Action heats up, fans will return to stands

The Israel Premier League produced another fine matchday of games this past weekend, which will end up being the last played without fans in the stands as Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar along with the Home Front Command will begin to allow supporters back into the stadiums next weekend.

Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Bnei Sakhnin 3-2 as it took the points and remained atop the table.

Roy Revivo and Eran Zahavi helped get the ball to Gaby Kanichowsky, who scored in the third minute to give the yellow-and-blue an early 1-0 lead.

An own-goal by Muhammed Abu Nil off a Dor Peretz attempt doubled the advantage, while Zahavi scored in the 70th minute to give Maccabi a 3-0 lead.

However, Ilay Elmkies pulled a goal back five minutes later and Muhamed Shaker scored in the 82nd minute to get Sakhnin to within a single strike. But that would be as close as the hosts would come as Robbie Keane’s squad recorded the victory.

Next up for Maccabi is its final group stage game in UEFA Conference League action against Belgium side Gent as it looks to clinch the top spot and earn a bye to the knockout round and avoid the preliminary knockout matches.

“I wanted a clean sheet and we were 3-0 up and cruising,” Keane began. “We switched off after 70 minutes and we need to rectify that as it shouldn’t have been a game where we were hanging on at the end. The decision-making wasn’t right and I wasn’t happy with the two goals.”

“I believe that Maccabi played much better than us,” Sakhnin coach Slobodan Drapic commented. “I want to commend the guys for getting back into the game with a pair of goals and I have to really give credit to the players; the young ones who are playing their first minutes in the Premier League and gave it their all.”

Soccer across the country

Up north, Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem drew 1-1 to split the points by the Carmel Mountain.

Yarden Shua’a 20th-minute penalty gave the yellow-and-black a first half 1-0 lead, but Frantzdy Pierrot found the equalizer in the second half as each team took a point.

The Greens will now get ready for a Europa League clash at Panathinaikos on Thursday as they are in a battle directly for third place in Group F and a trip to the Conference League knockout round.

“It’s been traditionally tough for us at Sammy Ofer Stadium,” Beitar head coach Yossi Abukasis said. “If we had been more focussed we could have won this game. They are a terrific team and we earned an important point. This was our third game in a week and we were pretty exhausted.”

“This was very disappointing and it was a draw that feels like a loss,” Haifa coach Messay Dego said. “We were the better team from the first moment of the game and that break gave them that penalty and goal early on. I don’t want to make up excuses, but our foreign players have had a tough go.”

In the capital city, Hapoel Haifa slipped by Hapoel Jerusalem 1-0 as second-half substitute Oded Checkol scored in the 65th minute to take the three points for the Carmel Reds.

“We came into a tough game against a very difficult opponent,” Haifa head coach Roni Levy began. “We want to dedicate the game to those being held hostage. We are working hard and we deserved this win. We have three games this week and the entire roster will be used. The derby against Maccabi Haifa is coming up and they are a quality side.”

“This was a 0-0 game and it was a real battle,” Hapoel Jerusalem bench boss Ziv Arie said. “But we made a mistake as we usually do and we conceded a goal. It was a weak game by both teams, errors as well, but ultimately I am 100% responsible for what is happening with the club.”

Elsewhere, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Hadera ended in a 1-1 draw as the teams each picked up a point for their efforts.

Hisham Layous scored in the first half to give the Reds a 1-0 lead, but a late red card to Tel Aviv gave Hadera a man to the good as Elad Madmon found the equalizer in the 80th minute to split the points.

“We needed to score a second goal and go up 2-0,” Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Borja Lema said. “But we were reduced to 10 men and that caused us issues as time wound down. We need to improve on that and make sure we finish games with 11 men.”

“I’m very disappointed,” Hadera coach Nico Avitan began. “Hapoel Tel Aviv wasn’t that dangerous, but they caught us that one time. We made some adjustments in the second half and that really kept them at bay as we were the better side. We deserved more than a point.”

Also, Maccabi Bnei Reinah blanked Maccabi Petah Tikva 3-0 as the hosts took the points to continue their fine play thus far this season.

Shlomi Azoulay gave Reineh a 1-0 lead 12 minutes into the game while Sambinha doubled the advantage ahead of the halftime break. Loie Halaf added a third goal in second-half stoppage-time to wrap-up the victory for Sharon Mimer’s surprise package.

“I am always trying to encourage the guys to continue to play well and develop,” Mimer said. “We are looking better since returning from the break due to the war as we controlled this game. We created many chances and I am also happy that we didn’t concede once again.”

“In the first half we were nowhere to be found,” Petah Tikva coach Benny Lam said. “Reineh has some excellent players and they were in control throughout the first half. We did have some chances in the second half, but we are also missing a number of important players for quite some time.”

Meanwhile, Hapoel Petah Tikva and Ashdod SC drew 1-1 as the visiting port city squad scored a late second-half injury-time penalty to split the points at the Moshava Stadium.

After a goalless first half, Golan Beni scored in the 86th minute to give the hosts a 1-0 lead, but 10 minutes later a handball in the box confirmed by the VAR (Virtual Assistant Referee) allowed Shalom Azulay to score from the penalty spot to snag a point.

“I’m very disappointed, it wasn’t a penalty,” Petah Tikva head coach Ofer Tesselpepe lamented following the game. “It was easy for the referee to blow the whistle and to keep adding time. The VAR also came into play last week. The referees need to officiate the games and not have the VAR intervene all of the time.”

“I really didn’t see what happened,” Ashdod bench boss Eli Levi said about the penalty call. “We had an issue like this when we played Maccabi Petah Tikva. We knew this was going to be a game where it would come down to one opportunity and exhaustion determined the outcome of the game. Every point is important and we’ll take any we can get.”