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Brave Lions meet their match as HMH A march on
HMH A booked their place into the final of the Peter Morrison Trophy as they put an end to the giant-killing acts of London Lions U18s.
March 26, 2025 08:58
By, Andrew Sherwood
3 min read
HMH A booked their place into the final of the Peter Morrison Trophy as they put an end to the giant-killing acts of London Lions U18s.
March 26, 2025 08:58ByMaccabi GB, Andrew Sherwood
The Rowley Lane club enjoyed a stellar run to the last four of the competition, knocking out Maccabi GB Southern Football League Premier Division teams on route to Sunday morning’s last-four clash against another Jewish football top-flight side.
However, the challenge of HMH – who are set to finish as runners-up in the Premier Division – proved to be one step too far as goals from Billy Lee and Brad Dryer saw them through to the final, where they will meet another side from Rowley Lane, the London Lions Vets team.
Proud of his side even in defeat, Lions manager Lee Glassar said: “HMH knew they were in a fight from the first whistle and for much of the second half we were camped inside their half, with them having 11 men behind the ball. We had a host of chances to score, but their goalkeeper was superb.”
Believing the difference between the sides was set-pieces, he said: “It was our defending of them and their pin-point precision. We had 50% of the possession, won more tackles, turned over possession more times and had more shots, we just couldn’t finish.”
Disappointed going out at this stage of the competition, he continued: “It always is exiting a cup competition at the semi-final stage, especially with the prospect of playing the Lions Vets, but I’m really proud of the boys. We could look at the boys that were unable to play today that go to Sunday school and the impact they may have had on the game, but overall it is what it is. We had a great run. We wish HMH well for the final, but we’re obviously supporting our Vets to lift the trophy.”
Believing his players will take great experience and belief from playing in the tournament, he said: “To contextualise our achievements in this competition. Our team is made up of predominantly 16-year-old boys, with some 17 and 18-year-olds. We scored 26 goals and conceded five across all games. We played teams across all three divisions and it reached the point that no one wanted to play us. This team is the immediate future of London Lions and Jewish football. Playing against men has really helped the team’s development and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the cup organisers for allowing us to enter and to all our opponents for being so gracious after each match. It’s been a really positive experience and a great advert for Jewish football.”
Despite finishing short in this competition, they’ve already won the U18 County Cup and are still in the running for another four pieces of silverware. “We go into each game with the aim to win and be the best we can be as individuals and as a team”, Glassar says. “If we carry on doing that there’s plenty more for this team to achieve individually and collectively.”
Brady FC ensured they can still claim a top-three finish in Division One, as they ran riot against the team they can now finish above in the table – Redbridge Jewish Care, defeating them 8-1. Aaron Gareh and Joe Shaw scored two each, with Scott Davidson, Rafael Jacobs, Ethan Myers and Sam Raphael completing the scoring.
HMH Camden secured runners-up spot in Division Two as they came away from Bocher Juniors with a 3-2 win.
Beitar Bushey booked their place into the quarter-finals of the Barry Goldstein Trophy as goals from Lawrence Rosenberg, Sean Kramer and Matt Ginsberg saw them beat Mill Hill Minyan 3-0. Bushey’s Aaron Conway said: “After a quiet first half for both teams, which saw us go into the break goalless, Saul Jackson made some great tactical tweaks and we came out all guns blazing in the second half. We’ve now won three games in a row and deservedly finished in the top two in our group. We’re now looking forward to our quarter-final clash against HMH.”
Division One champions Yallatasary booked their place in the semi-finals of the Super Cup as they came away from Premier Division side Oakwood with a 3-2 win.
Maccabi London Lions moved a step closer to retaining their Maccabi Masters Football League Division One title as they beat nearest challengers Scrabble 3-1. Wayne Davidson’s goal saw Lions take an early lead, though it was cancelled out by half-time thanks to Tony Plaskow’s strike. Both teams then spurned chances, before Lions went back in front through Bradley Lazarus. Paul Allen wrapped up the win in the final minutes.
In Group A of the Nathan Horwitz MMFL Cup, a first-half goal from Wayne Davison was enough to give Temple Fortune a win against EHRS. But performance of the day came in Group B where Hendon Harriers – bottom of Division Two – beat Division One side Brady 3-2. Ben Simons opened the scoring for Harriers, only for Brady to equalise through Adam Brand before the break. But goals from Leon Wise and another Simons strike gave Harriers a 3-1 advantage. Despite Brady reducing the deficit through Brand’s second goal of the game, Harriers held on to record a famous victory.
London Lions’ First XI maintained their promotion hopes in the Spartans South Midlands Football League Premier Division as a 76th minute goal from Jack Mattey saw them come away from Crawley Green with a 1-0 win. The victory sees them sit joint-fourth in the table. Meanwhile, London Lions’ Development team claimed their first league win in seven games as they recorded a 1-0 win over Cheshunt FC. The win takes them six points clear of the relegation zone, though they have played more games than those side below them.