HAPOEL HAIFA - Maccabee Tel-Aviv 3:2 (3:2). --------------------------------------------- Hosts: Oren Zeituni (15, 25), Oren Nissim (43). | Awwat 7; Talker 6, Ben-Shimon 6.5, A. Halfon 6 (Ami Azulai, 37 - 6), Grayib | 6; OREN ZEITUNI 8 (Ben-Margi, 49 - 5.5), Ulyanov 6 (RED, 78), Rosso 6.5, | Milenko 7, Basis 6.5; Nissim 6 (Hageage, 89). ******** Guests: Andrzej Kubica (5), Guy Tsarfati (37). | Uvarov 6; A. Offir 5.5, G. Brumer 5.5, Ishai 5, Ben-Dayan 5.5; Kosolapov 6, | Tsarfati 6 (Nimni, 72) (Driks, 85), Glam (RED, 27), Edri 6, I. Zohar 5 (D. | Revivo, 61); Kubica 6.5. ******** REFEREE: Dani Koren (7). AUDIENCE: 17,000, Kiryat-Eliezer Stadium, Haifa. ********
The history, ladies and gentlemen! Hapoel Haifa, for the first time in its long and fruitful history, became the Israeli Champions, and it couldn't make it in a better way than defeating Maccabee Tel-Aviv, in a huge performance of Soccer from both sides. And though I am not the devoted fan of the Reds, they represent my city in a no lesser dignity than the Greens - and nobody deserved the Championship this year more than the team of Eli Gutman. [A huge year of Opel-sponsored teams - Milan may win the Championship in Italy, Bayern Munich heads for an historic triple, and Hapoel Haifa joins the club too...] Let's wait and see what happens in their first ever European season, without Najouan Grayib (already signed with Tottenham Hotspurs) and probably without Giovanni Rosso (Lazio and Roma express their interest).
Before returning to the game itself, let's dedicate a couple of words to the incident that happened during the last minutes of the game. 2.5 minutes in an injury time, out of 4 added by the referee Dani Koren, the crowd filled up the pitch, after another hesitant whistle of the referee was misinterpreted as the final one. And here Hapoel Haifa suddenly discovered another man, who wanted to become famous on its expense - Dani Koren... Passing a very charged game flawlessly until then, Koren decided to get some highlights onto his own humble person and demanded to spoil all the celebrations and to finish the last 2 minutes. The huge forces of equestrian policemen were thrown onto the pitch to clean it, and the last 2 minutes were played with the horses occasionally touching the ball, a bloodshed under the horseshoes prevented by miracle... Welcome to the year 2000, Europe!
Indeed, the game was extremely important for Maccabee Tel-Aviv and its 2nd place struggle that leads to Europe, and every moment counted. Indeed, a certain order had to be restored. However, lots of questions have to be asked about the integrity of the International referee Dani Koren, who referees well the numerous International games (Betis - Vartex, Ukraine - Iceland, etc.), but has some constant scandals in the domestic ones. How come none of the Yellows' crowning games were ever played until the very end, including the one 4 years ago in Beer-Sheva, refereed by nobody else but Dani Koren? How come those were stopped after just 84-85 minutes? How can the compulsory endearment of Dani Koren to Maccabee Tel-Aviv, including the scandalous Cup semifinal game 2 years ago vs Beitar Jerusalem, be explained? And how should we refer to a man who risks the awful tragedy for the sake of becoming famous, while he has all the skills to become famous "peacefully"? Hopefully, the IFA will give me those answers, as well as to all the Soccer lovers in Israel.
The game, extremely important for Haifa, started greatly for the guests - Kefir Edri headed the ball mightily to the crossbar, after the left wing penetration of Moshe Glam, and Andrzej Kubica stylishly headed the rebound home, 1:0. However, the crowning game of the Reds revealed us Oren Zeituni in a game of once in a lifetime - playing injured and leaving the pitch with grimaces of pain after just 49 minutes, he gave a performance nobody will ever forget. 10 minutes after Maccabee's opener, he got the ball from Ulyanov, raised his right leg and released a fantastic flat bomb diagonally from 25 meters - the ball passed under the hand of a heavily diving Uvarov, hit his right post and passed the line, wow! And in another 10 minutes, it was a solo penetration of the usually reliable but unremarkable midfielder - getting the ball from Giovanni Rosso, he passed one defender, misled another, screwed himself between another two and released a left-footer from 18 meters, kissing the left post of Uvarov and going in as well. A comeback.
When Moshe Glam was sent off, 2 minutes afterwards, for a disgusting foul on Offer Talker, the matter seemed to be clear. However, with Maccabee Tel-Aviv you can nearly never know - and this time, a quick combination of Kubica - Edri - Tsarfati brought the equalizer, much because of the nonchalance of Awwat, Talker and Ami Azulai. And still, it was the day of the Reds - before the break, Zeituni provided a magnificent ball to Oren Nissim, and the latter turned past Gadi Brumer and beat Uvarov with a Championship goal.
The 2nd half was pretty equal, with lots of opportunities for both sides that weren't used - Uvarov returned to be reliable, and on the other hand, Awwat regained his senses and made several great saves as well. Dmitriy Ulyanov was sent off with a 2nd yellow card, and Maccabee went on pressing - by then Hapoel Haifa could be happy with a draw as well (due to Beitar's earlier draw), but the Yellows desperately needed at least a point. 7 minutes from time, Avi Nimni hit the post, and the rebound of David Revivo (the brother of our Spanish legend) was cleared off the line by Ami Azulai.
After the teams returned to the pitch for the horse-presence-full 2 extra minutes, Maccabee was attacking time after time. And there was an incredible duel of the keepers, in quite a non-traditional way. Alexander Uvarov, whom I'd like to congratulate on this occasion with getting the Israeli permanent resident status, made a lot of incredible things in the Israeli soccer, but in this extra-time he was close to achieving something quite unprecedented all over the world - indeed, Peter Schmeichel scored with a header vs Rotor Volgograd, indeed, lots of keepers take the penalties for their teams, and indeed, Jose Luis Chilavert is famous for his threatening free kicks, but has any keeper ever scored with a scissors kick?.. I seriously doubt that. The 39.5-years-old keeper, getting into the rival's box during the dying seconds, raised for a rebound and shot a magnificent curved scissors kick which was making its way under the hosts' right crossbar!.. Dudu Awwat, surprisingly concentrated after the spontaneous celebrations and the even more spontaneous return to the pitch, flew to deflect the ball with his fingertips, denying the unprecedental history, but holding firmly "The Keeper Of The Week" award.
Beitar Jerusalem - Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 1:1 (1:0). ---------------------------------------------------- Hosts: Tamas Sandor (31). | Korenfein 6; R. Deri 5 (Sevilla, 59 - 5), Tretyak 5, Domb 5, Talesnikov | 5.5; Bakhar 5, Shelakh 5, Hamar 5, T. Sandor 5.5, Abuksis 5.5; O. Shitrit | 5. ******** Guests: Yossi Madar (55 pen). | Smadja 6; O. Levi 5.5, Fletcher 6, Schwegger 5.5, Siton 5.5 (S. Mizrahi, | 46 - 6), Y. Avihail 5.5; Liberman 5, Refua 6, Mararo 5, YOSSI MADAR 6.5 | (Fibernik, 90); Shirazi 6 (Feigenbaum, 77). ******** REFEREE: Meir Levi (7). AUDIENCE: 7,000, Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem. ********
An unexpected draw of Beitar Jerusalem at home also helped Hapoel Haifa to win the title, but most of all, it gave a hope to Bnei-Yehuda and lessened the former Champions' chances to finish as the runners-up. It started well for the hosts, when the number of Beitar's attacks were denied during the first 30 minutes - and then Yossi Abuksis raised a perfect ball to Tamas Sandor, who was quick enough to stop the ball on the chest and to overplay both the defender and the keeper, with his 9th goal of the season. However, Beitar didn't manage to enlarge the margin, and was punished for that, 10 minutes in the 2nd half - Jean Talesnikov trapped Cobi Refua inside the box, and Yossi Madar's penalty shot was too mighty for Itzhak Korenfein to stop, Madar's 9th goal this season as well. Up to the end, those surprisingly were the guests with more opportunities, but the score stayed intact, fully satisfying nobody of the involved.
Hapoel Tsafririm Holon - MACCABEE HAIFA 0:2 (0:1). ---------------------------------------------------- Hosts: -. | Pashko 5; Flash 5.5, Fur 5, Sokher 5, Avigdor 5.5; Khen 5 (D. Kabeda, 64), | Shlomi Dahan 5 (Zaric, 85), B. Hadad 5.5 (Buzaglo, 82), Daraselia 6; | Tsafrir 4.5, Siasiah 4.5. ******** Guests: Yossi Benayoun (35), Shlomi Ben-Hemo (90). | Davidovich 6; Zhano 6, A. Harazi 6, Benado 6, A. Keisi 6; Koppel 6, Calman | 5 (Silbas, 61 - 5), Sassi 6, Doro 5 (S. Ben-Hemo, 71), YOSSI BENAYOUN 7; | Katan 6. ******** REFEREE: Eyal Tsur (8). AUDIENCE: 2,500, Ironi Stadium, Holon. ********
In another top-bottom game of utter importance, this was Maccabee Haifa of Daniel Brailovsky with an important victory away, over the deteriorating Tsafririm Holon. Nir Davidovich, playing with an injury but not showing it, stopped several good opportunities of the hosts at the start, and then, a quick double-pass of Yossi Benayoun and Yaniv Katan let the first score an opener. The teams didn't have any meaningful opportunities later on, until the last minute - then, Yaniv Katan penetrated at the right wing and entered the box, his wide ball was blocked by Martin Pashko, but deflected into Katan's body and flew to the young Shlomi Ben-Hemo, who scored after 19 minutes of his career in the National League.
HAPOEL TEL-AVIV - Hapoel Jerusalem 3:0 (0:0). ----------------------------------------------- Hosts: Ron Nakhman (59), Salim Tuama (64), Kefir Udi (72). | Elimelekh 6; F. Halfon 7, Gershon 6, Kahila 6, Hillel 6 (S. Cohen, 68); | Rupenik 6 (Avi Azulai, 46 - 6), SALIM TUAMA 7, R. Nakhman 7, Udi 6; | Simerotic 6, Tubi injured (Z. Kabeda, 25 - 6). ******** Guests: -. | Strauber 5; S. Danino 4, A. Sason 4.5 (RED, 32), S. Amar 5, Oka 4; Y. | Avrahami 4 (Shnorman, 63 - 5.5), Gola 5 (Dado Dahan, 68), E. Avrahami 4.5 | (Hermon, 36 - 5), Costelnik 5.5; Menakhem 4.5, M. Salman 5. ******** REFEREE: Alon Yaffet (9). AUDIENCE: 2,500, Bloomfield Stadium, Yaffa. ********
Hapoel Tel-Aviv, playing this game solely as a preparation for the Cup final, managed to defeat Hapoel Jerusalem even without its key players Idan Tal, Gabor Marton, Moti Ohayon, etc. The task was made even easier vs the degrading team of Yossi Mizrahi after 32 minutes of play - the sweeping penetration of Sebastian Simerotic was stopped with a foul of Arik Sason, who got his 2 yellow card and left the pitch. The score was opened 14 minutes in the 2nd half, after Ron Nakhman headed the ball home from the corner of Salim Tuama. 5 minutes afterwards, it was a great preparation of Sebastian Simerotic to Salim Tuama, who bombed it mightily from 17 meters, 2:0. The guests were completely broken, and 8 minutes later, they got the last nail hammered into their coffin, from a good header of Kefir Udi, after a preparation of Felix Halfon. Who will win the Cup? Let's wait and see...
Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa - Maccabee Ironi Ashdod 1:1 (1:1). -------------------------------------------------------- Hosts: Walid Badir (33). | Abramov 6; Maya 5 (Shamir, 71), Kozoshvili 6, Ihiel 5, Ben-Ishai 5; | Zandberg 4.5 (Hassan, 46 - 4.5), Badir 5.5, ELI ABRABANEL 6.5, Attar 5.5, | Makoveyev 4.5 (Rosen, 46 - 5); Kakun 4.5. ******** Guests: Amir Turgeman (45). | Devadze 5; Hazut 6, Masouli 5.5, Fibakh 5.5, Y. Malka 5, Spire 5.5; | Almoshnino 6, Martsiano 6 (Zrihen, 79), Dego 5.5, Balog 5.5; Turgeman 6. ******** REFEREE: Shnuel Steiff (5). AUDIENCE: 2,000, Ironi Stadium, Petakh-Tikwa. ********
Playing without the keeper Shai Hess and the defender Viadin Kolosevic, punished for their disgusting conflict during the Cup semifinal, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa still managed to open the score - it was a magnificent pass of Eli Abrabanel between the 2 players, and Walid Badir rushed into the box, overran another defender and beat Akakiy Devadze from a close range. Ashdod, playing for its mere survival, managed to equalize just before the break, when Eyal Almoshnino gave a good ball to Amir Turgeman, who ended his long and unexplicable draught. During the 2nd half, Ashdod was playing for the victory, but managed only to hit the bar with the shot of Gadi Hazut (60).
Hapoel Beit-Shean - HAPOEL KEFAR-SABA 0:2 (0:1). --------------------------------------------------- Hosts: -. | M. Cohen 5; Tsuref 5.5, Dudu Dahan 6, Elkaslassi 5, Sapir 4; Hader 6 (R. | Sagi, 83), Rozosevic 5.5, Almog Hazan 4.5 (Y. Biton, 60 - 5), Gili Levi 4.5 | (H. Irmiyahu, 56 - 4.5); Cinka 6, Culakovic 6. ******** Guests: Adrian Ungur (38), Niv Tal (89). | Strauss 6; I. Koren 4.5 (Chichian, 41 - 5), Ben-Haim 6, Netser 5, Ganon 6; | A. Itzhak 6, R. Maman 5.5 (Tal, 20 - 6.5), Masterovic 5, SHIMON DANAN 6.5 | (R. Glam, 77); Ungur 6, Avvargeal 5. ******** REFEREE: Assaf Keinan (9). AUDIENCE: 250, Ironi Stadium, Beit-Shean. ********
An era of 5 years, with a constant "War Film", is over - Beit-Shean has officially relegated, and whatever relation you may have to this team, this relegation isn't just a daily matter. The Valley team had to win in order to leave itself a small hope to be saved, but Kefar-Saba thought otherwise. 38 minutes in the game, a free kick of the former Beit-Shean flag player Shimon Danan hit the bar and deflected into Adrian Ungur, who positioned himself perfectly, 1:0. Beit-Shean tried to equalize, but quite hopelessly - and just before the final whistle, Yaniv Avvargeal passed the keeper Meir Cohen and only hit the post in front of an empty net, and the substitute Niv Tal was there on the rebound, to make the matters sealed and signed. Kefar-Saba, with 36 points and the 7th position in the table, seems to be secure in the Premier League, while Beit-Shean will try its luck the next year.
MACCABEE HERZLIYA - Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 3:2 (2:1). ------------------------------------------------------ Hosts: Igal Entebbi (15, 44), Vassili Ivanov (90). | Gilardi 5.5; E. Arbel 5.5 (Vilner, 67), Barmecher 5.5, Y. Koretski 5.5, | Mishal 5.5; IGAL ENTEBBI 7, Gat 6.5, Ivanov 6.5, Shabo 5 (L. Asulin, 38 - | 5); Simhon 5 (Zanetti, 84), Filipchuk 6.5. ******** Guests: Udi Kabudi (18), Rafi Cohen (57). | Y. Mizrahi 5.5; G. Deri 4 (Rafi Cohen, 50 - 5.5), T. Eliyahu 5, Rothem 4.5 | (RED, 39), Albert 6.5; Pitusi 5.5 (Yaron, 90), A. Brumer 6, Sebeg 5.5, | Capeta 4 (E. Cohen, 59 - 5); Kabudi 5, Shikwa 5. ******** REFEREE: Arik Haimovich (9). AUDIENCE: 1,500, Ironi Stadium, Herzliya. ********
In an exciting game, despite the bottom participants, lots of events happened, including the dramatic end. A fantastic header of Igal Entebbi, after a preparation of Guy Gat, opened the score, but only 3 minutes later, Udi Kabudi headed an equalizer for the guests, from Alon Brumer's pass. 6 minutes before the break, Rishon's defender Oren Rothem was sent off with a 2nd yellow card, and 5 minutes afterwards, a bright penetration of the same Entebbi at the left wing resulted in a cool shot under Yaniv Mizrahi's bar; however, Rishon equalized again, this time through the substitute Rafi Cohen. Several minutes afterwards, Yaniv Mizrahi took off into a beautiful flight to fist the shot of Yair Simhon to the corner, a serious competitor for "The Save Of The Year" with no exaggeration at all. And still, the finish belonged to the team of Shiya Feigenbaum. Seconds from time, it was a very ordered attack of Filipchuk - Asulin - Zanetti - Ivanov, and the latter shot without stopping a good stinging curved ball to the left low corner of Rishon, 3:2. Herzliya also seems to survive in the Premier League, and for Rishon the loss won't matter much as well - the team does show the Soccer decent for the Premier League.
Maccabee Yaffa - MACCABEE PETAKH-TIKWA 0:4 (0:0).
---------------------------------------------------
Hosts: -.
| Davidoff 5; M. Sason 5 (E. Sayag, 76), Dan Levi 5, Moyal 4.5, Rabinovich 5,
| Rishti 4.5; Mahamid 4.5, G. Hershlikovich 5, N. Cohen 5 (Shakruka, 70);
| Afek 5, Djilovski 4.5.
********
Guests: Ismail Amar (62), Sharon Avitan (86), Guy Itzhak (87),
Shabi Mira (89).
| Goresh 5.5; ISMAIL AMAR 7, Magamedov 5.5, S. Tsofin 5.5, E. Levi 5 (Mira,
| 54 - 6); Muslem 6, Lusek 5.5, Shemariyahu 6; R. Sharabi 5 (G. Itzhak, 60 -
| 5.5), Bransi 5 (Ben-Yosef, 79), S. Avitan 6.
********
REFEREE: Eitan Tavrizi (7).
AUDIENCE: 200, Gaon Stadium, Yaffa.
********
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa, surprisingly finding itself in the bottom zone after such a wonderful start of the season, desperately needed to defeat the nonchalant and unskillful Maccabee Yaffa - and for more than an hour, nothing went right for the players of Eyal Lakhman. However, a free kick of Ismail Amar from 25 meters found David Davidoff unprepared for the guests' opener. The team of Eyal Lakhman failed to enlarge the score until the 5 last minutes, but then it scored no less than 3 times! The close-ranged headers of Sharon Avitan and Guy Itzhak, from the preparations of Ismail Amar and Miroslav Lusek, gave the keeper no chance at all, and the score was sealed by the young substitute Shabi Mira, undisturbed inside the box.
THE WEEK'S TEAM:
----------------
Dudu Awwat
(Hapoel Haifa)
Ismail Amar Ran Ben-Shimon Ehud Kahila Dani Albert
(Mcb. Petakh-Tikwa) (Hapoel Haifa) (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Hapoel Rishon le-Zion)
Oren Zeituni Yossi Benayoun Salim Tuama Igal Entebbi
(Hapoel Haifa) (Maccabee Haifa) (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Maccabee Herzliya)
Roman Filipchuk Andrzej Kubica
(Maccabee Herzliya) (Maccabee Tel-Aviv)
Hapoel Haifa - 3.
Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Maccabee Herzliya - 2.
Maccabee Tel-Aviv, Maccabee Haifa,
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion - 1.
PLACE TEAM G W T L Goals Points
1 (1) Hapoel Haifa 27 21 4 2 58-14 67 EC1
2 (2) Maccabee Tel-Aviv 27 17 3 7 66-29 54
3 (3) Beitar Jerusalem 27 16 6 5 60-26 54
4 (4) Maccabee Haifa 27 17 3 7 55-23 54
5 (5) Hapoel Tel-Aviv 27 14 7 6 43-24 49
6 (6) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 27 13 6 8 50-38 45
7 (9) Hapoel Kefar-Saba 27 10 6 11 39-54 36
8 (10) Maccabee Herzliya 27 10 4 13 31-37 34
9 (12) Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 27 9 6 12 40-40 33
10 (7) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 27 9 6 12 46-58 33
11 (8) Hapoel Jerusalem 27 10 3 14 31-50 33
12 (11) Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 27 7 9 11 32-32 30
13 (13) Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 27 8 6 13 36-48 30
14 (14) Maccabee Ironi Ashdod 27 7 8 12 34-45 29
15 (15) Hapoel Beit-Shean 27 5 3 19 24-72 18 Relegated
16 (16) Maccabee Yaffa 27 1 4 22 12-67 7 Relegated
IN BRACKETS - the places of the teams after the last week.
BEST PLAYER: Oren Zeituni, midfielder, Hapoel Haifa.
TOP SCORERS: Moti Kakun (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 19(3)
**********************************************************
Andrzej Kubica (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 18(4) 1(0)
**********************************************************
Avi Nimni (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 17(4)
**********************************************************
Offer Shitrit (Beitar Jerusalem) 16(1)
Amir Turgeman (Maccabee Ironi Ashdod) 16(7) 1(0)
**********************************************************
Yossi Benayoun (Maccabee Haifa) 14(0) 1(0)
Alon Mizrahi (Maccabee Haifa) 14(2)
**********************************************************
Nir Sevilla (Beitar Jerusalem) 13(0)
Cobi Refua (Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv) 13(0)
Yaniv Avvargeal (Hapoel Kefar-Saba) 13(6)
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Samson Siasiah (Hapoel Tsafririm Holon) 12(0)
Victor Pacha (Maccabee Haifa) 12(0)
(9 goals in Hapoel Jerusalem)
Giovanni Rosso (Hapoel Haifa) 12(5)
**********************************************************
Adrian Ungur (Hapoel Kefar-Saba) 11(0) 1(0)
Rafi Cohen (Hapoel Rishon le-Zion) 11(0) 1(0)
**********************************************************
Assaf Tubi (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) 10(1)
Nissan Capeta (Hapoel Rishon le-Zion) 10(3)
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 |
| Hapoel Kefar-Saba (7) | Hapoel Haifa (1) |
| Maccabee Tel-Aviv (2) | Beitar Jerusalem (3) |
| Maccabee Haifa (4) | Maccabee Herzliya (8) |
| Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (13) | Hapoel Tel-Aviv (5) |
| Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (9) | Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (6) |
| Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (10) | Maccabee Yaffa (16) |
| Hapoel Jerusalem (11) | Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (12) |
| Maccabee Ironi Ashdod (14) | Hapoel Beit-Shean (15) |
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