Football
Manchester Maccabi Football Club announce sponsorship deal with Nesbit Law Group
MATCH REPORTS
Maccabi see red as they receive cards a little early – 13/12/09
Eccles Premier League
Manchester Maccabi 1– Brookfield Villa 1
Although it is still 12 days till Christmas, Maccabi ended a fractious affair against fellow league strugglers Brookfield Villa with only 18 men left on the pitch and without a manager after the referee saw fit to hand out his cards with Maccabi receiving 3 red cards and a number of yellows. Brookfield Villa came to Brooklands for the first time after being promoted last season and it was clear that for both teams all 3 points would possibly be crucial in retaining premier league status next season.
Maccabi started much the better side, retaining possession and passing the ball far easier than their opponents, but without creating too many clear cut chances. The tackles were starting to fly about and there were a number of niggly and late challenges that the referee was clearly getting concerned about.
A poor error by Brookfield in defence left Leor Sidle with a clean run on goal, but his finish was unusually poor as he lashed it wide and high. A number of other half chances came and went for Maccabi before Jay McGarvey cynically clipped a Brookfield player from behind. The free kick, which was from distance was hit straight at keeper Dan Garman, but his usual safe handling deserted him and he fumbled what appeared to a straightforward catch for Brookfield to capitalise and snatch a lead which had been totally against the first half hours play.
Ashley Loofe was booked for a late tackle and at the end of the half manager Scott McGarvey was clearly frustrated by what he had seen from his team and an altercation with the referee led to the first red card of the day as he was dismissed from the pitch.
A managerless Maccabi went out in the second half to recover the situation and the late and cynical tackles continued as they pressed for an equaliser. With Brookfield being adequately contained by Maccabi’s defence, it appeared only a matter of time, but again chances were being wasted. Sidle attempted to go past two defenders in the corner but was blocked and in his frustration kicked out. The Brookfield defender retaliated and both were shown red cards. Down to 10 men each the physical aspect of the game didn’t subside and a second late tackle by Loofe resulted in him being shown his second yellow and he left the fray.
Brookfield’s central defender picked up an ankle injury and had to leave the pitch and with no further replacements available to them both teams were now down to 9 men. Finally the Maccabi pressure paid dividends as Rafi Leker, who had also been booked for making a sarcastic comment to the referee, fired a cross low to the back post where substitute David Herman bundled the ball in.
As the referee called time on proceedings, Maccabi can only view this as 2 points lost against opposition they will be battling relegation with, and with the suspensions and injuries starting to mount up, and without a game until early January, it is an opportunity for the team to regroup ready to take on the challenge for the second half of the season in the league and the county cup.
Team: Garman, Buxton, Simmons, Addis, Davis, Greene, Loofe, McGarvey, Leker, Sidle, Stevens Subs: Herman (1), Jacobs (subs not used: Chaytow, Peters, Davidson)
Maccabi march into last 8 of County Cup – 6/12/09
Manchester County Cup - 4th Round
Manchester Maccabi 2 – Trafford FC 1 (Sidle x 2)
After being dumped out of the Morrison trophy in their worst performance of the season followed by a one goal defeat in the league, Maccabi produced a gritty performance to overcome a solid Trafford side from the Altrincham Premier division who had brought a healthy following. Injury and unavailability led to a new pairing in central defence , but it looked fairly solid in the opening exchanges.
Leor Sidle returned from his recent knee issues to partner Adam Stevens up front, who after a long injury lay off is slowly regaining his fitness and sharpness. The Brooklands pitch held up well to the recent poor weather, and the opening exchanges between the teams showed this would be a close encounter.
Trafford’s central midfielders were getting the ball down well and moving it quickly, but Ashley Loofe was getting his early challenges in and giving them no respite.
The opening goal came from a lapse in concentration by Maccabi, as Simmons got caught the wrong side of the Trafford striker as he gathered the ball in the area from a pass that had travelled some distance, and as he tried to make the tackle got turned and the forward found himself with a chance to place the ball past keeper Dan Garman, which he took well. The other Trafford striker pulled up with injury shortly after and had to be replaced, and at the half the game was finely balanced.
Trafford’s captain and centre half was not able to continue due to an injured ankle and was replaced a few minutes into the second half, and Maccabi seemed to see this as an opportunity to attack their reshuffled opponents.
Rafi Leker, always a threat, latched on to a good through ball by Emile Davidson, and as he approached the Trafford keeper it looked as though his opportunity to shoot had gone as the angle was reduced. However, Leker moved the ball to the left and as the keeper dived to grab it Leker went over his outstretched arms and went down, and the referee, who had an excellent game, pointed to the spot. After the two missed penalties in the Morrison game, the nerves were on edge, but Sidle stepped up and hit a clean strike that gave the keeper no chance.
This goal visibly seemed to give Maccabi the belief that they could win this tie and their attacking play went up another gear. With twenty minutes remaining , Sidle attacked down the left and tried to deliver a cross , but it was easily intercepted and came back out to him. His response was clinical as he gathered the returning ball and lofted it straight back over the despairing keeper into the far corner of the net.
With this Trafford were now chasing the game and this led to a number of further chances at both ends. Garman made a superb close range save which was then blocked again to keep the lead intact and substitute Dave Herman shot from close range from inside the box following a corner , but this was blocked by a defender on the line. As the referee brought proceedings to a close Maccabi could feel the result was a fair reward for their endeavour, and in particular they showed a steely resolve to see the game out to its conclusion, something that had been levelled at them as missing in previous games. They have never been further than the last 8 in their history so only time will tell in the next round in January to see if this crop of players can reach the semi finals.
Loofe breathes Life into Maccabi
Manchester County Cup
15.11.09
Staff of Life 1 – 4 Manchester Maccabi 1sts (Loofe x 2, Herman, OG)
After two successive defeats by the odd goal, Maccabi visited Littleton Road in the 3rd round of the County Cup bereft of any regular 1st team striker due to injuries, and met Staff of Life from the Eccles Second Division, a team they had only played once before two years ago. As on that day, the scoreline was exactly the same this time round with Maccabi’s superior class finally overpowering their lower division opposition, but not in as smooth a fashion as manager Scott McGarvey would have liked. Because of the striker injury crisis, 40 year old Michael Freedman was deployed to lead the line, with 17 year old David Herman supporting him.
A sluggish start on a tight pitch saw Staff try to take the game to the visitors, but their lack of quality meant they could not breach keeper Dan Garman’s goal. Garman, who had been punished in the previous two weeks for slight errors, was in commanding form this week and his handling and distribution seemed to finally give Maccabi the assurance and impetus they needed to settle into their game. They finally got the ball down and started passing and Rafi Leeker in particular was the catalyst to Maccabi’s best moves. After half an hour and with Maccabi dominating the play, a David Chaytow corner created confusion in the opposition penalty area and a Staff player diverted the ball into his own net.
Five minutes later sharp passing from the back found Herman who beat the keeper well although at first it looked like the referee had disallowed the goal for offside. In the confusion the referee decided no one in an offside position had interfered and the goal stood.
This should have been the catalyst for Maccabi to put the game to out of reach of the hosts but a weak clearance from Carl Peters landed at a Staff forwards’ feet in the Maccabi area and unchallenged he netted to reduce the deficit.
McGarvey made his feelings known at half time and Ashley Loofe, who was particularly subdued in the first half came out in the second and started to dominate the play. Pressing further up the field, he latched on to a loose ball outside the area and his drive found the bottom right corner of the goal. His second came from gambling into driving into the box to get on the end of a low cross and tuck the ball away. Although totally in the ascendancy Maccabi still missed numerous chances as their opponents started to tire, and this type of profligacy has and will cost them dear against better quality opposition, a point McGarvey was keen to make to the team after the game.
Maccabi move into the last 16 of this competition and will that tie will be played 6th December once the draw has been made. However their next challenge comes this Sunday, 22nd November as they find themselves pitted away against South Manchester in the first round of the Peter Morrison Cup at the Armitage Centre.
Team: Garman, Buxton, Jacobs, Addis, Peters, Leker, Loofe, Chaytow, Davidson, Herman, Freedman Subs: Simmons, Lavin
Maccabi on wrong end of a Helping Hand
Eccles Premier League. Date : 8th Nov 09
Charlestown 3 – 2 Manchester Maccabi 1st
In the only game in all 5 divisions of the Eccles League to survive the heavy rain the North West had experienced in the previous week, Maccabi , for the second week in a row finished losers after playing the better football and creating more chances than their opponents. Charlestown always pose a severe test of any Maccabi side, and manager Scott McGarvey chose to change the set up of the team by playing 3 central midfielders with the two widemen of Emile Davidson and Rafi Leker supporting Leor Sidle alone up front. This change to the usual 4-4-2 system took 15 minutes of the game to adapt to, but once Ashley Loofe and David Chaytow realised they could get forward more freely, Maccabi started passing the ball and putting pressure on the Charlestown defence. However it was Charlestown who struck first with some inexperience leading to a cross from the left finding the Charlestown striker free to head in at the far post after 10 minutes.
Within 5 more minutes matters got worse as a scramble led to a shot that was seemingly going wide diverted into his own net by keeper Dan Garman as he lunged for the ball.
At 2-0 down so early in the match, prospects did not bode well, but as Maccabi adapted to the new system so chances started to flow. Sidle up front showed superb movement and touch to give the central defenders a torrid time, and with Alex Lee supporting down the right wing as a full back the tide appeared to be turning. A corner swung in by Chaytow was flicked on by Carl Peters and captain Mark Addis, somewhat unaware, deflected the ball in for Maccabi’s opening goal. Now Maccabi had Charlestown pegged back and a weighted chip by Chaytow found the onrushing Sidle but he lifted the ball onto the roof of the net. A short corner was driven low across the face of the goal by Leker and somehow Charlestown frantically scrambled it away when it appeared it had to go in and to the hosts relief the half time whistle came.
Maccabi came out in the second half trying to carry on where they left off, but a clear missed handball by the referee saw Charlestown drive into the box resulting in another deflected shot finding its way past Garman. McGarvey brought on David Herman for Leker , and after a 5 minute settling in period he started to pose a threat to the hosts. Sidle superbly drifted past the defender, and firing low across the goal it seemed Herman must score at the far post, but he slid in and put the chance wide. Sidle then latched on to a through ball and instead of taking it with his left sublimely poked his right at it early and the keeper watched as it rolled past him into the goal. Anthony Jacobs got involved in a fracas and was headbutted resulting in the Charlestown substitute being sent off, but with Maccabi pushing for the equaliser Sidle twisted badly in the box and it looks like an old knee injury recurred. Unable to carry on and with Maccabi having used all their substitutes Charlestown saw the game out but after the final whistle acknowledged that they had been lucky to come out on top. Sidle’s loss could be a big blow with fellow strikers Adam Lavin still sidelined (knee) and Adam Stevens still a few weeks away (ankle). However if Maccabi can continue the quality of football they have been playing , the results should come, as long as they start converting the chances they are creating.
The next fixture is 15th Nov: Away v Staff of Life in the Mcr County Cup (Littleton Rd)
Maccabi: Garman, Lee, Addis, Peters, Jacobs, Buxton, Loofe, Chaytow, Leker, Davidson, Sidle. Subs: Herman, Simmons
Date : 1st Nov 09
Margaret Piggot Memorial Cup
Manchester Maccabi 1st v RVP
Venue : Brooklands
Maccabi lost 1-2
WHAT A HOWLER
Constant overnight rain and a ferocious howling wind made for a not so welcoming arena as Maccabi entertained fellow premier division opponents in the main cup for the league. With striker Luc Fracheboud having returned to his home country, manager Scott McGarvey brought in bright prospect, David Herman up front to partner Leor Sidle. However the strong start that McGarvey requested was thrown into disarray after 5 minutes as Maccabi were not switched on at an early RVP free kick leaving the visitors left winger totally unmarked to volley home an early lead. Matters were compounded when centre half Carl Peters turned on the edge of his area but his right foot stayed in the turf. He was clearly in some distress with his knee and time will tell on the extent and recovery of his injury. A reorganisation followed and 1st team stalwart Leon Huller came on, Captain Ashley Loofe moved into defence and Sidle dropped into midfield. Maccabi, playing against the strong wind, finally found their feet and started playing their quick brand of fluid football which created good openings with the ball flashing across the visitors’ box. However these were spurned by some poor final finishing.
After the break and with the wind now in their backs Maccabi attacked with purpose and it appeared only a matter of time before a breakthrough would come. When it did it had a large slice of luck attached, as a free kick from the left by Anthony Jacobs evaded everyone and skipped off the wet surface to eventually bury itself in the far corner of the net. Maccabi pushed forward again for the winner and RVP were struggling to cope with the pressure of the attacks.
The game however changed in a split second as a high ball into the Maccabi box which was drifting wide was mishandled by keeper Dan Garman, and a scramble for the ball ended with the RVP falling to the ground and the referee awarding a penalty. Garman had been complaining of illness before and during the game, and possibly should not have taken the field, and this appeared to have contributed to the error.
At 2-1 down Maccabi pushed to recover again, and although they created numerous openings, further poor finishing meant the opposing keeper was able to keep his goal intact.
A good game in difficult conditions left Maccabi nursing a 2-1 loss in a game they know they should have won, but as at any level, missed chances will cost them dear.
The next fixture 8th November away to old rivals Charlestown CYC.
Team: Garman, Buxton, Lee, Peters, Jacobs, Leeker, Chaytow, Loofe, Davidson, Sidle, Herman subs: Huller, Greene
Date 18th October 2009
Manchester County Cup 2nd Round
Manchester Maccabi 1st v Inter Didsbury
Venue Brooklands Club
Maccabi won 7-1
Maccabi Return with a bang
After a difficult start to the season, the enforced lay off due to not being able to play on Sundays allowed Maccabi to regroup and take stock of their current situation. The new manager, ex Manchester United forward, Scott McGarvey , gathered all the squad and had outlined what he expected of them to take things to the next level.
On Sunday, against albeit a team from a weaker league in the County Cup, Maccabi came out of the blocks as if they had been caged for months , not just two weeks. McGarvey was keen to get as much pace down the wings, and with Emile Davidson and Rafi Leeker , they had this. Davidson was electrifying down the left, and there are not many full backs that would be able to keep up with him once he opens his legs. Leeker down the right constantly tormented the left back, and cut inside on numerous occasions using his ability to run with the ball opening up the middle of the visitors defence. It didn’t take long before Maccabi were firing the ball at will past the Inter keeper, who clearly does not come up against this level of attacking player every week. Leor Sidle’s movement and Luke Fracheboud’s power was too much for the Inter defenders, and after 25 minutes Maccabi were 4 nil up, Sidle and Fracheboud grabbing two each. Sidle was being given far too much space to operate in and his second was the pick as a sharp passing found him in the area and in a tight area he made the keeper commit at close quarters as he rounded him to roll the ball into the empty net. Fracheboud had been frustrated in the previous two fixtures as his endeavour had not resulted in goals , but this powerhouse of a man was able to strike twice to reward him for the work he does for the team. Captain Ashley Loofe dominated the midfield area , and David Chaytow was finding more space than normal to utilise his range of passing. Before the half , Chaytow and centre half Carl Peters added to the scoreline , and only a brief lapse of concentration at 6-0 allowed the visitors to respond with a fine strike over keeper Dan Garman.
The second half was a somewhat muted affair , with Maccabi never under too much pressure , 17 year old Alex Lee and Peters keeping Inter’s strikers mostly under control. A solitary goal by Leon Huller, who had come off the bench to pick up the ball just inside Inters half and breeze past the defender before firing a fine strike into the bottom left corner of the goal from 20 yards, was the only addition to the scoreline, and McGarvey , although happy with the result , made his feelings known at the end of the game about the way Maccabi did not continue in the second half as they had finished the first.
Much sterner tests face Maccabi than this, and it will be a measure of the players if they can take the lessons learnt during this period and apply them against opposition that will not allow them to play so freely. The next fixture is 1st November in the league cup against RVP at Brooklands , kick off 11am.
Team: Garman, Buxton, Lee, Peters, Jacobs, Leeker, Loofe, Chaytow, Davidson, Sidle , Fracheboud subs: Greene, Huller
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