Every single one of the team played their part in a thrilling 9-5 win over Young Lubavitch. Both teams came into the game on the back of high scoring results last time out, so this was a fixture to really look forward to, and it did not disappoint.
Young Lubavitch fielded an inexperienced goalkeeper due to illness, and we took an early lead, when Aron shot from just outside the penalty area and then, from a tight angle, made it 2-0. With pressure being applied from the front, particularly from Ryan, we were able to keep attacking. Aron scuffed a shot wide, and then a great passing move, from Sruli to Darren to Aron, onto Yaakov and back to Aron, was lifted over the bar.
Young Lubavitch were looking dangerous however, and when one of their players was not picked up, the deficit was halved. At that point, the opposition were having most of the play but the defence of Gary and Darren held firm. This was not to say we were not creating chances – a through ball that was just not controlled, a shot that was just wide and another one that hit the outside of the post.
Sruli comfortably dealt with some good corner routines but a great move between Aron and Yaakov relieved the pressure, as Yaakov’s fancy footwork took the defender out and he finished left-footed, and Aron then completed his hat-trick to give us a 4-1 half-time lead.
Young Lubavitch started the second half determined to claw back on our lead but this time the woodwork came to our rescue – first a shot that hit both posts but incredibly did not go in, before the bar saved us. Ryan then bent a shot in from a similar angle to Aron’s second goal but Young Lubavitch came back with a brilliant individual goal. They then had a man sin-binned for dissent and Ryan’s flick to Yaakov when we were 3-on-1 allowed him to finish off the bar.
Young Lubavitch continued to threaten but the outstanding defensive efforts of Darren and Gary, along with Sruli, were equal to any attempts on goal.
Mordy replaced Aron and was immediately involved, first hitting the outside of the post and then being wiped out in the area for a penalty, which Ryan dispatched. Yaakov then found Ryan with a ball over the top to give us an 8-3 lead. By this point Young Lubavitch had replaced their goalkeeper and his throw-out went straight to Mordy, who found Ryan, who has now scored 4 goals in 2 consecutive games.
A further sin-bin for deliberate handball perhaps should have seen us add to the score, although Young Lubavitch grabbed two late goals. Make no mistake though, this was a phenomenal team
Results:
Heaton Park 9-5 Young Lubavitch
Windsor Road 6-8 Whitefield
Vine Street 5-3 Adas Yisroel
Shrubs 12-1 OJ
Fixtures 20 th October:
8:00pm
Whitefield vs Adas Yisroel
Heaton Park vs OJ
9:00pm
Windsor Road vs Young Lubavitch
Vine Street vs Shrubs