Beersheba pulls off upset of leader Maccabi Tel Aviv

Hapoel Beersheba shocked visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 at Turner Stadium in Israel Premier League action late Monday night as Antonio Sefer scored an 80th-minute penalty to hand the Southern Reds the three points.

After a goalless first half, the energy picked up as the game continued on. Still, a controversial offsides call led to a penalty being called by referee Igal Fried, to the dismay of yellow-and-blue, and Sefer calmly slotted the ball home to give Beersheba the victory.

“We have gone through some weird and scary few days,” said Beerheba head coach Elyaniv Barda.

“The guys didn’t sleep all night, so we had to move practice from the morning to the night. We had to make some changes to our lineup, and they worked, but we still have more to improve. We had chances, but we didn’t control the game enough, as we went a bit backward in the second half, which is something we have to work on.”

“Beersheba didn’t deserve to win,” Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Robbie Keane exclaimed. “It was purely bad luck. What’s good about football is that there is the next match, and we have to think further and quickly. The guys weren’t at the level that they should have been, but we also shouldn’t have lost this game.”

"Beersheba didn't deserve to win"

By the Carmel Mountain, Maccabi Haifa slipped by Bnei Sakhnin 1-0 as Dean David’s opening-minute goal held up the entire game to hand the Greens the points and keep them in the championship race.

“We also began the game last week at Bloomfield against Maccabi Tel Aviv very well, and then all of a sudden, we are backpedaling,” Haifa coach Messay Diego explained. “I have to really check what is going on as we let Sakhnin come back into the game.

There have been plenty of games that we played well and lost, but I am very happy with the win despite us not playing that well.”

“There are feelings of disappointment,” Sakhnin bench boss Slobodan Drapic said. “We had plenty of chances, but we just couldn’t collect any points. I believe that we played better than Maccabi Haifa, and we deserved at least a point. I hope that we can play this well in our future games.”

Elsewhere, Hapoel Hadera stunned Beitar Jerusalem 1-0 at Teddy Stadium. James Adeniyi scored just before the break to help his squad earn the win.

“I knew that this was going to be a very difficult game, and I expected what would be on the pitch,” Beitar coach Barak Itzhaki said. “We can’t bow our heads just because of one game, and we will correct what we need to. We hope that we will do things much better in the next game.”

“These are the sweetest three points in the world,” Hadera coach Haim Silvas said. “We came in here to play at perhaps the toughest stadium in the country, and I knew we had to get a goal.

From there, it was a battle as we all want to ensure that we will play in the top league next season and avoid relegation. I’m proud of the guys and very satisfied with the effort and performance.”

Meanwhile, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Petah Tikva drew 1-1 to split the points at Bloomfield Stadium. After a goalless first half, Ran Binyamin gave the Reds a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute. However, Avi Rikan scored deep into second-half injury time to earn a point on the road.

“Giving up a goal so late? What can be worse,” a devastated Hapoel Tel Aviv coach, Yossi Abukasis, said. “We made a poor foul, and Rikan had a great chance to score, and he took advantage of it. That was their only chance to score all game long. We had six or seven opportunities and we couldn’t.”

“This draw may have kept us alive,” Petah Tikva coach Benny Lam said. We want to do as much as we can to avoid relegation. We will do everything that we can to stay in the top league and fight until the end. This was all the character that I have been trying to give to the players.”

Also, Hapoel Jerusalem blanked Maccabi Petah Tikva 2-0, as the capital Reds scored a pair of late markers to take the victory. After a goalless first half, Matan Hozez scored the opening goal via a 79th-minute spot kick, while Jelle Duin added an insurance marker less than 10 minutes later to wrap up the victory.

“This was a tough game,” Jerusalem head coach Ziv Arie said. Maccabi Petah Tikva is a good team that pressed high with plenty of intensity. We began the game well, with a number of good chances, but then we started to lose some balls.

The difference between now and the start of the season is that we would have conceded and lost the game, but we matured, and in this game, we scored and won.”

“This really complicates things for us,” disappointed Petah Tikva bench boss Ron Kozuk said. We created chances in the second half, and they weren’t able to, but the penalty changed the complexion of the game. We have to stop giving up goals every single contest.”

Hapoel Haifa defeated Maccabi Bnei Reineh 2-0. Two first-half goals sealed the deal early on for the Carmel Reds, who snatched the points and the win.

Fernand Mayembo nodded home the first goal in the 16th minute, while a quarter-hour later, Mohammed Kamara doubled the advantage from close range to seal the win.

“Credit to the players and the fans who are continuing to put together this terrific season,” Haifa coach Roni Levy said. I believe that we can get into third place, [which would be] especially nice with this being the club's 100th year. Bnei Reineh deserves credit as they are a very tough team, but hats off to my guys for the win.”

“We began the game well until we gave up the first goal,” Bnei Reineh coach Sharon Mimer began. “But that strike gave them confidence, and the game was decided in the first half. It was very tough to come back.

This wasn’t one of our best games and that can happen. We have been playing well and we will make some slight corrections.”

Ashdod SC and Maccabi Netanya played to a goalless draw by the port city as the two sides split the points. “It’s great to once again coach in our league, I missed it,” Netanya’s new head coach Marko Balbul said.

“We didn’t play well in the first half and we allowed Ashdod to control the pace of play, but they didn’t create many chances to score. We did have a great chance, but I am still learning after only being here for a week and a half.”

“We still control our own fate which is good,” Ashdod coach Eli Levi explained. “We started well in the first half, but this was a dogfight. We didn’t have enough chances and in the second half our pace slowed a bit. I felt that both sides were more afraid to give up a goal than to score one. All in all, the result reflects the game.”