23 goals, 3 red cards, 5 penalties and 1 own goal scored - this was the harvest of the first weekend of May which I was so delayed to report you about. Besides, even 10 days before the last tour, the missing game between Hapoel Taibe and Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv was finally played, to bring 2 goals in the very dying minutes of play. As for the later games, those were the final relegation of Hapoel Taibe, the hat-trick of Moti Kakun, the very close Championship of Beitar Jerusalem and the two goals scored by Itai Koren (a normal one and an own one!) to bring the most exciting stories.
Both leaders, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, registered the same victories of 3:0 over the relegation strugglers, respectively Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Hapoel Tsafririm Holon; the Reds of Tel-Aviv, however, are in a better situation, since they are 3 points ahead and can also be optimistic about the game they played. Hapoel Beer-Sheva needed the goals of Giovanni Rosso and Shai Holtzman to break the stubborn resistance of the excellent Meir Cohen, 2:0 to the Princes of Negev at home over Hapoel Beit-Shean. Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa achieved just a draw away vs Hapoel Haifa, and Maccabee Tel-Aviv played one of its worst games this season, mercilessly beaten at home by Hapoel Jerusalem, 0:2. Hapoel Taibe, managing to score an opener vs Maccabee Haifa at home, was finally broken by the couples of goals from Amir Turgeman and Sergei Kandaurov, parting officially from the National League 3 games before the season ends. Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv missed an opportunity to defeat Hapoel Kefar-Saba at home, just 2:2 after a promising lead of 2:0 before the break; here the two best scorers of the teams, Alon Mizrahi and Yaniv Avvargeal, scored each from the penalty spot, and Itai Koren scored the rest of the goals, one here and one there. And finally, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion defeated Maccabee Herzliya away, 1:0. Now the details will follow.
Because of suspensions and injuries, Beitar Jerusalem had to open its game vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv without Asi Domb, Istvan Salloi, Yossi Abuksis and Istvan Pisont; Eli Ohana, the scorer of the 1000th goal of WC'98 Preliminaries (his 2nd one against Cyprus), was also out of the game. Nevertheless, it took Beitar just 3 minutes to open the score - Eitan Mizrahi, "The Man Of The Game", found Nir Sevilla alone in the attacking line, and Sevilla shot sharply from 17 meters to send the ball in; the referee Haim Lipkovich could've probably whistled for an offside, but he didn't do that. Hapoel was dizzy and shocked by an early opener, and so Beitar was able to score another quick goal - David Amsalem managed to make a good pass to the head of Nir Sevilla, and the latter headed it home, 2:0. The last accord was of Itzhak Zohar after 64 minutes of play, with a wonderful header to the bar and in, after the assist of Eitan Mizrahi. In between, those were the two bars of Krasimierz Muskal (51) and Eitan Mizrahi (58), and in the other cases, the two keepers did their job in the best possible way. Shavit Elimelekh saved two opportunities of Itzhak Zohar (34, 59), and Itzhak Korenfein, "The Keeper Of The Round", denied Yossi Madar (22) and Sergei Pogodin (44); Korenfein's magnificent save from the mighty bomb of Yossi Madar (60) from 10 meters should be shown again and again to the starting keepers all over the country.
In Petakh-Tikwa, an unsportive and irresponsible deed of Avi Fletcher (who kicked Oren Nissim lying on the ground) left his team in 10 players after just 10 minutes of play; however, the difference of class between Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa and Hapoel Tsafririm Holon enabled the hosts to defeat the guests even in minority. Moti Kakun opened the score with 2 quick goals, one after a pass of Yaniv Offri and another after an assist of Ilan Boaron. 13 minutes from time, an attack of Eli Abrabanel was stopped by foul of the keeper Alexander Zhidkov outside the box; Zhidkov was sent off, and the young Maayan Mashiakh had to enter the game. After just 5 minutes, he conceded another goal of Kakun, this time after a pass of Andrei Christophick. Kakun, leading now "The Best Scorers List", is our "Man Of The Week".
5 days before the Cup semifinals, Hapoel Beer-Sheva showed at home 2 totally different halves vs Hapoel Beit-Shean - before the break, it was totally dull, but then Siad Halilovic woke up, and Beer-Sheva returned to be the team of this season that we know. The Princes of Negev had some problems to beat the excellent Meir Cohen, who stopped the fantastic shot of Oren Sagron from the air (44) and denied Siad Halilovic (48); even before, the goal of Liron Basis (29) was disallowed by the referee Avner Cohen because of a dubious offside. However, the 52nd minute broke the ice - Halilovic gave a short pass to Gadi Hazut after performing a free kick, Hazut bombed it from 25 meters, Meir Cohen managed to parry the ball, but Giovanni Rosso was there to kick the rebound in. Rosso could score another goal in 2 minutes, but was denied again by Meir Cohen; and then, even Meir Cohen could do nothing against the marvellous personal effort of Shai Holtzman who started his slalom near the midcircle and finished it with the ball inside the net.
Knocking down Emil Kostadinov of Bulgaria and Sinica Gogic of Cyprus inside his own box, the National keeper Rafi Cohen did the same mistake against Moshe Uzan of Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa; Offer Shitrit wasn't playing, but Alon Offir didn't fail from the penalty spot, 1:0 to the guests vs Hapoel Haifa. However, Petakh-Tikwa disappeared in the 2nd half, and Hapoel Haifa, even without Tal Banin, played one of its best halves during this season. 2 bars of Idan Tal (23) and Moshe Uzan (52) were answered by the bars of the hosts, with the shots of Georgi Kovac (73) and Offer Talker (88); the shot of Kovac probably even passed the line, but the referee Eitan Tavrizi thought otherwise. And in between, it was the equalizing header of Hisham Zoabi after the goal pass of Offer Talker, bringing each team just a point.
Preparing mentally for the semifinals against Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabee Tel-Aviv didn't even bother to play against Hapoel Jerusalem at home; as a result, it lost its 3rd consecutive game in the League, something I don't remember for years. The only player to show a decent level in the lines of the Double holders was its keeper, Alexander Uvarov, but he alone could do nothing in front of the creative Michel Dayan and his teammates. Ronen Schweig (29) gave a great pass to Moti Menakhem, and the latter shot it flatly past Uvarov to register 1:0. And in the 2nd half, a magnificent shot of Eyal Avrahami from 14 meters under the bar signed the score. In between, Uvarov denied two dangerous balls of Assaf Tubi (7, 55), and Moti Menakhem shot the ball into the post (58); the last opportunity of the last minute was of Yair Asayag, and he missed his chance to make the humiliation of Maccabee Tel-Aviv complete.
In Umm-el-Fahm, Evgeniy Kashentsev opened the score for the locals after 36 minutes of play, 1:0 to Hapoel Taibe vs Maccabee Haifa; however, Haifa returned into the game and finally sent Hapoel Taibe into the Country League. Immediately, the brilliant Sergei Kandaurov made a goal pass to Amir Turgeman who equalized (39); and in another 2 minutes, Kandaurov himself scored from the white spot after a foul of Offir Ben-Haim on Hezi Shirazi. Early in the 2nd half, Moshe Glam made a pass to Amir Turgeman who scored and made the result 3:1 to the guests. Before the end, both teams scored once more - a header of Moti Eberbaum (60) was answered by another goal of Sergei Kandaurov, a magnificent bomb from 30 meters under the bar. 4:2 to the Greens of Haifa, and we can be only sorry it took them such a long time to wake up.
In Shkhunat-ha'Tikwa, Itai Koren, the defender of Hapoel Kefar-Saba, opened the score ... for the hosts, with an own goal. 2 minutes before the break, Alon Mizrahi scored from the penalty spot after he himself had been fouled by Tamir Netser. Nevertheless, after the break Yaniv Avvargeal reduced the score, also from the penalty spot, after he himself had been fouled by Meir Ben-Margi. And 20 minutes from time, Itai Koren fixed his mistake by scoring into the right net, with a header after the corner kick performed by Offer Cohen. 2 minutes later, Avi Sandor of Hapoel Kefar-Saba was sent off for kicking down Yuval Naim, but it didn't change much. Israel Luk, substituting Scheinsinger in Kefar-Saba's net for this game, was our "Man Of The Game".
And finally, the penalty kick of Meir Azran after just 7 minutes of play brought Hapoel Rishon le-Zion a victory over Maccabee Herzliya away. The hosts were actually better than the guests, but didn't create any opportunities; and when some were finally created, Sagi Strauss was there to prevent Herzliya from scoring. Rishon le-Zion finally promised its place in the National League for the next year, and Herzliya is close to doing so, but still didn't do it.
NEXT WEEK (in a fortnight): Hapoel Jerusalem (11) hosts Beitar Jerusalem (1), NOT TO BE MISSED! This game may become the crowning game of Beitar Jerusalem as the new Champions, and besides, the derby of Jerusalem is something to be watched. Besides, pay attention to the games between Maccabee Haifa (6) and Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (2), and of Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (4) vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva (3).
Hapoel Taibe - Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 1:1 (0:0). (From Week 24)
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Hosts: Evgeniy Kashentsev (90).
Guests: Amir Avigdor (89).
THE BEST: Akakiy Devadze, keeper, Hapoel Taibe.
BEITAR JERUSALEM - Hapoel Tel-Aviv 3:0 (2:0).
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Hosts: Nir Sevilla (3, 16), Itzhak Zohar (64).
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Eitan Mizrahi, midfielder, Beitar Jerusalem.
HAPOEL PETAKH-TIKWA - Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 3:0 (2:0).
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Hosts: Moti Kakun (15, 17, 83).
Guests: -.
RED: Avi Fletcher, defender, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, 10.
Alexander Zhidkov, keeper, Hapoel Tsafririm Holon, 77.
THE BEST: Moti Kakun, forward, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa.
HAPOEL BEER-SHEVA - Hapoel Beit-Shean 2:0 (0:0).
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Hosts: Giovanni Rosso (52), Shai Holtzman (71).
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Shai Holtzman, forward, Hapoel Beer-Sheva.
Hapoel Haifa - Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 1:1 (0:1).
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Hosts: Hisham Zoabi (77).
Guests: Alon Offir (25 pen).
THE BEST: Ran Ben-Shimon, defender, Hapoel Haifa.
Maccabee Tel-Aviv - HAPOEL JERUSALEM 0:2 (0:1).
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Hosts: -.
Guests: Moti Menakhem (29), Eyal Avrahami (63).
THE BEST: Michel Dayan, midfielder, Hapoel Jerusalem.
Hapoel Taibe - MACCABEE HAIFA 2:4 (1:2).
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Hosts: Evgeniy Kashentsev (36), Moti Eberbaum (60).
Guests: Amir Turgeman (39, 48), Sergei Kandaurov (41 pen, 84).
THE BEST: Sergei Kandaurov, midfielder, Maccabee Haifa.
Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv - Hapoel Kefar-Saba 2:2 (2:0).
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Hosts: OG (Itai Koren, 14), Alon Mizrahi (44 pen).
Guests: Yaniv Avvargeal (48 pen), Itai Koren (70).
RED: Avi Sandor, midfielder, Hapoel Kefar-Saba, 72.
THE BEST: Israel Luk, keeper, Hapoel Kefar-Saba.
Maccabee Herzliya - HAPOEL RISHON LE-ZION 0:1 (0:1).
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Hosts: -.
Guests: Meir Azran (7 pen).
THE BEST: Yaron Ben-Dov, defender, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion.
THE WEEK'S TEAM:
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Itzhak Korenfein
(Beitar Jerusalem)
Shmuel Levi Ran Ben-Shimon Ehud Kahila Moshe Glam
(Beitar Jerusalem) (Hapoel Haifa) (Beitar Jerusalem) (Maccabee Haifa)
Eitan Mizrahi Sergei Kandaurov Eli Abrabanel Siad Halilovic
(Beitar Jerusalem) (Maccabee Haifa) (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) (Hapoel Beer-Sheva)
Moti Kakun Shai Holtzman
(Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) (Hapoel Beit-Sheva)
Beitar Jerusalem - 4.
Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Maccabee Haifa - 2.
Hapoel Haifa - 1.
PLACE TEAM G W T L Goals Points
1 (1) Beitar Jerusalem 27 20 4 3 57-16 64
2 (2) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 27 17 6 4 50-25 57
3 (3) Hapoel Beer-Sheva 27 18 2 7 43-23 56
4 (4) Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 27 13 8 6 38-22 47
5 (5) Maccabee Tel-Aviv 27 13 6 8 45-30 45
6 (6) Maccabee Haifa 27 10 9 8 35-30 39
7 (7) Hapoel Kefar-Saba 27 10 7 10 30-30 37
8 (8) Hapoel Haifa 27 10 6 11 29-31 36
9 (9) Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 27 9 8 10 28-34 35
10 (12) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 27 9 6 12 30-44 33
11 (13) Hapoel Jerusalem 27 9 5 13 28-37 32
12 (10) Hapoel Beit-Shean 27 8 6 13 24-29 30
13 (11) Maccabee Herzliya 27 9 3 15 17-25 30
14 (14) Hapoel Tel-Aviv 27 5 9 13 15-29 24
15 (15) Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 27 4 9 14 15-37 21
16 (16) Hapoel Taibe 27 4 2 21 17-59 14
IN BRACKETS - the places of the teams before this week.
BEST PLAYER: Moti Kakun, forward, Hapoel Petkah-Tikwa.
TOP SCORERS: Moti Kakun (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 17(4) 3
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Alon Mizrahi (Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv) 16(7) 1(1)
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Offer Shitrit (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa) 15(3)
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Eli Ohana (Beitar Jerusalem) 13(1)
Itzhak Zohar (Beitar Jerusalem) 13(3) 1
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Yaniv Offri (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 12(0)
Avi Nimni (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 12(4)
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Shai Holtzman (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) 11(4) 1
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Istvan Salloi (Beitar Jerusalem) 10(0)
Yaniv Avvargeal (Hapoel Kefar-Saba) 10(4) 1(1)
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Guy Itzhak (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa) 9(0)
(2 in H. Haifa) Amir Turgeman (Maccabee Haifa) 9(0) 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 fortnight):
| Hosts | Guests |
| Hapoel Jerusalem (11) | Beitar Jerusalem (1) |
| Maccabee Haifa (6) | Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (2) |
| Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (4) | Hapoel Beer-Sheva (3) |
| Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (10) | Maccabee Tel-Aviv (5) |
| Hapoel Kefar-Saba (7) | Hapoel Taibe (16) |
| Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (15) | Hapoel Haifa (8) |
| Hapoel Tel-Aviv (14) | Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (9) |
| Hapoel Beit-Shean (12) | Maccabee Herzliya (13) |
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