ISRAELI NATIONAL LEAGUE (LEAGUE A), WEEK 28, 04/05/1996.

27 goals, 7 red cards (!) and 5 penalties, 4 scored and 1 very crucial misssed - this was the story of the last weekend. The relegating teams and the Champions seem to be known by all, but still, another week of some pressure awaits us, as nothing is closed officially.

The last minutes of this weekend's tour were arguably the most exciting this year - Maccabee Tel-Aviv scored twice, and its fans filled the field in Petakh-Tikwa even before the final whistle, but here the two Alons of Haifa finally broke the resistance of a fantastic Zoltan Veg and postponed the official champagne opening for the Yellows. Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Hapoel Beit-Shean hadn't still officially secured their places in the National League, despite taking the points; Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa and Hapoel Tel-Aviv made 2 superb performances (and Yossi Madar scored 4 goals!), and their meeting the next week can be called "The Intertoto Battle", especially after Hapoel Haifa's loss in derby which seems to make Europe more distant to the fellows of Avraham Grant. Hapoel Tsafririm Holon performed greatly as well, devastating Bnei-Yehuda after a great comeback. And Roy Atkinson, Coventry's manager, should stay in the Premier League so that Ronen Harazi would play there - the goal that our International striker scored yesterday, would excite every fan in every country, even those "spoiled" with a high-class soccer they see almost every day.

Maccabee Tel-Aviv, having an advantage of 6 points, knew the Championship was touchable if it won and Hapoel Haifa stopped Maccabee Haifa; nevertheless, the Champions were nervous, and the hosts, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, were better before the break. Alexander Uvarov saved in one-to-one against Mark Adousi (13), and then Walid Badir shot a great ball to Uvarov's bar (25). After the break, the picture changed, but Maccabee still stayed scoreless until the 82nd minute - Noam Shoham passed a short ball to the defender Yaacov Hillel, and the latter shot a well-aimed bomb from 22 meters to the left low corner of Shai Hess. 2 minutes have passed, and Itzhak Zohar closed the story with a mighty free kick from the same point. Thousands of people penetrated the field then, and Itzhak Zohar, altogether with Avi Nimni and Alexander Uvarov, were seen shouting on the fans to get them out of the pitch (Zohar: "I was very afraid of a technical loss of points, and as it wasn't depending on us, the players, I felt frustrated and helpless"). The game ended somehow, and no punishment, except a possible fine, awaits the Yellows. And maybe, the greatest punishment was the news of the last minutes in Haifa, where Maccabee forced the fans to postpone the celebrations for the next week. And hopefully, the next week the Bloomfield stadium won't be totally broken.

Maccabee Haifa was the better squad yesterday on the pitch. Hapoel had just 2 opportunities before the break, a great attack after 32 minutes wasted by Tal Banin's shot to the post, and a fantastic free kick of the same Banin (40), parried superbly by Rafi Cohen; all the other attacks were of Maccabee, frustrated time after time by a wonderful keeping of Zoltan Veg. The Hungarian National keeper denied Eyal Berkovich, parried in a great way a free kick of Revivo (68), and after 73 minutes, registered arguably "The Save Of The Year", reacting in a cat's instinct to a killing diagonal header of Shitrit from 5 meters and parrying it to a corner. Maccabee remained scoreless, and all its fans felt so disappointed after 82 minutes of the game, when Yaacov Hillel opened the score in Petakh-Tikwa.

Nevertheless, Maccabee was better playing and also better manned - Vyacheslav Sukristov had been sent off after 75 minutes, being unable to stop Berkovich in a proper way. And after 88 minutes, the goal came - the substitute Haim Silbas performed a corner kick, and Alon Harazi sneaked there to head it home, leaving Veg helpless. Scarcely had the excited shouts of Zoheir Bahalul on the radio stopped, when Demir Lajec knocked Haim Revivo down just before the box, being sent off for that. And here Maccabee performed a great misleading move. Revivo took a running range, and Alon Hazan made two steps to shoot suddenly, a ball that surprised Veg and all the spectators and kissed the net, 2:0.

At Teddy stadium in Jerusalem, the game of two Beitars was of an utter importance for both teams - the hosts had to collect the points in order to secure the European place, and the guests needed them badly to stay in the League. After 15 minutes, Eitan Mizrahi shot from 25 meters a killer to the bar of Sagi Strauss, and Istvan Salloi was there to push it home, 1:0; however, the guests managed to equalize, after Victor Mundi (43) bounced the ball from 25 meters above the badly placed Korenfein. Korenfein, who wasn't good throughout the game, made a fatal mistake after 49 minutes, slipping the ball to the legs of Arik Shriki, and Eitan Mizrahi knocked the forward down; Mizrahi was booked, and a penalty kick was awarded, but Yaniv Avvargeal couldn't beat the keeper. Istvan Pisont managed to enter the box of Strauss after another 10 minutes and to beat him, 2:1 to the better team.

Beitar Tel-Aviv had to attack, and it attacked; however, the Jerusalemite coach Eli Cohen substituted two of his defenders, Ehud Kahila and Shmuel Levi, with the young midfielder Noam Elbaum and the experienced forward Ronen Harazi, respectively. And these substitutes provided us a wonderful strike in an injury time - Elbaum bounced a clever ball from the left wing, from near the midcircle, and Harazi, being in the box, sprinted to run away from a defender. He stretched, threw both legs into the air and shot a mighty and clever volley with his right foot, the ball passing over Sagi Strauss and going under the bar. Revivo, Attar, Banin, Talker, Salloi, Amsalem, Melnikov and now, of course, Ronen Harazi - these are just some of the players who contend for "The Goal Of The Season", and believe me, the choice wouldn't be easy.

Yossi Madar is our "Player Of The Week", scoring 4 goals (!) and shooting a good volley kick to the bar of Eran Scheinsinger - Hapoel Tel-Aviv defeated Hapoel Kefar-Saba 5:0 at home. And a great performance was shown also by Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa, devastating Maccabee Herzliya 4:1 away. Here, Roman Filipchuk was the best, scoring from a penalty spot and passing later on all the defence of Herzliya to put Yossi Shoshani before an empty net; Nissim Ben-David, coming as a substitute and being 20 seconds on the pitch (!), managed to score with a first touch of his, after a goal pass of Najouan Grayib.

A free kick of Sahar Mizrahi found Igor Shkvyrin in the box of Holon, and the forward dived to change the ball's direction, an early 1:0 advantage to Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv away. However, Holon reacted quickly - Nir Sevilla deflected a ball into his own net, and Shai Holtzman earned the hosts 2 penalties, both converted into goals, and one red card to Nir Shitrit of Bnei-Yehuda. Aharon Siton was sent off too, after knocking down Oren Zeituni before the box, and it was clear it was no day of the Oranges. Holtzman caused another 2 goals, one with a direct goal pass to Denecz Eszenyi and one with a kick parried by Bonnie just to the legs of Dudu Shaar. Moukan scored a reducer, and the final score was 5:2 to Holon, on its way for another season in the National League.

An important bottom game between Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Maccabee Yaffa ended with a nil draw, a result which leaves Beer-Sheva with a slight chance to relegate and Yaffa with a slight chance to survive. And Shavit Elimelekh became the first scoring keeper this year, converting a penalty earned by Dani Albert into a goal; however, Hannah Farhoud equalized for Beit-Shean with a good header.

THE NEXT WEEK: a game of both wonderful quality and great interest will be held in Bloomfield, where Maccabee Tel-Aviv (1) hosts Beitar Jerusalem (3); this may also be "The Crowning Game" of Maccabee Tel-Aviv, and one point will suffice. At the bottom, Maccabee Yaffa (16) hosts Maccabee Herzliya (7), and Beitar Tel-Aviv (15) meets Hapoel Beit-Shean (13). An interesting bottom game is held also between Hapoel Beer-Sheva (14) and Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (9).


Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa - MACCABEE TEL-AVIV  0:2 (0:0).
----------------------------------------------------
Hosts:    -.
Guests:   Yaacov Hillel (82), Itzhak Zohar (84).
THE BEST: Amir Shelakh, defender, Maccabee Tel-Aviv.


MACCABEE HAIFA - Hapoel Haifa  2:0 (0:0). 
------------------------------------------
Hosts:    Alon Harazi (88), Alon Hazan (90).
Guests:   -.
RED:      Vyacheslav Sukristov, midfielder, Hapoel Haifa, 75.
          Demir Lajec, defender, Hapoel Haifa, 89.
THE BEST: Zoltan Veg, keeper, Hapoel Haifa. 


BEITAR JERUSALEM - Beitar Tel-Aviv  3:1 (1:1).
-----------------------------------------------
Hosts:    Istvan Salloi (15), Istvan Pisont (59), Ronen Harazi (90).
Guests:   Victor Mundi (43).
THE BEST: Yossi Abuksis, midfielder, Beitar Jerusalem.
On the 49th minute Yaniv Avvargeal (Beitar Tel-Aviv) missed a penalty kick -
Itzhak Korenfein saved.


HAPOEL TEL-AVIV - Hapoel Kefar-Saba  5:0 (3:0).
------------------------------------------------
Hosts:    Yossi Madar (18, 40, 50, 58), Alon Offir (32).
Guests:   -.
THE BEST: Yossi Madar, midfielder, Hapoel Tel-Aviv.


Maccabee Herzliya - MACCABEE PETAKH-TIKWA  1:4 (0:1).
------------------------------------------------------
Hosts:    Shlomi Ben-Hemo (55).
Guests:   Roman Filipchuk (23 pen), Moshe Suramelo (66),
          Yossi Shoshani (78), Nissim Ben-David (84).
RED:      Guy Gat, defender, Maccabee Herzliya, 23.
THE BEST: Roman Filipchuk, forward, Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa.


Hapoel Rishon le-Zion - Hapoel Beit-Shean  1:1 (0:0).
------------------------------------------------------
Hosts:    Shavit Elimelekh (63 pen).
Guests:   Hannah Farhoud (80).
RED:      Yaron Ben-Dov, defender, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion, 64.
          Shimon Danan, midfielder, Hapoel Beit-Shean, 70.
THE BEST: Sharon Martsiano, midfielder, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion.


HAPOEL TSAFRIRIM HOLON - Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv  5:2 (3:1).
----------------------------------------------------------
Hosts:    OG (Nir Sevilla, 9), Ran Hafif (16 pen, 20 pen),
          Dudu Shaar (49), Denecz Eszenyi (78).
Guests:   Igor Shkvyrin (4), Vassili Moukan (80).
RED:      Nir Shitrit, defender, Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, 16.
          Aharon Siton, defender, Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, 35.
THE BEST: Shai Holtzman, forward, Hapoel Tsafririm Holon.


Hapoel Beer-Sheva - Maccabee Yaffa  0:0.
----------------------------------------
Hosts:    -.
Guests:   -.
THE BEST: Shimon Biton, midfielder, Hapoel Beer-Sheva.





                            THE WEEK'S TEAM:
                            ----------------
                               Zoltan Veg
                             (Hapoel Haifa)

  Eliezer Spire      Alon Harazi        Amir Shelakh         Cobi Hadadi
(Tsafririm Holon)  (Maccabee Haifa)  (Maccabee Tel-Aviv)  (Hapoel Tel-Aviv)

  Oren Zeituni       Yossi Abuksis        Yossi Madar      Sergei Pogodin
(Tsafririm Holon)  (Beitar Jerusalem)  (Hapoel Tel-Aviv)  (Hapoel Tel-Aviv)

                  Shai Holtzman        Roman Filipchuk
                (Tsafririm Holon)  (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa)


Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Hapoel Tsafririm Holon           - 3.
Maccabee Tel-Aviv, Maccabee Haifa, Hapoel Haifa,
Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa           - 1.





PLACE              TEAM                  G   W   T   L    Goals  Points

  1  (1)     Maccabee Tel-Aviv          28  21   5   2    57-16    68
  2  (2)     Maccabee Haifa             28  18   8   2    72-30    62
  3  (3)     Beitar Jerusalem           28  18   7   3    62-28    61
  4  (4)     Hapoel Haifa               28  17   7   4    58-30    58
  5  (5)     Hapoel Tel-Aviv            28  14   6   8    39-26    48
  6  (6)     Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa      28  13   9   6    42-32    48
  7  (7)     Maccabee Herzliya          28  10   5  13    32-35    35
  8  (8)     Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa        28   7  14   7    28-35    35
  9  (9)     Hapoel Rishon le-Zion      28   7   7  14    23-37    28
 10  (10)    Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv       28   7   6  15    43-61    27
 11  (11)    Hapoel Kefar-Saba          28   8   3  17    29-52    27
 12  (14)    Hapoel Tsafririm Holon     28   7   5  16    31-48    26
 13  (12)    Hapoel Beit-Shean          28   5  11  12    26-45    26
 14  (13)    Hapoel Beer-Sheva          28   5  10  13    28-35    25
 15  (15)    Beitar Tel-Aviv            28   5   6  17    27-59    21
 16  (16)    Maccabee Yaffa             28   5   5  18    21-49    20



BEST PLAYER:    Yossi Madar, midfielder, Hapoel Tel-Aviv.


TOP SCORERS:    Haim Revivo         (Maccabee Haifa)          25(0)
                *********************************************************
                Reuven Attar        (Hapoel Haifa)            20(6)
                *********************************************************
                Eli Driks           (Maccabee Tel-Aviv)       15(1)
(3 in M. Haifa) Alon Mizrahi        (Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv)    15(1)
                *********************************************************
                Offer Shitrit       (Maccabee Haifa)          14(0)
                Istvan Salloi       (Beitar Jerusalem)        14(1)  1
                Roman Filipchuk     (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa)   14(2)  1(1)
                *********************************************************
                Eli Ohana           (Beitar Jerusalem)        13(0)
                Ronen Harazi        (Beitar Jerusalem)        13(3)  1
                *********************************************************
                Amir Turgeman       (Hapoel Haifa)            12(0)
                *********************************************************
                Cobi Refua          (Hapoel Kefar-Saba)       11(4)
                Sergei Kandaurov    (Maccabee Haifa)          11(4)
                *********************************************************
                Nir Klinger         (Maccabee Tel-Aviv)       10(0)
                Najouan Grayib      (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa)   10(1)
                Moti Kakun          (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa)     10(1)
                Offer Mizrahi       (Maccabee Herzliya)       10(3)

                NOTE - the penalties scored are put in brackets. The last
                       column means the number of goals scored this week.


NEXT ROUND (in a week):
Hosts Guests
Maccabee Tel-Aviv (1) Beitar Jerusalem (3)
Hapoel Kefar-Saba (11) Maccabee Haifa (2)
Hapoel Haifa (4) Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (12)
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (6) Hapoel Tel-Aviv (5)
Maccabee Yaffa (16) Maccabee Herzliya (7)
Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (10) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (8)
Hapoel Beer-Sheva (14) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (9)
Beitar Tel-Aviv (15) Hapoel Beit-Shean (13)



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