Not many goals for high-octane Israeli clubs

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv played to a goalless draw over the weekend at Bloomfield Stadium to pick up a point apiece in Israel Premier League action.

After a defensive lapse by the yellow-and-blue, Enric Saborit was issued a straight red card when he yanked down Hapoel’s Kayes Ganem just outside of the box to leave Aitor Karanka’s squad with just 10 men over the final quarter-hour.

However, Haim Silvas’s side was unable to capitalize on the extra player as the match ended all knotted up 0-0.“This was my first Israeli league derby and last week was my first classico,” Karanka began. “My players gave it their all and we tried everything so that the ball would go into the goal. The guys were great in a game that was totally different from the one against Maccabi Haifa. We had some chances to score in the first half, but we were unsuccessful. We made a mistake late and took one point.”

“I feel like we missed out,” Silvas said. “We played well and were able to really make Maccabi struggle. The game was very even throughout and when they went a man down we had an incredible chance to win the derby. We battled for our pride and that of the supporters. I am happy with how we played but not with the result.

Meanwhile, Maccabi Haifa played Bnei Reineh to a disappointing 0-0 draw to split the points at Sammy Ofer Stadium.“We lost some very precious points over the past two games,” assistant coach Guy Tzarfati said in place of suspended Barak Bachar following the draw. “We need to improve our play and look much better than we have because we have no choice. Maccabi Haifa is a winning club and we have to always look for the victory.”

“This was a good result and many clubs came to this stadium and didn’t get any type of result,” Reineh bench boss Sharon Mimer said, “I told the players that they would have a very rough time for 90 minutes, but they should give it their all. We gained a lot in this game and we saw that there are good players on our team.”

By the Carmel Mountain, Hapoel Beersheba blanked Hapoel Haifa 1-0 on a first-minute goal by Eugene Ansah to hand the Southern Reds the win and the three points.

Elyaniv Barda’s squad came flying out of the box as Shai Elias sent Ansah a perfect ball which the striker slammed home just a minute after the opening whistle for the lone goal of the match, which held up over the ensuing 90+ minutes.

“The only thing I can take out of this game is the three points,” Barda said following the contest. “I can’t remember a game where I made three substitutes in a situation where we were winning 1-0 at halftime; that is how unsatisfied I was with our play. Our team can do much more after scoring in the first minute of the match. We should have been more confident and the opposite occurred.”

“We gave up a goal in the opening seconds and we chased Beersheba the entire game,” Haifa coach Roni Levy explained. “It’s not easy to chase after such a good team, but we did create a few chances that could have brought us back into the game. It’s very disappointing.”

In the diamond city, Maccabi Netanya overwhelmed Sektzia Ness Ziona 3-0 as Omri Gendelman recorded a first-half brace to secure the points for the hosts.

Gendelman broke the ice in the 28th minute for Netanya when he put home his first of two tallies and followed that up with his second 10 minutes later to head into the break with his side in the driver’s seat with a 2-0 lead.Amir Berkovic added the third goal for Ron Kozuk’s squad when he sent the ball into the far corner of the Ness Ziona net to wrap up a tidy win.

“We are coming back into our own,” Kozuk said. “This was a good win and we were dominant the entire game right from the opening minute. This is the Netanya team that everyone wants to see including the staff, players and fans.”

“We gave Netanya too much free room in the first half and that translated into two goals, which pretty much finished off the game,” Nes Ziona coach Shlomi Dura explained. “We began the second half a bit better and we tried to press, which worked for some time but with one dangerous attacking play they scored and ended the game right there.”

Meanwhile, Hapoel Hadera stunned Beitar Jerusalem 2-0 as Samy Bourard scored a pair of goals in a game that was played at the Moshava Stadium due to a “radius penalty” that was levied on the yellow-and-black as a result of poor behavior by the fans at Teddy Stadium.

Bourard slotted home a 17th-minute penalty and then doubled the score late in the second half via a free kick to secure the three points and the win.

“We allowed Hadera the chance to get into the game with the penalty that led to the first goal and the foul that led to the second,” Beitar coach Yossi Abukasis said. “We started off the second half poorly and we just didn’t play intelligently. Every team can beat everyone else in this league, other than maybe three clubs. I am very disappointed.”The view was obviously different from the other side.

“This was a very important win,” Hadera’s coach Menachem Koretzky began. “We really played well in the first half and we created many chances while Beitar barely threatened us. The guys really invested themselves and that resulted in three points. I think we need to strengthen the squad as other teams are doing so as well.”

At the port city, Ashdod SC hosted Ironi Kiryat Shmona to a 1-1 draw as each side earned a point for their efforts.

After a goalless first half, Muhammed Shaker took an Itamar Shviro ball and put it into the Ashdod goal for a 1-0 lead in the 72nd minute, but deep into injury time Elad Shahaf sent a scorcher behind Dziugas Bartkus to split the points.