Jerusalem overcome rain, Jaffa for win

A difficult game in uninspiring conditions was won by a rare goal from David Preston.

By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
Soccer player hitting ball with head 390 (photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
Soccer player hitting ball with head 390
(photo credit: Thinkstock/Imagebank)
A difficult game in uninspiring conditions was won by a rare goal from David Preston.
Neither team could quite overcome the driving rain and sodden pitch to play the football they wanted to in the first half, and, in the end, when the conditions cleared, a solitary goal from a corner at the beginning of the second half was enough to give Jerusalem the points.
Jaffa fought hard but Jerusalem dug in and their resilience, along with another outstanding performance by goalkeeper Fransisco Salgado, was enough to keep the visitors out.
Jerusalem now have 4 wins and a draw in their last 5 games, and are keeping the pressure on the league leaders.
Ra’anana 1 England A 0 Ra’anana ground out a gripping 1-0 battle with England A.
Still reeling from dropping out of the cup midweek to Jaffa, England A, last year’s champions, were desperate to keep themselves in contention for league.
Ra’anana knew this was one of the biggest games of their season, a win putting England almost out of reach.
Both teams started brightly with Ra’anana packing the midfield and containing the forward runs from the England Strikers.
Despite some early pressure England couldn’t find a way through the Ra’anana defensive line with Natan Wiesenberg and Rafi Shachat in fine form.
Both teams came close as they pushed for a lead before the break – with Robin Burkeman Ra’anana keeper and Herschel Gutman combining to snuff out a clear chance.
Ra’anana, on the counter attack, looked promising as well with Naftali Kanikofsky hitting the crossbar only to see the rebound bounce down toward the goal line and scrambled away.
The game balanced on a knife’s edge saw some cynical fouls as England tried to contain the Ra’anana wide players.
Both teams suffered injuries and as the intensity continued, Ra’anana won a free kick on the 65th minute. The resulting shot from Naftali K was finely saved by the keeper but he only could manage to clear it to Eitan Aaronson who followed up well and made no mistake in slotting it away.
Spaces began to open up on both ends but the Ra’anana defense held strong.
A last chance corner saw England throw everything forward but Ra’anana were able to walk away with the 3 points.
Also, Ashdod defeated Aviv 5-4.