22 goals, 6 red cards, 4 penalties awarded and just 3 scored, and, finally, the first own goal of this season - this was the harvest of this week. 2 major surprises were caused - in Jerusalem, the local Hapoel forgot all its financial and professional problems for 90 minutes and defeated the "well-ordered" squad of Hapoel Kefar-Saba, and in Rishon le-Zion, Maccabee Haifa wasted a sure victory against the locals because of numerous unbelievable misses and the two great strikes in return by Tomacz Czibola.
Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa lead the table with 100% of success, Beitar really convincing much in Beer-Sheva and Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa making it even in 9 men, in Beit-Shean. Those teams provide us also the temporary best scorers, respectively Eli Ohana and Moti Kakun. Maccabee Haifa lost 2 important top points, and so, 2 another Maccabee squads, of Petakh-Tikwa and of Tel-Aviv, are breathing in its neck; these two, though, were pretty unimpressive, and Maccabee Tel-Aviv should take itself into both arms before the 2nd leg vs Tenerife in the UEFA Cup, this Wednesday in Ramat-Gan. Hapoel Tel-Aviv finally won, too; and as for Hapoel Haifa, this team dropped 2 important home points against Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, in arguably the best game of this week. At the bottom, Maccabee Herzliya (quite surprisingly) and Hapoel Kefar-Saba (nearly as usual) are still looking for their 1st goal and their 1st victory combined; and Hapoel Beit-Shean, enjoying a wonderful strike of Eitan Taib from 25 meters, is nevertheless still looking for the 1st point... The position of Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Taibe isn't much better, to be frank. And now - the details.
The game between Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Beer-Sheva started without any truly interesting moments, but the first real strike, a great shot of Istvan Salloi from 20 meters, opened the score. Then, a counterattack found Eli Ohana in the box, and the wonderful forward of Beitar shot a flat sharp ball under Shaul Smadja's stomach, definitely the keeper's fault. The hosts of Beer-Sheva started attacking vigorously, but could create just a threatening bomb of Stav Elimelekh under the bar, parried superbly by Itzhak Korenfein; and on the other hand, another mistake of Smadja against David Amsalem enabled Eli Ohana to roll the 3rd goal of Beitar into an empty net from 18 meters. Giovanni Rosso could just reduce the score with a perfectly taken free kick, but that gave Beer-Sheva nothing but the beauty. Beitar won with a margin of 2 goals and therefore grasped the leadership.
Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa lost the lead, but in no way the points. One of its first attacks found Golan Deri making a foul on Yaniv Offri inside the box, and Moti Kakun had no problem to roll the opener in from the penalty spot. Deep in the 2nd half, a great solo move by Kakun enabled him to score the 2nd goal of his team, 2:0. Beit-Shean finally got the message and started to press, and Nimrod Elbaz left Petakh-Tikwa within 3 minutes in 9 men, after he was fouled by Eli Abrabanel (an unsportive behaviour) and by Beni Kozoshvili (a cruel tackle from behind). But nevertheless, Petakh-Tikwa managed to preserve the victory, although not the score - a magnificent shot taken from 25 meters by the left foot of Eitan Taib left Shai Hess stunned, just tens of seconds from the final whistle.
Maccabee Haifa should've got even with the two abovementioned winners, and it seemed highly promising in the first half... Ronnie Levi managed to pass the ball to Kandaurov who made an incredible misleading over the defender to shoot a bomb into the net of Sagi Strauss; later on, Tomacz Czibola missed in front of Bonnie Ginzburg, and in a counterattack, "The Goal Of The Week" was scored - Kandaurov passed an arching header into the box, and Berkovich turned around to volley it home from 7 meters, 2:0. Rishon of the 1st half had just one opportunity; an imprecise shot of Dani Albert was directed greatly into the corner by the heel of Tal Bnaya, but Bonnie Ginzburg stretched smoothly enough to take it tight; and as for Haifa, it mercilessly wasted the one-to-one opportunities of Ronnie Levi and Hezi Shirazi, and the great shot of Kandaurov from 18 meters missed the frame by inches. Even in the 2nd half, it started with a terrific shot of Kandaurov from 16 meters to hit the bar; but immediately, Haifa conceded 2 goals from the efforts of Tomacz Czibola, once a mighty left-footer after a great preparation work, and once a header which Bonnie Ginzburg could see himself responsible for. Haifa was in shock and started to press, but all it could achieve was the red card shown to Oded Tsakhi, and another series of numerous incredible misses, by Offir Koppel, Sergei Kandaurov, Hezi Shirazi, Ronnie Levi and even Arik Benado... The final line - a point to each side, and a lot of compliments to Viko Hadad and his guys.
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa played in a shadow of a heavy tragedy - Igal Malul (33), the elder brother of Petakh-Tikwa's wonderful keeper Golan Malul, found his death in Friday's traffic accident near Afula. Naturally, the 1st keeper of the team didn't play, and his place was taken by Ohad Cohen, saving his team twice after the two dangerous shots of Meni Bason. In Taibe's net, Mickey Dahan did a good job either, but once he was mistaken, Offer Shitrit kidnapped the ball and shot it wide, and Najouan Grayib was there with a winner.
The same was the score in the game between Maccabee Tel-Aviv and Maccabee Herzliya, but the Yellows of Tel-Aviv should be worried if it demonstrates such a form 4 days before meeting Tenerife for the 2nd leg of the UEFA Cup in Ramat-Gan this Wednesday. Uvarov frustrated the forwards of Herzliya several times, and on the other hand, both Shuli Gilardi and the great unconceivable misses prevented the double holders from opening the score. Just after Eli Driks substituted Haim Hageage, the game of Maccabee started to be better organized, and Driks' pass into the box finally resulted in Klinger's header to win the game.
A surprise was registered in Jerusalem, where a bad game between the 2 bottom teams of the Israeli football still gave us 2 goals, 2 red cards and 2 penalties. Yair Asayag, who threatened to boycott the game because of Hapoel Jerusalem's debt to him (approximately $16,000), was finally convinced to appear at the pitch and brought the victory to the capital with two strikes - first, after a well-taken penalty kick, and later, after a wonderful penetration following the preparation pass of Gili Levi. In between, Gabor Marton of the guests and Shlomi Danino of the hosts were sent off by the decisive referee Shmuel Steiff. And at the end of the game, Kefar-Saba had 2 opportunities to score - first, a wonderful free kick of Oren Hageage found just the left post of Jaroslav Baku, and later on, the same Baku saved the penalty kick sent by the same Hageage. Baku could see himself happy after the game, as he finally got his license to play in the team and brought it points, not conceding as a bonus; and Oren Hageage could see himself very disappointed, as in addition to those two misses of his described above, he caused the penalty kick in favor of Jerusalem.
Hapoel Tel-Aviv of Moshe Sinai finally found recipe for a victory and made a successful experience against Hapoel Tsafririm Holon at home, despite the very tense last minutes. After 210 "dry" minutes, Alexander Zhidkov conceded the goal scored ... by his own defender, Ronen Feigenbaum; and in several minutes, Yossi Madar got a wonderful pass from Cobi Hadadi, passed the keeper and registered 2:0 as a half-time score. But later on, in the 2nd half, Haim Irmiyahu headed in a reducer of Holon, and Holon was pressing on and on... In vain, fortunately to the Reds of Tel-Aviv.
And a very interesting game was held on Friday, in Kiryat-Eliezer. Hapoel Haifa tried hard to score against Guy Nakhshon, but Tal Banin saw the great save of the keeper, and Offer Talker missed from inside the box. And then, a shock came - Meir Ben-Margi (formerly Hapoel Haifa's player) sent a perfect ball, 60 meters long, to the penetration of Alon Mizrahi, and the quick forward earned a penalty kick after a foul of Georgi Kovac and converted it himself into an opener. Later on, Nakhshon was injured, and Liran Strauber took his place, making several superb saves; however, he could do nothing against the perfect free kick of Tal Banin from 18 meters, 1:1. Hisham Zoabi, a substitute, made it 2:1 several minutes from time, but seconds before the final whistle, a substitute of Bnei-Yehuda, Cobi Refua, managed to exploit the mistake of Haifa's defence to roll the ball under Rafi Cohen's hands, 2:2 in a thriller.
NEXT WEEK: A very interesting game will be held in Petakh-Tikwa - derby, this time between the 2 truly top teams. In Holon, the locals meet the table neighbour, Maccabee Tel-Aviv, better in quality but tired (and maybe frustrated) after Tenerife. Neither Beitar Jerusalem nor Maccabee Haifa seem to have any problem against the outsiders, Maccabee Herzliya and Hapoel Beit-Shean, respectively. An interesting game will be also held between Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv and Hapoel Beer-Sheva.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva - BEITAR JERUSALEM 1:3 (0:2).
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Hosts: Giovanni Rosso (90).
Guests: Istvan Salloi (25), Eli Ohana (36, 63).
THE BEST: Eli Ohana, forward, Beitar Jerusalem.
Hapoel Beit-Shean - HAPOEL PETAKH-TIKWA 1:2 (0:1).
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Hosts: Eitan Taib (88).
Guests: Moti Kakun (9 pen, 71).
RED: Eli Abrabanel, forward, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, 79.
Beni Kozoshvili, defender, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, 82.
THE BEST: Moti Kakun, forward, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa.
Hapoel Rishon le-Zion - Maccabee Haifa 2:2 (0:2).
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Hosts: Tomacz Czibola (51, 53).
Guests: Sergei Kandaurov (9), Eyal Berkovich (21).
RED: Oded Tsakhi, midfielder, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion, 64.
THE BEST: Tomacz Czibola, midfielder, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion.
MACCABEE PETAKH-TIKWA - Hapoel Taibe 1:0 (1:0).
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Hosts: Najouan Grayib (29).
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Noam Keisi, midfielder, Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa.
Maccabee Herzliya - MACCABEE TEL-AVIV 0:1 (0:0).
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Hosts: -.
Guests: Nir Klinger (69).
THE BEST: Tomer Azulai, defender, Maccabee Herzliya.
HAPOEL TEL AVIV - Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 2:1 (2:0).
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Hosts: OG (Ronen Feigenbaum, 31), Yossi Madar (43).
Guests: Haim Irmiyahu (56).
THE BEST: Alon Hazan, midfielder, Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Hapoel Haifa - Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 2:2 (0:1).
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Hosts: Tal Banin (84), Hisham Zoabi (86).
Guests: Alon Mizrahi (22 pen), Cobi Refua (89).
RED: Moti Sason, defender, Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, 90.
THE BEST: Hisham Zoabi, forward, Hapoel Haifa.
HAPOEL JERUSALEM - Hapoel Kefar-Saba 2:0 (1:0).
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Hosts: Yair Asayag (9 pen, 55).
Guests: -.
RED: Gabor Marton, midfielder, Hapoel Kefar-Saba, 45.
Shlomi Danino, defender, Hapoel Jerusalem, 46.
THE BEST: Yair Asayag, forward, Hapoel Jerusalem.
On the 80th minute Oren Hageage (Hapoel Kefar-Saba) missed a penalty kick -
Jaroslav Baku saved.
THE WEEK'S TEAM:
----------------
Jaroslav Baku
(Hapoel Jerusalem)
Shmuel Levi Guy Sharabi Walid Badir David Amsalem
(Beitar Jerusalem) (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Hapoel P.-T.) (Beitar Jerusalem)
Alon Hazan Eyal Berkovich Tomacz Czibola Yair Asayag
(Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Maccabee Haifa) (Rishon le-Zion) (Hapoel Jerusalem)
Moti Kakun Eli Ohana
(Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) (Beitar Jerusalem)
Beitar Jerusalem - 3.
Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, Hapoel Jerusalem - 2.
Maccabee Haifa, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion - 1.
PLACE TEAM G W T L Goals Points
1 (2) Beitar Jerusalem 03 3 0 0 9- 2 9
2 (1) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 03 3 0 0 9- 3 9
3 (3) Maccabee Haifa 03 2 1 0 6- 3 7
4 (7-8) Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 03 2 0 1 5- 4 6
5 (9) Maccabee Tel-Aviv 03 2 0 1 4- 4 6
6 (4) Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 03 1 1 1 3- 2 4
7 (6) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 03 1 1 1 7- 7 4
8 (7-8) Hapoel Haifa 03 1 1 1 6- 6 4
9 (12) Hapoel Tel-Aviv 03 1 1 1 3- 4 4
10 (11) Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 03 1 1 1 4- 6 4
11 (5) Hapoel Beer-Sheva 03 1 0 2 4- 5 3
12 (10) Hapoel Taibe 03 1 0 2 2- 4 3
-- (16) Hapoel Jerusalem 03 1 0 2 2- 4 3
14 (13) Maccabee Herzliya 03 0 1 2 0- 3 1
15 (14) Hapoel Kefar-Saba 03 0 1 2 0- 4 1
16 (15) Hapoel Beit-Shean 03 0 0 3 1- 4 0
IN BRACKETS - the places of the teams before this week.
BEST PLAYER: Eli Ohana, forward, Beitar Jerusalem.
TOP SCORERS: Eli Ohana (Beitar Jerusalem) 4(0) 2
Moti Kakun (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 4(1) 2(1)
*********************************************************
Yaniv Offri (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 3(0)
Offer Shitrit (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa) 3(1)
Ronen Harazi (Beitar Jerusalem) 3(1)
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Tomacz Czibola (Hapoel Rishon le-Zion) 2(0) 2
Cobi Refua (Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv) 2(0) 1
Giovanni Rosso (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) 2(0) 1
Ronnie Levi (Maccabee Haifa) 2(0)
Hezi Shirazi (Maccabee Haifa) 2(0)
Yair Asayag (Hapoel Jerusalem) 2(1) 2(1)
Meir Azran (Hapoel Rishon le-Zion) 2(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 |
| Beitar Jerusalem (1) | Maccabee Herzliya (14) |
| Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (2) | Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (4) |
| Maccabee Haifa (3) | Hapoel Beit-Shean (16) |
| Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (6) | Maccabee Tel-Aviv (5) |
| Hapoel Kefar-Saba (15) | Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (7) |
| Hapoel Taibe (12-13) | Hapoel Haifa (8) |
| Hapoel Tel-Aviv (9) | Hapoel Jerusalem (12-13) |
| Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (10) | Hapoel Beer-Sheva (11) |
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