All eyes on the ball between Maccabi London Lions and Oakwood A

Premier League HMH thumped Fairlop FC 9-0 in the second round of the Peter Morrison Trophy at the Hive.

Oscar Wagner scored four goals, Adam Abadi notched a hat-trick and Ben Winters bagged a brace in a resounding victory against a weakened Fairlop outfit who are in the Division One promotion shake up.

HMH take on Jewdinese or Oakwood A in the quarter-finals.

Avi Goldberg was delighted how his team handled what might have been a “tricky” encounter according to the HMH boss pre-match against the Division One side.

“My lads responded in best way possible by blowing Fairlop away,” he said. “A weakened Fairlop perhaps, but nevertheless 9-0 is a huge score.

“We dominated the game, dominated possession and scored almost at will.

“By half-time it was 5-0, Wagner had his hat-trick from a superb team move and Adabi has two, one a superb header from a great free-kick delivered by Josh Goldstein.

“In the second half Fairlop did have a bit more of the ball and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions but generally it was more of the same as we rattled in another four goals and missed a few straight forward chances.”

In the Premier League, league Hendon United Sports strengthened their position without kicking a ball

as Maccabi London Lions came from behind to knock Oakwood A’s title aspirations with a 3-1 win at Rowley lane.

Michael Kenley, Adam Arnold and Benji Weinberger struck the all-important goals in a shock result.

Oakwood took an early lead when Dale Bradman struck from close range, only for Kenley to equalise with a free-kick into the bottom corner before half time.

Arnold fired home a free-kick and then Weinberger sealed the win with a neat finish.

“We won the game before kick-off,” said Lions joint-manager Max Kyte.

“The whole group were focussed and together from the moment they arrived to stepping foot on the pitch. There was only one result we would accept today.”

He added, “The boys remained calm and kept working hard after going a goal down. We withstood some pressure in the early part of the second half and then took control of the game.”

“We dominated most of the game and at 1-1, there was only one winner but we made silly mistakes at key times and Lions took advantage,” commented Oakwood manager Daniel Kristall.

He added, “We will now focus on both cup competions and will be looking for a reaction from the players. We have to improve, it’s that simple.”

Los Camden A moved above Faithfold A in the table following a 3-0 win.

Oli Sade struck a hat-trick to claim the spoils.

Sade capitalised on poor Faithfold defending in the second minute to score with a smart left footed finish.

Despite losing centre midfield man Sacha Nusenbaum to injury early on, Camden dominated possession though Faithfold ended the half strongly. However, Sade volleyed home for a 2-0 interval lead.

Camden’s third goal came on 70 minutes following a defensive mix up which Sade capitalised on to complete his first club hat trick.

“I am so proud of the boys again today, a clean sheet and 3-0 win against a team that poses many different threats,” commented Stirling Kay.

“We were able to negate their strong wingers and really go after them. With better finishing we could maybe have had a few more but in the end, it was a very fair result as Faithfold put a lot into that game.

“There were a few standout players, Sade was back to his dazzling best, but as Camden have showed multiple times this season, we play as a team and fight for each other.

“The morale in the dressing room is fantastic and the boys have the belief they can go on to do something special this season.

“My job is to keep their feet firmly on the ground and make sure they put in the hard work on the training ground to be able to stay competitive into the business end of the season.”

Redbridge Jewish Care A extended the lead in Division One to six points thanks to hat-trick from substitute Alex Paraskeva in 3-0 win at Oakwood B.

North London Galaxy have two games in hand and Fairlop are also in the mix having played three games less, but Sam Rank’s side have points in the bag, which could prove decisive. 
Redbridge lost star striker Dean Nyman to a hamstring pull during a goalless first half.

The visitors called on Paraskeva after 70 minutes and the striker soon opened the scoring with a powerful header scoring from a Nate Kashket corner for a 1-0 lead.
Paraskeva slotted home his second minutes later then finished with aplomb late on after picking up a long ball from ‘keeper Dean Caplin to complete his treble.

“Our defence were extremely strong and solid, which gave our attacking players a great platform to get the victory,” said RJC boss Sam Rank.
“It was brilliant to see Paraskeva and Jamie Cooper back in RJC shirts, and Alex grabbing his hat-trick. With Fairlop losing and being out of both cups, there is now a lot of pressure coming up.”

The clash between Jewdinese and North London Galaxy was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch

while Los Camden B forfeited their clash against North London Raiders.

SPEC FC returned to top spot with a 3-1 win at North London Raiders Masters in Division Two.

Dan Green, Josh Green and Ricky Lawrence scored the goals to down Raiders.

“It was a good victory against a side who passed the ball around extremely well,” commented SPEC player-boss Lawrence.

“We took our chances when we needed to and dug in well to ensure we took all three points.”

Faithfold B remain a point behind SPEC following a 4-2 win at Scrabble B, but Hertswood Vale will return to the top when points are allocated after Faithfold C forfeited their clash.

Title favourites Vale sit a couple of points back from SPEC with three games in hand over the current leaders.

Rob Kleinman put Scrabble ahead before Faithfold took a 2-1 lead.

Scrabble equalised before half-time through Alex Bourne but two late goals brought victory to the visitors.

“It was not the best game of football, very start-stop, but we’re pleased with the three points,” commented Faithfold boss Motty Korman.

“We made them work very, very hard for their win,” added Scrabble boss Jon Yantin.

By David Saffer