No luck for the Masters
Maccabi Masters wrapped up their World Masters Games campaign in disappointing style as they lost their semi final against Russian side Cosmos 2-0 and then suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Canadian team Lads Calgary United in the play off for the bronze medal.
Mick Swibel reports:
In the semi final Maccabi played a tight and compact defensive game to frustrate the Cosmos and at the break the scores were tied 0-0. The turning point came midway through the 2nd half when the referee awarded a dubious free kick to the Russian on the edge of the penalty area. The Cosmos captain curled his kick under the cross bar to give them a 1-0 lead. Maccabi then had to push forward in search of an equaliser which left them exposed at the back and Cosmos counter attacked to score the second and close out the game 2-0.
The next day saw Maccabi front up for their 7th match in eight days against the Canadian outfit for the bronze medal & fourth place play off. Maccabi were without dynamic play maker and skipper, Clive Barrett, who came down sick overnight and with other key players carrying injuries it was a backs to the wall effort. This was compounded when the Sky Blues conceded an early goal after just 90 seconds of play following a back line mix up. Maccabi battled hard for the remainder of the game and striker Gabi Rachamim came close when his shot went just wide of the post but Maccabi couldn’t pull back the deficit.
