Maccabi Tel Aviv opens up 4-point lead

Maccabi Tel Aviv slipped by Beitar Jerusalem 1-0 in Israel Premier League action as Dor Bitton scored a 45th-minute penalty after Dor Turgeman had been pulled down in the box, handing the yellow-and-blue the three points to keep it atop the table ahead of its UEFA Conference League round-of-16, second-leg clash against Olympiacos.

“This was a character win,” Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Robbie Keane said following the game. “This was not the type of match we needed after Europe, as Beitar really pressed us. I had said after the Olympiacos game that I would know what I learned about the team after this contest, and I did learn that we have plenty of character.”

“It’s going to come, I am sure it will,” Beitar bench boss Barak Itzhaki commented. “I am coming out of this game with plenty of compliments, but no points, which is too bad because we want to collect some. I really believe that they are coming as the guys are showing plenty of character and they’ve learnt a tremendous amount in such a short period of time.”

Bnei Reineh takes Maccabi Haifa

In the Galilee, Bnei Reineh stunned Maccabi Haifa 2-1 thanks to a pair of late goals to give Sharon Mimer’s team the points, allowing it to clinch a place in the championship playoffs.

Anan Khalaili scored a 16th-minute penalty to give the Greens a 1-0 lead, but quick goals by Shlomi Azulay in the 65th minute and another by Kayes Ganem a few minutes later handed the hosts the three points.

Haifa will now prepare to face Fiorentina on Thursday in Conference League action in Italy.

“It’s hard to describe in words what we did here at Reineh so far this season,” Mimer said following the win. “If you look at us, we are probably the smallest club. We are working on tradition, building a fan base, and improving conditions, but we have a special bond between the owner, players, and staff. We are all united in our goal, and we have done something really big here so far.”

“I have awful feelings from this game,” Haifa coach Messay Dego began. “I believe we came in well and began the game in good shape as we took a lead. But I knew that we were going to have problems in the second half. I told the guys we needed to score a second goal and go up 2-0 to finish off the game, but instead the last 45 minutes were a catastrophe and we didn’t deserve to win.”

Meanwhile, Maccabi Petah Tikva and Hapoel Petah Tikva drew 2-2 in the city derby as the two sides split the points.Luka Stor opened the scoring with a scorcher from outside of the box in the sixth minute, but 25 minutes later, Dennis Adeniran, who had just come on as an injury substitute, evened up the game from in close as the squads went into the break all knotted up at 1-1.

Saliou Guindo gave Maccabi the lead in the 67th minute, while five minutes later Hapoel once again found the equalizer when Fortune Baseey headed home the tying goal as each team took home a point for their efforts.

“We can only cry after this game,” Hapoel Petah Tikva head coach Benny Lam said after the game. “If we didn’t win this game having had so many chances, it’s really unfortunate. We have been playing better of late, but what we were missing was the ability to finish, which we improved in this contest after having so many opportunities. We scored a pair of goals and had one called off, but it still wasn’t enough.”

“The game wasn’t in control by either side,” Maccabi Petah Tikva coach Ron Kozuk said. “It could have gone either way. I think we needed to do a bit more, especially after we scored our second goal, but unfortunately, we just didn’t. I’m disappointed because the three points could have really gone a long way for us as we try to get into the championship playoffs.”

Hapoel Haifa beats Hapoel Beersheba

Hapoel Haifa nipped Hapoel Beersheba 1-0, with Tomer Yosefi heading home the game-winning marker as the Carmel Reds picked up the points and the victory.

“We didn’t start the game off well,” Haifa coach Roni Levy began. But credit to the players: Even when we had players who were sent off and some who were injured, other players were able to pick up the slack. We proved that here against Beersheba, which is one of the top three biggest teams in the country.”

“We began the match solidly and controlled the ball nicely,” Beersheba coach Elyaniv Barda explained. “But then we started to go backward, and while we didn’t take advantage of our chances, they did. We opened up the second half well and had limited opportunities, but then a foolish and untimely red card did us in.”

Elsewhere, Maccabi Netanya blanked Ashdod SC 2-0, thanks to second-half goals by Bar Cohen and Maxim Plakuschenko. The Diamond City side took the points and the win.

“This win was very, very important for us,” Netanya Head Coach Guy Tzarfati said. “This game was different from the last number of matches we had over the past little while. We weren’t very good in the first half, and we were very slow, but in the second half, with the help of the substitutes, we were able to make the switch, and I am happy that we won the game.”

“Soccer is a game in which you need to score goals, and we had enough chances, but we just couldn’t find the back of the goal,” Ashdod coach Eli Levy said. In the first half, we were clearly the better team, but you have to play 90 minutes, and it was too bad that we were unable to.”

At Bloomfield Stadium, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem played to a dry goalless draw to split the points.“This was a tough week for us and we had to win in this game,” Jerusalem coach Ziv Arie. “The quality of the game was not great and we needed to be sharper, it was a frustrating game. I feel that we have a good team and that we have to get back to work this week as we have yet another game coming up next weekend.”

“It’s been very tough. We have five games without a win, and we just don’t have enough quality.” Tel Aviv coach Yossi Abukasis said. “We are trying different lineups and losing balls and the substitutes, which didn’t impact this game. We just turned over the ball too often and couldn’t create chances.”

Finally, Hapoel Hadera slipped by Bnei Sakhnin 1-0, as Elad Madmon scored on a 97th-minute penalty, which was issued after a handball in the box.

“We didn’t play intelligently, especially in the first half,” Hadera coach Haim Silvas explained. However, we did come out and perform better in the second half. We started to control the ball and create chances, and we didn’t give up. We made some substitutes to find the goal, and we had some tough misses. However, at the end of the day, the drama played in our favor.”

“This loss was cruel, but that is part of the game,” Sakhnin coach Slobodan Drapic said. “Sometimes you score and win, and sometimes you lose. We still haven’t punched our ticket to the championship playoffs, and next week, when we play Bnei Reineh, we will do just that.”