Camden United beat Sporting Duet FC 5-3 on penalties to reach the semi-finals of the Alec Smith Premier Division Cup

TITLE-CHASERS Camden United will be looking to close the gap on leaders Eagles Land Cricklewood to just two points on Saturday in the Premier Division of the Middlesex County Football League.

United go into the match soaring with confidence after putting six goals past Indian Gymkhana Club at the weekend. Endrit Feka led the charge with a brace, while Ferhat Canlier, Henry Clark, Elias Moreno and Tomasz Siemienczuk were also all on target in a thumping 6-1 victory.

“It was a really solid performance, which led to some of the best team goals that we have scored so far this season,” said club co-founder Hafid Ali. “For Elias’s goal, the ball started off with our goalkeeper and was passed around the pitch before he put it in the back of the net.”

This weekend United host a Hilltop 2nds side rooted to the bottom of the table, but Hafid is taking nothing for granted. He added: “They are a good side, and they usually play well against us.

“Our goal is to make it three wins in a row, and keep the pressure on the surrounding teams at the top of the table. There’s a long way to go, and we really are just taking it one game at a time.”

Inviting supporters to join them at the New River Stadium in Wood Green for their 2.30pm kick-off, Hafid continued: “It would be great to see the Camden community come out to support us. We’d really appreciate having a crowd to cheer us on.”

Camden United recently “showed their resilience” when they grabbed a late equaliser against Sporting Duet FC in the Alec Smith Premier Division Cup – courtesy of another clinical finish from Siemienczuk – before going on to win the game 5-3 on penalties.

Their big reward is a semi-final date against Stonewall, but with that showdown not due to take place until mid-March, it’s far from being a distraction.

“The best thing about our cup win was the resilience that we showed on the day to keep going until the very end,” said Hafid. “It proves that we don’t give up easily. We really had to battle hard for the win.

“It’s obviously nice to have a cup semi-final to look forward to, but it’s a way off which gives us plenty of time to focus on the league. Right now our focus is on Hilltop.”

Elsewhere, local rivals Camden & Islington United – nicknamed Candi United – stretched their unbeaten league run to 10 games after drawing 2-2 at Wood Lane on Saturday.

Hotshot Louie Dixon capped a man-of-the-match display by grabbing both goals for Candi, who now find themselves seventh in the table; nine points behind leaders Cricklewood but with a game in hand.

Candi, who are the joint-top scorers in the division having netted 38 goals in just 12 games, are back on the road this weekend when they head to Harrow to face a Kodak side that have won just three of their 13 league games so far, losing the other 10.