Faithfold great a hard act to follow
TWO goals from Aaron Goldman helped Manchester Maccabi 1st start the new year as they finished the last, continuing their perfect record, as their push for five trophies gather momentum.
Parkway Villa created several chances early on but once Goldman opened the scoring Maccabi did not look back.
Maccabi pushed forward in the second half and doubled the lead through Toby Levy. He latched on to a through ball from Carl Peters and chipped it past the goalkeeper.
The game continued to be tightly balanced, until Maccabi earned some breathing space through Louie Basso, after some quick thinking from substitute Sam Van Gelder.
Parkway pulled one back through an own goal from David Herman but man-of-the-match Goldman ended any hopes of a comeback with his second of the game completing the scoring.
Maccabi player-manager Michael Sacks said: “I always say it’s a squad game and we proved it today. “We were far from our best against a wellorganised side. Fortunately, the boys showed enough in the second half and got the result we wanted.”
Sacks went on to say: “Our next match is in the cup against Snipe, so we know to expect a tough battle which we’ll be ready for.”
Maccabi’s Yellow team also won, beating Reich to reach the final of the Tony Cohen Cup.
Holding a four-goal advantage from the first leg, the Yellows registered another five at Brooklands to run out convincing winners and set up a final against Maccabi Manchester Blue. All five Maccabi goals came in the second half, with Josh Hayes (2), veteran striker Adam Lavin, Josh Lewis and an own goal steering Maccabi through.
ADAM LUSTIGMAN HAS LED the tributes to legendary Faithfold manager David Bond, who passed away in November.
Former player Lustigman described Bond as “Mr Faithfold”. Reflecting on the man who helped set up one of the Maccabi football giants and won the MSFL Manager of the Year in 1993/94, Lustigman said: “David helped assemble a team with a group of JFS boys, including his son, Lawrence. After several years in the junior leagues, he managed a team that took the MSFL by storm, with five consecutive promotions before continued league and cup success in the top division.
“David oversaw the growth of the club with three men’s teams eventually and always had the club’s interests at heart. He was also famous for asking a question or two at meetings. He was extremely proud of his and the club’s achievements and I know Lawrence has found some amazing memorabilia that he’d kept despite stepping down a number of years ago.”
JACOB EMANUEL dedicated Hertswood Vale’s 2-1 win over Jewdinese to joint-manager Danny Hirschberger following the passing of his father, Hermann.
Hermann, 93, was best-known as a former Kindertransport refugee who fought for the pension rights of hundreds of other Kinder.
Speaking after Sunday’s match, Emanuel said: “I have to give personal thanks to Director of Football Jack Shulman for leaving the comfort of the boardroom to return to the dugout in mine and Danny Hirschberger’s absence.
“Today’s win belongs to him, just as much as it does to Danny and he deserves a nomination for manager of the week. We also wish Danny a long life following the passing of his father over the Christmas period.”
I’M KEEN to finish on an upbeat note and say how impressed I was with the number and calibre of supporters Hendon United Sports attracted on Sunday. First-team players past and present were in and around the dug-out area cheering the team to victory, including former league winner Alex Rosenthal and championship-winning manager David Garbacz, as well as a host of parents and injured players.
Hendon, who are leading the way again in the MGBSFL, remain a tightknit bunch on and off the pitch and the fact that midfielder Rocky Spitzer played just three hours after landing from a holiday in Miami speaks volumes. They remain an example to all Maccabi clubs in terms of commitment and organisation.
See Danny Caro’s weekend round-up at thejc.com/mgbsfl. Email dcaro@ thejc.com and/or follow Danny on Twitter:@DjCaro