17 goals, 5 red cards (!) and 1 penalty scored - this was the breathtaking story of the last weekend. Some very interesting things happened - no less than 5 goals (!) were scored from a rebound after the keepers' saves/slips, and the best moments were brought us by the sides that didn't win. I'm talking, of course, about the extraordinary goal of Oren Sagron, perhaps "The Goal Of The Season", and the fantastic keeping of Rafi Cohen, pushing away the Hungarian invasion.
The team that gained yesterday from every possible side was, no doubt, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa - having scored the winning goal through the substitute Alon Maya after 96 minutes of play (!), it enjoyed also the loss of points by the other leaders, as Hapoel Beer-Sheva was devastated at home by Maccabee Tel-Aviv, and Beitar Jerusalem had a hard time away against Hapoel Haifa. The only other draw that Beitar's happened between Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa and Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, where the keeping of Liran Strauber should be mentioned again. Hapoel Jerusalem registered a great comeback to take a revenge against Maccabee Haifa after the loss in Round 1; and Hapoel Beit-Shean made the same at home, defeating the deteriorating Hapoel Taibe. Washington de Santos used a charming Brazilian touch, bringing Hapoel Kefar-Saba a victory over Hapoel Tel-Aviv; Tel-Aviv's new coach, Dror Kashtan, is still looking for his first victory with his new team. And the National forward of Uzbekistan (Igor Shkvyrin) managed to beat once the National keeper of Azerbaijan (Alexander Zhidkov), an important 1:0 to Maccabee Herzliya over Hapoel Tsafririm Holon.
The start of Hapoel Haifa at home against Beitar Jerusalem was amazing - Offer Talker (2) had a great opportunity to score, but the ball he arched above Itzhak Korenfein from 15 meters, touched just the external top side of the net. Haifa continued its momentum, and in another 3 minutes the team of Ivan Katalinic was rewarded - Oren Flash penetrated the box to be knocked down by Sergei Tretyak, and Dani Koren (in a wonderful refereeing performance) pointed to the white spot. The penalty was coolly performed by Tal Banin, misleading Itzhak Korenfein. A surprising quick 1:0 to the hosts.
Hisham Zoabi tried a magnificent volley from 23 meters (12), surprising the audience but not the National keeper Korenfein who took the ball in a great flight. But the most wonderful attack was still that of Beitar, bringing the equalizer. Getting a ball from David Amsalem, Salloi rushed into the box and shot an unstoppable bomb (28), but Rafi Cohen raised himself into an incredible flight to his left, with his right hand over his head, to clear the ball away from under the bar. However, Shmuel Levi was the first on the rebound to center the ball; a bad defensive work finally threw the ball on Itzhak Zohar's head, and the latter dropped it to Yossi Abuksis who caressed the ball in a rush to direct it in from 5 meters. Rafi Cohen managed to react instinctively, but his touch wasn't enough to throw the ball outside. 1:1.
It was clear the game had a wonderful start, but it went on no less impressively. Several misses of Offer Talker were answered by 2 free kicks of Itzhak Zohar, both hitting the bar (how is he doing that?). Kovac was superbly denied in Beitar's box by Talesnikov and Tretyak, and Haifa was better in the 2nd half, exploiting its numeral advantage (Talesnikov, being extraordinary during the 1st half, was sent off early aftre the break with his 2nd yellow card). But above all, it was the competition between the present National keeper and the one in the past, who also hopes to take this post in the future. Korenfein was very secure in his net and registered a superb save from the far-ranged shot of Tal Banin (44), but Rafi Cohen, our "Keeper Of The Week", was the hot story. After 75 minutes he closed his left corner well to parry by foot a deadly ball of Pisont from a hard angle, after a great penetration of the latter on the right wing.
It ended 1:1, but twice more I had a certain feeling of the goal, and I was deceived. 3 minutes into an injury time, a substitute Avi Pass rushed undisturbed into Beitar's box, but Tretyak, making us forget about his early mistake, blocked Pass' shot superbly. But the best moment was registered on the other side, with 9 minutes to go. Salloi made a pass of genius to Pisont who sped into the box between the defenders in a great penetration, leaving himself in one-to-one with Rafi Cohen; however, Cohen rushed forward to close Pisont's vision of goal. Pisont tried to roll the ball past the keeper instead of passing him, but Cohen opened himself greatly and parried the ball with his stretched leg, "The Save Of The Week". Pisont, a wonderful midfielder whose contribution to the leading team can't be underestimated, still searches for his first goal, and it'll surely be hard for him to get the better chance.
The leader lost 2 points, and the same seemed to be right about the runners-up, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa. The team of Nir Levin somehow failed to score playing against Hapoel Rishon le-Zion away - either the misses or Sagi Strauss prevented the guests from doing it. Even despite the red card shown to Eyal Cohen of Rishon (and he entered the game just 2 minutes before the unfortunate incident!), the game seemed to end scorelessly. But here came the mistake of Sharon Martsiano - 6 minutes in an injury time, he lost the ball to a substitute Alon Maya inside the box, Strauss denied Maya's first shot, but the second one went in.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva, failing to beat Maccabee Tel-Aviv at home for 8 years, will have to wait at least until the next year to try to change its bad luck. Playing this time without Shaul Smadja in its net, Beer-Sheva suffered another loss, as Giovanni Rosso hit Amir Shelakh and was sent off after just 16 minutes of play. Nevertheless, the score was opened just 17 minutes after the break, when Eli Driks used a wonderful goal pass of Domagio Kosic. Despite an immediate equalizer of Beer-Sheva, Nimni added another goal, again due to the pass of Kosic, and the hosts were broken; Nimni himself made another 2 goal passes, for Haim Hageage and Offer Mizrahi, to make the triumph complete. The fans of Beer-Sheva surely suffered from the result, but not from the quality of play, as 5 goals were scored during 10 minutes (!). And Beer-Sheva indeed scored just once, but what a goal! Siad Halilovic found Oren Sagron near the edge of the box, with his back to a net; the latter stopped the ball on his chest, raised it with his left to get free from the defenders, and turned around momentarily to shoot an unstoppable diagonal volley from 16 meters under right crossbar of flying Uvarov! What an effort! Probably, "The Goal Of The Season".
The game between Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa and Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv was extremely dull, and it was surely not the day of the forwards - Alon Mizrahi was sent off after 67 minutes of play, and Offer Shitrit either missed or was denied superbly by Liran Strauber. And in Herzliya, on the other hand, a winner was scored by the hosts - a shot of Roman Filipchuk was parried by Alexander Zhidkov, and Igor Shkvyrin was the first on the rebound to put it in from a really hard angle. Herzliya managed to preserve its victory, even after Oleg Naduda had been sent off after 82 minutes of play.
Everything seemed to be so great for Maccabee Haifa, when a free kick of Reuven Attar gave it an early away advantage over Hapoel Jerusalem. However, this year Maccabee Haifa is not half a team it used to be. Nir Davidovich in its net managed to deny greatly Assaf Tubi's header (24), but after 2 minutes Ronen Schweig equalized after a great pass of Michel Dayan, our "Player Of The Week". 3 minutes from the break, Moti Menakhem shot a mighty ball parried by Davidovich, and Tubi was on the rebound to head it in, 2:1 to Hapoel and a comeback. During the 2nd half, Haifa tried to do anything, but managed to achieve just a post of Hezi Shirazi (78) and a bar of Glam (87). Haifa lost to Hapoel Jerusalem for the first time since the end of the 80-ies.
A very important bottom game between Hapoel Beit-Shean and Hapoel Taibe gave an easy victory to the hosts. Boris Matveyev (33) passed a ball to Golan Deri inside the box, and the latter raised in the air to turn around and to shoot a magnificent and mighty scissors kick; Akakiy Devadze managed to parry the ball, but Shimon Danan was there to shoot the rebound in. The 2nd goal came in the 2nd half, from the legs of Sergen Culakovic and the goal pass of Meir Melika. In Taibe, just Devadze showed an acceptable level of play, and by now it seems the first Arab team ever in the National League is going to lose its place there pretty soon.
Last but not the least, a game between Hapoel Tel-Aviv (finally sold to the private hands!) and Hapoel Kefar-Saba. Kefar-Saba scored through Offer Cohen, but Nissim Avitan managed to equalize for Hapoel Tel-Aviv 10 minutes from time. It seemed to be also the final score, but the guests still thought otherwise. Avi Sandor made a pass to Washington de Santos, playing for the first time since his injury against Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, and the latter touched the ball in a light and charming way to roll it past Shavit Elimelekh.
NEXT WEEK: A very important top game, as Beitar Jerusalem (1) hosts Hapoel Beer-Sheva (3); will both the hosts and the guests digest their lost points and overcome the bad mood? A very important bottom game is also held, Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (14) vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (15). And I would also add here a typical midtable game between Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (6) and Hapoel Haifa (7) - during the last years, the games between those two teams were never disappointing and, on the contrary, fantastic.
Hapoel Haifa - Beitar Jerusalem 1:1 (1:1).
--------------------------------------------
Hosts: Tal Banin (5 pen).
Guests: Yossi Abuksis (28).
RED: Jean Talesnikov, midfielder, Beitar Jerusalem, 47.
THE BEST: Yossi Abuksis, midfielder, Beitar Jerusalem.
Hapoel Rishon le-Zion - HAPOEL PETAKH-TIKWA 0:1 (0:1).
--------------------------------------------------------
Hosts: -.
Guests: Alon Maya (90).
RED: Eyal Cohen, midfielder, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion, 89.
THE BEST: Alon Maya, midfielder, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa.
Hapoel Beer-Sheva - MACCABEE TEL-AVIV 1:4 (0:0).
--------------------------------------------------
Hosts: Oren Sagron (65).
Guests: Eli Driks (62), Avi Nimni (67), Haim Hageage (71),
Offer Mizrahi (72).
RED: Giovanni Rosso, midfielder, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, 16.
THE BEST: Domagio Kosic, midfielder, Maccabee Tel-Aviv.
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa - Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 0:0.
---------------------------------------------------
Hosts: -.
Guests: -.
RED: Alon Mizrahi, forward, Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, 68.
THE BEST: Haim Shabo, midfielder, Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa.
Hapoel Tel-Aviv - HAPOEL KEFAR-SABA 1:2 (0:0).
------------------------------------------------
Hosts: Nissim Avitan (80).
Guests: Offer Cohen (51), Washington de Santos (87).
THE BEST: Offer Cohen, midfielder, Hapoel Kefar-Saba.
HAPOEL JERUSALEM - Maccabee Haifa 2:1 (2:1).
----------------------------------------------
Hosts: Ronen Schweig (26), Assaf Tubi (42).
Guests: Reuven Attar (9).
THE BEST: Michel Dayan, midfielder, Hapoel Jerusalem.
HAPOEL BEIT-SHEAN - Hapoel Taibe 2:0 (1:0).
---------------------------------------------
Hosts: Shimon Danan (33), Sergen Culakovic (70).
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Ami Azulai, defender, Hapoel Beit-Shean.
MACCABEE HERZLIYA - Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 1:0 (0:0).
-------------------------------------------------------
Hosts: Igor Shkvyrin (81).
Guests: -.
RED: Oleg Naduda, forward, Maccabee Herzliya, 82.
THE BEST: Vassili Ivanov, defender, Maccabee Herzliya.
THE WEEK'S TEAM:
----------------
Rafi Cohen
(Hapoel Haifa)
Golan Deri Vassili Ivanov Ami Azulai Alon Halfon
(Hapoel Beit-Shean) (Maccabee Herzliya) (Hapoel Beit-Shean) (Hapoel Haifa)
Offer Cohen Michel Dayan Yossi Abuksis Avi Nimni
(Hapoel Kefar-Saba) (Hapoel Jerusalem) (Beitar Jerusalem) (Maccabee Tel-Aviv)
Ronen Schweig Domagio Kosic
(Hapoel Jerusalem) (Maccabee Tel-Aviv)
Maccabee Tel-Aviv, Hapoel Haifa, Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Beit-Shean - 2.
Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Kefar-Saba, Maccabee Herzliya - 1.
PLACE TEAM G W T L Goals Points
1 (1) Beitar Jerusalem 17 14 3 0 37- 9 45
2 (2) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 17 12 4 1 35-17 40
3 (3) Hapoel Beer-Sheva 17 11 1 5 26-17 34
4 (5) Maccabee Tel-Aviv 17 8 5 4 26-19 29
5 (4) Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 17 8 4 5 21-17 28
6 (6) Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 17 7 6 4 18-17 27
7 (7) Hapoel Haifa 17 7 3 7 23-20 24
8 (9) Hapoel Kefar-Saba 17 7 3 7 20-20 24
9 (8) Maccabee Haifa 17 5 7 5 19-18 22
10 (11) Hapoel Jerusalem 17 6 1 10 18-27 19
11 (10) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 17 5 2 10 16-30 17
12 (14) Hapoel Beit-Shean 17 4 4 9 12-16 16
13 (15) Maccabee Herzliya 17 5 1 11 9-17 16
14 (12) Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 17 3 6 8 12-18 15
15 (13) Hapoel Tel-Aviv 17 3 5 9 10-19 14
16 (16) Hapoel Taibe 17 3 1 13 12-33 10
IN BRACKETS - the places of the teams before this week.
BEST PLAYER: Michel Dayan, midfielder, Hapoel Jerusalem.
TOP SCORERS: Eli Ohana (Beitar Jerusalem) 11(0)
Yaniv Offri (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 11(0)
Offer Shitrit (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa) 11(2)
Alon Mizrahi (Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv) 11(4)
*********************************************************
Moti Kakun (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 10(4)
*********************************************************
Avi Nimni (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 9(3) 1
*********************************************************
Istvan Salloi (Beitar Jerusalem) 8(0)
Itzhak Zohar (Beitar Jerusalem) 8(2)
*********************************************************
Shai Holtzman (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) 7(3)
*********************************************************
Eli Abrabanel (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 6(0)
Yaniv Avvargeal (Hapoel Kefar-Saba) 6(1)
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) | Hapoel Beer-Sheva (3) |
| Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (2) | Hapoel Beit-Shean (12) |
| Maccabee Tel-Aviv (4) | Maccabee Herzliya (13) |
| Hapoel Taibe (16) | Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (5) |
| Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (6) | Hapoel Haifa (7) |
| Hapoel Kefar-Saba (8) | Hapoel Jerusalem (10) |
| Maccabee Haifa (9) | Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (11) |
| Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (14) | Hapoel Tel-Aviv (15) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Previous, Week 16 | Main Page | Soccer Page | 1996-97, History | Next, Week 18 |