23 goals, 4 red cards, 5 penalty kicks and 2 own goals - what a week! And the main point of this week was the double victory of Beitar Jerusalem - it indeed defeated Hapoel Tsafririm Holon itself, but enjoyed mostly the result of the game it didn't participate in, the one in Beer-Sheva. And those were also several keepers' performances, and "The Keeper Of The Week" was the person whose team lost, quite a rare occasion in our kingdom.
So, Beitar devastated the weak squad of Tsafririm Holon, and Hapoel Beer-Sheva managed to equalize at home against Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa seconds from time! Maccabee Tel-Aviv and Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa defeated their midtable opponents, respectively Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv and Hapoel Kefar-Saba. Maccabee Haifa won an away derby, and its player Moshe Glam became our "Player Of The Week", both occasions quite a rarity lastly; however, those were also the victories of Hapoel Jerusalem (over Hapoel Rishon le-Zion) and of Hapoel Beit-Shean (over Hapoel Tel-Aviv) to leave the Greens at a humiliating 10th place in the table. And finally, Maccabee Herzliya made a giant step out of the dangerous zone, beating Hapoel Taibe (quite expected, isn't it?). And now - the details.
Alexander Zhidkov didn't return to his team from Azerbaijan in time, and so Hapoel Tsafririm Holon had to play with the young Maayan Mashiakh in its net. Naturally, the keeper's lack of experience gave another advantage to the leaders, Beitar Jerusalem, especially after Mashiakh performed a completely redundant foul on Istvan Salloi after 14 minutes of play, and Yossi Abuksis converted a penalty kick. But Beitar, playing in front of the empty tribunes (as a punishment given for the disgusting behaviour of its fans after the loss to Hapoel Beer-Sheva 3 weeks ago), somehow failed to score additional goals, and there came the break.
After the break, it was the wonderful Hungarian midfielder Istvan Pisont who scored finally his first goal of the season - Eli Ohana gave him a ball, Pisont penetrated into the box in a tremendous speed between the stunned defenders of Holon and had no problems to bounce the ball over the rushing keeper to the latter's left corner, 2:0. And later on, everything went much easier. Mashiakh still parried several dangerous balls, but then the header of Salloi after the goal pass of Ohana from the left wing found the net again. It was then the turn of Ohana to score from the penalty spot after he himself had been fouled inside the box by Moti Fleeter; this way, Ohana scored his 140th goal ever in Beitar, catching with the record of the legendary Uri Malmilian. The final accord was of Pisont again - Salloi gave him the ball after the series of great passes in the attack of Jerusalem, and the latter curved it greatly over the hands of flying Mashiakh under his left crossbar. 5:0! Holon is in a big trouble, and nothing seems to be able to stop Beitar.
And another last minute of this weekend was sweet for Beitar, this in Beer-Sheva. If Beitar celebrates the Championship at the end of this season, its players will probably see the same picture before their eyes - Petakh-Tikwa's keeper Shai Hess lies flatly on the ground, oblivious to his environment. A fantastic game of this keeper seemed to be suddenly nullified seconds before the final whistle - another free kick, produced by Gadi Hazut from 25 meters, hit the wall and changed its direction. Hess reacted with an instinct to this deflection and performed a desperate long dive, but the ball was too precise and penetrated into the net, several centimeters between the left hand of Hess and his left post. 1:1.
The battle for the 2nd place is still open, but the gap of Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa from Beitar Jerusalem is again 7 points, with 9 weeks to go. And the game started so promisingly! A free kick of Gabor Marton from the left wing hit the leg of Beer-Sheva's captain Stav Elimelekh and went in after just 8 minutes of play. Beer-Sheva started a siege over Petakh-Tikwa's goal, but Shai Holtzman was imprecise after 13 minutes of play, and Hess registered 2 great saves from the volley of Holtzman inside the box (28) and the diagonal bomb of Halilovic from 19 meters (65). Seconds before the break, Hess parried to the corner a ball shot by Holtzman from 2 meters; a corner was performed, Stav Elimelekh headed the ball parried fantastically by Hess, and Tsabar Daniel was on the rebound to see Walid Badir parrying the ball from the goal-line. Both teams presented us 2 players in the top form - Siad Halilovic of the hosts and Shai Hess of the guests; however, Petakh-Tikwa was ahead, and it seemed clear Hess would become "The Man Of The Game". But the foul of Badir on Shai Holtzman changed the picture in every meaning. Halilovic moved the ball to Hazut, and you already know what happened then. Between the goal and the final whistle, the only event was the red card shown to Andrei Christophick of Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, for his discussions with the referee Itzhak Ben-Itzhak.
Maccabee Tel-Aviv, hosting Bnei-Yehuda, started the game well. Just after several minutes of play Avi Nimni bombed the ball that hit the bar, and in another several moments, the score was opened - Nir Klinger performed a corner from his left wing, Strauber parried the high ball hesitantly, Offer Mizrahi returned the ball back into the box, and there stood Avi Nimni to head the ball in. After another 20 minutes, the penetration of Offer Mizrahi on the right wing produced a fantastic goal pass to Haim Hageage, who had no problems against Strauber, 2:0. Bnei-Yehuda tried to do something, but Amir Shelakh and Gadi Brumer (the latter, a day before his examinations in Manchester United; good luck, Gadi!) did their job; just once, it was the opportunity of Alon Mizrahi, but the forward was pressed by Alexander Uvarov and managed just to hit the bar. 7 minutes from time, Bnei-Yehuda reduced the score, after Haim Hageage knocked Offer Levi down inside the box, and Alon Mizrahi had no problem scoring from the penalty spot; however, it was all the Oranges could achieve. No danger of the bottom is threatening them, of course, but it was the 3rd consecutive loss of Bnei-Yehuda.
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa managed to defeat Hapoel Kefar-Saba at home, 2:0, in the game where both keepers, Golan Malul and Eran Scheinsinger, registered superb performances. Kefar-Saba's keeper, "The Man Of The Game" and "The Keeper Of The Week", managed to save his team time and again, but still he was beaten twice after the mistakes of his defence. First, it was Offer Shitrit to score from a penalty spot after he himself had been knocked down in the box by Gabi Sapir. And the other goal came in another 3 minutes, when Guy Itzhak got the ball from Offer Shitrit, passed one defender, passed Scheinsinger and then rolled the ball to the heels of another defender and in, 2:0. After the break, Kefar-Saba was attacking to achieve at least something, but Malul registered a great save after a mighty header of Washington de Santos from 5 meters (67).
In Haifa's derby, it was Maccabee all over, as it is nearly always in the new history of Israeli soccer. First, it was Hezi Shirazi to bomb the ball from inside the box above Rafi Cohen, and then, seconds before the break, the penetration of Moshe Glam, "The Player Of The Week", on the left wing produced a goal pass to Amir Turgeman who had no problems to beat Rafi Cohen again. In the 2nd half, Hapoel was pressing, but Nir Davidovich was always at the right place to preserve his net clean, mostly in his duels with the young Ilan Terenashvili, full of motivation but still imprecise. And then, 4 minutes from time, it was Reuven Attar to shoot a fantastic left-foot volley kick from the box edge, but Rafi Cohen flew no less impressively to fist the ball away. That was the way the game ended, 2:0 to the Greens.
However, the Greens failed to advance in the table, as Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Rishon le-Zion away, 3:2. In a game full of events, Assaf Tubi opened the score, but just 9 minutes afterwards, Offir Haim used a mistake of Jaroslav Baku in the guests' net to equalize, 1:1. Jerusalem went to the break with a returned advantage, after the goal of Dudu Dahan, and early in the 2nd half, Yaron Ben-Dov changed the direction of Eyal Avrahami's ball and rolled it into his own net past Sagi Strauss, 3:1. Sharon Martsiano still reduced the score later on, but it was all Rishon could achieve. This team also stays in the very dangerous zone, while Hapoel Jerusalem continues to be the fine surprise of the League.
Another fine surprise against another great disappointment... I'm talking, of course, about the game between Hapoel Beit-Shean and Hapoel Tel-Aviv. The cool solo penetration of Golan Deri opened the score for the hosts, but soon it was equalized - Krasimierz Muskal advanced at the right wing and made a pass to Alon Hazan who managed to head it in. However, 2 minutes later Avi Azulai was sent off, his 2nd red card this season, and Beit-Shean started to press. Finally, it ended with a goal - Meir Melika found Sergen Culakovic inside the guests' box, and the latter, a little bit surprised with no offside whistle, advanced and shot it flatly past Shavit Elimelekh. A replay showed us beyond any doubt that it'd really been an offside, but this refereeing mistake somehow made justice to the game.
And finally, it was another bottom game. Georgia may look optimistically to the WC'98 preliminary games against Poland, Italy and England, if its National keeper Akakiy Devadze shows the same skill he showed us in this game vs the attack of Maccabee Herzliya; however, even this skill wasn't enough to give his miserable team, Hapoel Taibe, any air to breathe. As in Beer-Sheva, it was a breathtaking duel between the excellent keeper and the excellent midfielder (this time - Oleg Naduda), and the keeper was unpenetratable by any conventional means. But Taibe's defence was generous enough to give the hosts another "unconventional" opportunity - after 67 minutes of play, Billal Sarsur knocked Naduda down inside the box, and Devadze could do nothing to stop Roman Filipchuk's penalty. As if it was not enough for Taibe, it also lost 2 key players, Tsallakh Hassarmeh and Wahib Jebarra, who were sent off for a rude play.
NEXT WEEK (in a week): Bnei-Yehuda (6) hosts Beitar Jerusalem (1), being the only team in the first round that didn't concede goals from the leaders' lethal attack. NOT TO BE MISSED! I do not remember any game between the two teams during the last years that was boring - on the contrary, some truly masterpieces of Israeli soccer were produced, like the unforgettable 3:1 of Niko Kudritskiy (of blessed memory) 4 years ago, to Bnei-Yehuda, and 3:2 of Istvan Pisont the last season, to Beitar Jerusalem. Also some game to watch - Maccabee Haifa (10) vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva (3), both because of the traditions and of Beer-Sheva's aspirations. And a very important bottom game, when Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (14) hosts Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (13).
BEITAR JERUSALEM - Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 5:0 (1:0).
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Hosts: Yossi Abuksis (14 pen), Istvan Pisont (50, 90),
Istvan Salloi (71), Eli Ohana (76 pen).
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Eli Ohana, forward, Beitar Jerusalem.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva - Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 1:1 (0:1).
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Hosts: Gadi Hazut (90).
Guests: OG (Stav Elimelekh, 8).
RED: Andrei Christophick, midfielder, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, 90.
THE BEST: Siad Halilovic, midfielder, Hapoel Beer-Sheva.
MACCABEE TEL-AVIV - Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 2:1 (2:0).
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Hosts: Avi Nimni (17), Haim Hageage (38).
Guests: Alon Mizrahi (83 pen).
THE BEST: Avi Nimni, midfielder, Maccabee Tel-Aviv.
MACCABEE PETAKH-TIKWA - Hapoel Kefar-Saba 2:0 (2:0).
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Hosts: Offer Shitrit (37 pen), Guy Itzhak (40).
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Eran Scheinsinger, keeper, Hapoel Kefar-Saba.
Hapoel Haifa - MACCABEE HAIFA 0:2 (0:2).
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Hosts: -.
Guests: Hezi Shirazi (29), Amir Turgeman (45).
THE BEST: Moshe Glam, defender, Maccabee Haifa.
Hapoel Rishon le-Zion - HAPOEL JERUSALEM 2:3 (1:2).
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Hosts: Offir Haim (28), Sharon Martsiano (63).
Guests: Assaf Tubi (19), Dudu Dahan (41), OG (Yaron Ben-Dov, 48).
THE BEST: Hagai Kol, defender, Hapoel Jerusalem.
HAPOEL BEIT-SHEAN - Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2:1 (1:1).
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Hosts: Golan Deri (7), Sergen Culakovic (71).
Guests: Alon Hazan (15).
RED: Avi Azulai, defender, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, 17.
THE BEST: Boris Matveyev, midfielder, Hapoel Beit-Shean.
MACCABEE HERZLIYA - Hapoel Taibe 1:0 (0:0).
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Hosts: Roman Filipchuk (66 pen).
Guests: -.
RED: Tsallakh Hassarmeh, midfielder, Hapoel Taibe, 78.
Wahib Jebarra, forward, Hapoel Taibe, 90.
THE BEST: Oleg Naduda, midfielder, Maccabee Herzliya.
THE WEEK'S TEAM:
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Eran Scheinsinger
(Hapoel Kefar-Saba)
Golan Deri Arik Benado Walid Badir Moshe Glam
(Hapoel Beit-Shean) (Maccabee Haifa) (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) (Maccabee Haifa)
Oleg Naduda Boris Matveyev Siad Halilovic Avi Nimni
(Maccabee Herzliya) (Hapoel Beit-Shean) (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) (Mcb. Tel-Aviv)
Istvan Salloi Eli Ohana
(Beitar Jerusalem) (Beitar Jerusalem)
Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabee Haifa, Hapoel Beit-Shean - 2.
Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Maccabee Tel-Aviv,
Hapoel Kefar-Saba, Maccabee Herzliya - 1.
PLACE TEAM G W T L Goals Points
1 (1) Beitar Jerusalem 21 16 4 1 44-11 52
2 (2) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 21 13 6 2 38-20 45
3 (3) Hapoel Beer-Sheva 21 14 2 5 34-18 44
4 (4) Maccabee Tel-Aviv 21 11 5 5 35-21 38
5 (5) Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 21 11 4 6 28-19 37
6 (6) Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 21 8 6 7 21-23 30
7 (7) Hapoel Kefar-Saba 21 8 5 8 23-23 29
8 (8) Hapoel Haifa 21 8 4 9 25-24 28
9 (9) Hapoel Jerusalem 21 8 3 10 23-30 27
10 (10) Maccabee Haifa 21 6 8 7 24-24 26
11 (11) Hapoel Beit-Shean 21 7 4 10 18-21 25
12 (12) Maccabee Herzliya 21 7 2 12 12-19 23
13 (13) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 21 5 5 11 20-35 20
14 (14) Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 21 3 8 10 13-30 17
15 (15) Hapoel Tel-Aviv 21 3 7 11 11-22 16
16 (16) Hapoel Taibe 21 3 1 17 12-41 10
IN BRACKETS - the places of the teams before this week.
BEST PLAYER: Moshe Glam, defender, Maccabee Haifa.
TOP SCORERS: Eli Ohana (Beitar Jerusalem) 13(1) 1(1)
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Offer Shitrit (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa) 12(3) 1(1)
Alon Mizrahi (Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv) 12(5) 1(1)
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Yaniv Offri (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 11(0)
Moti Kakun (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 11(4)
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Avi Nimni (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 10(3) 1
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Istvan Salloi (Beitar Jerusalem) 9(0) 1
Shai Holtzman (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) 9(3)
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Itzhak Zohar (Beitar Jerusalem) 8(2)
NOTE - the penalties scored are put in brackets. The last
column means the number of goals scored this week.
THE NEXT ROUND (in a week):
| Hosts | Guests |
| Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (6) | Beitar Jerusalem (1) |
| Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (2) | Maccabee Herzliya (12) |
| Maccabee Haifa (10) | Hapoel Beer-Sheva (3) |
| Hapoel Taibe (16) | Maccabee Tel-Aviv (4) |
| Hapoel Tel-Aviv (15) | Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (5) |
| Hapoel Kefar-Saba (7) | Hapoel Haifa (8) |
| Hapoel Jerusalem (9) | Hapoel Beit-Shean (11) |
| Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (14) | Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (13) |
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