Lior Refaelov's late heroics secure Maccabi Haifa win over Petah Tikva

Maccabi Haifa edged Maccabi Petah Tikva 2-1 as Lior Refaelov’s late brace secured the points for the visiting Greens in Israel Premier League action this week.

After a goalless first half, the hosts stunned Barak Bachar’s squad when Luka Stor latched onto a Yarden Cohen through-ball to put Petah Tikva in the lead. However, the wily veteran Refaelov equalized with a terrific curling free kick in the 74th minute and scored the winner less than a quarter-hour later when Kenny Saeif sent a perfect cross that he put home, giving Haifa the valuable three points and the win.

“Refaelov doesn’t surprise us,” Bachar said after the match. “He scored beautiful goals in the exhibition game we played this past week as well. He is someone who really understands the game. There were difficult moments in this contest, and we weren’t in an easy situation, but we managed to make the necessary adjustments and win this tough game. It was time for us to win a game like this, even by the skin of our teeth. This was a very important victory.”

“This was tough,” Petah Tikva head coach Dan Roman said. “Overall, we played the game we wanted to play and were solid, which made it very difficult for Haifa. We scored the goal we wanted to, but after that point, the game just got away from us. We made adjustments and recovered a lot of balls, transitioning well, so we can take these positives, but the result is disappointing at the end of the day.”

“I am happy with the victory. I owed it to the team after the loss against Hapoel Jerusalem," Refaelov said, reflecting on the game."This was not an easy game, but it was very important to win ahead of the return to Sammy Ofer Stadium. Maccabi Petah Tikva has a talented group of young players.”

Capital draw

In the capital, Hapoel and Beitar played to a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Jerusalem derby in front of a record-setting crowd of 24,123 at Teddy Stadium.

In a seesaw battle, Cedric Don opened the scoring for the Reds in the fifth minute with a clinical finish in front of goal. However, just minutes later, Grigori Morozov drew the yellow-and-black level with a blistering shot from just outside the box. Don then took matters into his own hands in the 23rd minute, delivering a terrific individual effort to give Ziv Arie’s team the lead again at 2-1.

Ten minutes later, a red-hot Yarden Shua stabbed home the equalizer for Beitar, sending the squads into the break tied at 2-2.

The second half picked up where the first ended, with chippy play and hard fouls littering the pitch. Ibeh Ransom went a step too far and was sent off with a straight red card for a reckless tackle on Ismaila Soro in the 59th minute, leaving Hapoel with just 10 men for the final half hour.

Patrick Twumasi took full advantage of the extra player and unleashed a vicious screamer from outside the area, beating Nadav Zamir to give Beitar a 3-2 lead in the 72nd minute. But Hapoel wasn’t done yet, as Awka Ashta slotted the ball past Miguel Silva to tie the game, with both sides splitting the points in one of the best capital city derbies in years.

“The victory was in our hands,” Beitar Jerusalem coach Barak Itzhaki said. “We led 3-2 in a very tough matchup, both before and after they had a player sent off. We managed to score goals and had many chances, but a moment of lost concentration cost us dearly. We’re disappointed because the points were already in our pocket.”

“We were right there for two consecutive games,” Arie said about his Hapoel club. “Against Maccabi Haifa, we were the stronger team, and against Netanya, we played well but didn’t take points. Now, against Beitar Jerusalem, who are a monster, we led twice, got a red card, and still snatched a point. We led, conceded a goal, led again, and conceded again. That’s naivety. After that came a really unnecessary red card. We weren’t compact enough and gave them too much freedom to move the ball.”

Up in the Galilee, Maccabi Tel Aviv edged Maccabi Bnei Reineh 2-1, coming back from a 1-0 first-half deficit to secure the win.

With head coach Marko Lazetic banned from the sidelines, assistant Bojan Leontijevic took charge. Ezekiel Henty gave the hosts the lead in the 31st minute with an attempt from outside the box.

However, Tel Aviv made three halftime substitutions that paid off immediately. Weslley Patati sent a perfect ball into the box to Dor Peretz, but a foul on the midfielder by Sambinha gave the yellow-and-blue a penalty that Sagiv Yehezkel converted to tie the game at 1-1. Shortly after, Dor Turgeman scored a terrific goal in the box to give the visitors the lead for good.

“The game was very difficult but also very exciting,” Leontijevic said. “We didn’t expect anything less. These were two different games in each half. We suffered in the first half, then made substitutions at halftime and dominated. We started playing like we were in training, and this ended up being a big win for us. Big credit to the players, especially after the victory over Besiktas. Warm words also go to our fans – 3,000 came out to see us and gave us energy. Now we’re celebrating.”

“I think if we were a bit more focused and confident, things could have been different,” Bnei Reineh head coach Sharon Mimer said. “We paid the price for that, but we also have to understand that we played the most talented team in the country.”

Meanwhile, Hapoel Beersheba edged Maccabi Netanya 1-0 as Paul Garita saved the southern Reds in the 89th minute, heading home an Antonio Sefer ball.

Also, Ironi Kiryat Shmona mounted a late comeback to defeat Hapoel Haifa 2-1.

Guy Melamed gave Haifa an early lead, but Roie Zikri and Lidor Cohen sealed the win for Kiryat Shmona.

Elsewhere, Ashdod SC beat Ironi Tiberias 1-0 with Stav Nachmani’s 28th-minute goal, while Hapoel Hadera and Bnei Sakhnin played to a goalless draw.