MGBSFL PREMIER DIVISION
REDBRIDGE JEWISH CARE A 1 MACCABI LONDON LIONS BLUE 1
A riled up James Gold rescued Lions a point at Fairlop in the mid-table MGBSFL clash.
Both sides came in to the game following heavy losses and the draw left much to be desired.
Early dominance from Redbridge looked to have got the better of Lions but the Lions fought back to earn a point in Matchday 11.
Redbridge took the lead midway through the first half when a clumsy challenge from Ryan Springer saw him bring down Redbridge’s winger and the referee had no option but to give the penalty which was duly converted by Brad Gayer.
Lions immediately pushed for the equaliser and a fantastic run from Rick Jacobson saw him burst through the Redbridge defence only to be denied by Redbridge keeper Dan Lee. The rebound fell to Gold whose goal bound shot unfortunately struck Jacobson who was offside.
The rest of the half saw midfielders Franks and Lampert control the midfield for Lions, but a lack of attacking prowess never really saw them test Lee in goal. Meanwhile, the two Lions centre backs Gold and Lipton finally started to gel and the leaky defence started to tighten up and deal with the Redbridge forwards.
After half-time, both Steve Summers and Dean Nyman had chances to double the lead, but were denied by a number of fantastic saves from Michael Casson - he was quick off his line on both occasions to push the strikers wide making sure they were unable to further the Redbride lead.
Dan Green then came on for Ryan Springer and with 20 minutes left to play - it was Lions who were on top. Harry Franks had a fantastic opportunity to level for Lions but fluffed his lines and put the ball wide.
With five minutes to go, the Lions equaliser finally came - a quick throw on from Connor Perlmutter found Gold on the wing, he beat his man and whipped in a cross. The cross was met by a Redbridge head who diverted the ball into their own net leaving Lee with no chance.
With the score 1-1 and the whistle about to sound, the pressure then started to pile on for Redbridge, as the home fans grew restless at the amount of misplaced passes. With the final kick of the game, Redbridge then lumped a ball into the box in search for the winner. Jacobson, who had been fantastic throughout, then cleared the cross with a thumping header and the whistle finally sounded.
The result means that Redbridge are now fourth just two points ahead of Lions.
Lions boss Jamie Kyte told JC Sport: "We left it late on Sunday and the draw felt more like a win."
RJC's Danny Berg told JC Sport: "This was another strong performance in a game we dominated but, again, couldn’t convert our good chances.
"The game should have been out of sight, we should've scored at least three or four, but when your only convert once, the other side are always in the game.
"Conceding in the 88th minute was a big shame ... another two points dropped, but our all-round play was very good again.
"All the best to the Lions boys - they are a young hungry side and we looking forward to our next league fixture."
Lions: Michael Casson, Ryan Springer (sub: Dan Green), Sam Lipton, Harry Franks, Ben Lampert, Will Beresford, Richard Gold, Connor Perlmutter, Rick Jacobson, James Gold
