ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro
JFS 1st XI won the Year 12-13 Brent Schools Football Cup after beating Copeland 5-2 in the final at Kingsbury Town. Braces from Oliver Henry and Aaron Salamon along with one from Ben Ellis earned the Sixth Formers silverware to cap off an excellent season.
JFS captain Sean Ladier said: "It was great day for us all to claim some silverware to end the season on a high over our opponents Copeland who were by no means push over’s.
"It has been a privilege to be captain on what has been a long and hard season competeting in many cup and league games. This is full credit to the boys for their commitment and dedication to take time out of their busy working schedules. I can’t thank our manager Mr Flack anymore, for all the hard work he has put in behind the scenes to take us this far.
"For myself and most of the players this was our final game of our schooling career and will be sad to say goodbye. On behalf of the team, the JFS x1 player of the season is Mitchell Green who has come on in leaps and bounds and has been an excellent partner at the heart of the defence. We will surely stay friends for many years to come.”
Anthony Flack, head of PE, said: “An outstanding performance from a team that has developed well over the last six years. They have been extremely committed and this victory is a fantastic way to end a brilliant season."
Victory was in contrast to the heartbreak experienced in a recent cup final and semi-final. They were beaten 2-1 by Woodhouse College in the last four of the Middlesex Tye Cup in a tie where all the goals came in the second half. Max Martin’s equaliser set up a thrilling finale and within seconds of missing a golden opportunity to win the game, JFS conceded after poor defending from a corner.
This was followed by a 3-0 defeat to Lea Valley School in a game they played the majority of with 10 men following a red card offence.
Flacks said: “JFS has steadily grown in its footballing prowess – since it moved to the new sight in Kenton. In the season 2008-9, five out of the six years groups made the semi-finals of the Brent School Cup. This is just reward for the increased profile sport and physical activity has at the school.
“JFS teams also compete well in the English Schools FA cup and the Middlesex Cup, both of which has brought varying degrees of success including a four hours round trip to play Colchester Academy.”
Squad: Robin Burns, Oli Henry, David Cohen, Efriam Carlebach, Sean Ladier, Mitchell Green, Rory Lincoln, Shai Revivo, Max Martin, Jonathan Abda, Ben Ellis, Marc Harris, Sam Sank, George Fierstone, Aaron Salamon, Sam Kutner, Ricky Rinder