Raiders’ return
V GIDEON Gale says it was mission accomplished after a four-goal bonanza from Jordan Nathan helped Raiders secure the Division One title with an ultimately handsome win over Hertswood Vale in Wembley.
An entertaining first half saw Vale take the lead after 43 minutes when a free-kick from Josh Gorb was tapped home by Daniel Reuben. But they were ahead for less than two minutes as Nathan smashed a stunning shot into the top corner from 30 yards.
The match remained deadlocked until the 83rd minute when Nathan converted a penalty, and they went on to score three more times in the closing stages, with Josh Bloom also on target.
Raiders’ joint-manager Gideon Gale said: “Goal for the season achieved and I couldn’t be prouder of the boys. True grit and determination got us through today and think it’s safe to say that the scoreline doesn’t reflect the way the game flowed. Credit to Vale who made it difficult.
“Let’s focus on the full season though, it’s a terrific achievement from the lads. Not a single team has got close to us this season and we can all be very proud about the hard work we’ve put in throughout the campaign.
“We haven’t conceded a goal from open play since October, have two of the top-scorers in all of Jewish football and exceptional midfield combinations to tie it all together.”
Gale said: “We’re hoping to play our two semifinals as yes double winners sounds great but quadruple winners sounds even better.
“For myself and David Isaacs, it’s now about building a team which we think is good enough to challenge the top two in the Premier Division next season which we know were more than capable of.
Vale joint-manager Jacob Emanuel believes the “scoreline really doesn’t tell the full story”. He said: “While I’m disappointed that we collapsed in the last few minutes, I’m very proud of a strong performance. “Well done to Raiders for a deserved title win. They’ve been fantastic all season and will do well in the topflight next season.
“We were naive at the end, and I feel like we’ve let ourselves down with the final scoreline, but it was hard for the boys when they deserved a result from today’s performance. It’s a learning curve for us and we’ll come back stronger from it.”
RAIDERS: Joshua Bloom, Ed Brafman, Charlie Cohen, Gavin Fox, Josh Nagli, Jordan Nathan, Yarden Sharon, Matt Warner, Jake Yudelowitz, Liron Mannie, Aron Gale. Subs: Ashley Diamond, Jordan Marks, David Nezri, Zak Linden
VALE: Adam Zaidman, Josh Gorb, Harry Graham, Ashley Hirschberger, Adam Morrow, (below)
Justin Mullem, James Neidle, Daniel Reuben, Alex Trup, Jack Winton, James Millet. Subs: Jordan Harris, Jack Shulman, Andy Gilbert
March 15 – bt Hertswood Vale 5-1 (Nathan 4, Bloom)
March 8 – bt RJC 4-0 (Mannie 2, Gale, Marks)
February 23 – bt Jewdinese 1-0 (Warner)
January 26 – bt Brook Farm Rovers 5-0 (Cohen 2, Mannie, Brafman, own goal)
January 12 – lost NL Galaxy 1-0 January 5 – bt Brook Farm Rovers 6-0 (Gale 2, Warner, Nathan, Mannie, Bloom)
December 15 – bt Hertswood Vale 3-1 (Gale, Mannie, Warner)
December 8 – bt MH Dons 9-1 (Gale 3, Mannie 2, Cohen 2, Jacobs, Field)
November 3 – bt MH Dons 5-1 (Gale, Mannie, Warner, x2 own goals)
October 27 – bt RJC 8-0 (Mannie 4, Warner 2, Nathan, Behar)
October 10 – drew 1-1 NL Galaxy (Lewis)
September 22 – bt Jewdinese 4-1 (Gale 2, Warner, Nathan)
September 15 – bt SPEC 6-3 (Garber 2, Gale 2, Jacobs, Warner)