period and eventually cruised home.
“We showed our strength in depth and our ability to utilise all players in our 30-man squad.
“Some will say that our squad is too big to mount a serious title challenge, with rotation necessary to keep players happy.
“We keep proving people wrong and continued our winning streak, which stretches back 10 weeks. All we can do is take it one game at a time and make sure we keep enjoying ourselves.”
Sedgley didn’t have it all their own way here as Reich - thanks to goals from Dan Feddy, Sam Rottenberg, Adam Rose and Eli Bloom - led 4-3 early into the second-half.
But Shapiro’s treble along with strikes from Dan Rabinowitz, Jake Rubens, Jeremy Barr and Avi Libbert saw them home.
Maccabi Manchester Yellow will face Reich in the Tony Cohen Trophy final. The Yellows edged out the Blues 9-8 on penalties in a last-four tie. The match finished 2-2 after 90 minutes.