Leeds Maccabi survived a second-half onslaught to record an opening-day win.
September 8, 2014 14:56ByDarren Witcoop, Darren Witcoop
MJSL JOAN COLLINS PREMIER DIVISION
REICH INSURANCE 2 LEEDS MACCABI 3
Leeds Maccabi survived a second-half onslaught to record an opening-day win.
The Yorkshire side were cruising as Richard Black, Jonny Goldstone and John Zoltie opened up a commanding lead.
But new-look Reich Insurance battled back via Michael Gatswirth and Jordan Gold - forcing Leeds to cling on during a grandstand finish.
Leeds boss Daniel Kristall feared history was repeating itself after his side surrendered a two-goal advantage in last season’s curtain-raiser.
He said: "It did go through my mind what happened at the start of last season. Perhaps if they had another five minutes or so they would have nicked an equaliser.
"So we were pleased to hear the final whistle. A mixture of complacency and them upping their game contributed to that.
"This was a game where we would have dropped points from last season. The fact we walked off downbeat, despite winning, speaks volumes of our ambitions."
Reich's director of football Gatswirth believes his side will be a force to be reckoned with this term.
He said: "We have a hungry squad who are up for the fight.
"As we are a new team and a new set-up it was always going to take time to find our feet. But this has given us confidence that we will only get stronger.
"I believe we deserved a point but we gave ourselves just a little bit too much to do."