27 goals, 4 red cards, 1 own goal and 5 penalties, none missed - this was the great story of the last weekend. And the bottom line is the tight finish on both edges of the table - Hapoel Tel-Aviv is just one point behind Beitar Jerusalem at the very top, and at the bottom, even Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (6) theoretically can still relegate!
Maccabee Haifa managed to stop Beitar Jerusalem at home, just 0:0 to the defending Champions; the game which promised to be very interesting and entertaining, disappointed the spectators very much. Hapoel Tel-Aviv, on the contrary, became its usual self and even a scoring one - 6 (!) unanswered goals were sent into the net of Sagi Strauss and Hapoel Rishon le-Zion, 4 of Offer Shitrit (including 2 penalties, though). A last minute great combination performed by the heroes of the victory over Argentina, Najouan Grayib and Ronen Harazi, resulted in Hapoel Haifa's winner in Jerusalem over Hapoel, 1:0. Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa and Maccabee Ironi Ashdod lost away identically, 1:3, respectively to the outsiders from Ashkelon and Beit-Shean. In a very important bottom game, Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv registered a home victory over Maccabee Tel-Aviv, 2:0. Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa and Hapoel Kefar-Saba registered a cool game and parted with a 2:2 draw. And finally, one of the best games of the season was registered in Herzliya; the outsiders, Maccabee Herzliya and Hapoel Beer-Sheva, parted there with a 3:3 draw that included 2 red cards, 2 converted penalty kicks, another great game of Yossi Benayoun and the quickest goal of that Championship after just 6 seconds!
But let us return back to Kiryat-Eliezer, where Maccabee Haifa hosted Beitar Jerusalem. In the game that promised so much and fulfilled so few, Haifa desperately lacked the suspended National defender Arik Benado and National forward Alon Mizrahi, while Beitar lacked the National midfielder Yossi Abuksis and the National defender Shmuel Levi. As a result, both teams weren't exactly sparkling and dangerous - Ibrahim Doro registered several good penetrations, but was either imprecise or stopped by Itzhak Korenfein, and Nir Davidovich was very secure in his net, on the other side. The best moment of Beitar happened after 44 minutes of play, when Eitan Mizrahi penetrated at the right wing and passed the ball to Istvan Pisont, who bombed it to the bar; the best moment of Haifa was 2 minutes from time - a foreign combination of Doro and Niederhaus resulted in a great pass of the latter and the shot of Sergei Belianchuk from 16 meters, but Korenfein preserved the precious point for the leaders. This is not to hide that Maccabee Haifa is mostly interested in getting to Europe via the Cup, but Beitar should've aspired to take 3 points.
And Beitar's greatest top rival, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, was yesterday really wonderful vs Hapoel Rishon le-Zion at home. It all started after 8 minutes, when a good pass of Sebastian Simerotic resulted in a charming finish of Shalom Tikwa, 1:0; when after another 8 minutes Sharon Martsiano of Rishon was sent off, it was clear the only question left was the score. And here Offer Shitrit started his solo performance. His sharp shot after 29 minutes of play went to the right post of the hesitant Sagi Strauss and in, and in another 2 minutes, Shitrit converted a penalty shot into another goal after a foul of Evgeniy Kashentsev on Asi Domb. In the 2nd half, those were the nearly identical goals of Shitrit (53) and Simerotic (75) - a great solo penetration of the forwards from their wings (left of Shitrit and right of Simerotic) and a shot from the hard angle past the hesitant keeper. And finally, it was the foul on Shalom Tikwa (89), and Shitrit scored his 4th goal of the game. The times of scoring one winning goal a game has finally passed. 1 point behind the leaders, with 3 games still to go. And Rishon probably won't relegate, but that's still not a reason for such a humiliation.
Dudu Awwat, the keeper of Hapoel Haifa, was nearly workless in the game of his top team away vs Hapoel Jerusalem; on the other hand, the hosts' keeper Liran Strauber was extremely busy, and his save from Ronen Harazi's close-ranged bomb (23) was one of our "Saves Of The Week". Strauber also stopped Ronen Harazi again (11), Liron Basis (27), Dmitriy Ulyanov (35) and Giovanni Rosso (45), and during the 2nd half the game became more equal. However, Haifa still managed to steal all the points during the injury time - Najouan Grayib penetrated greatly at the left wing and centered the ball, and Ronen Harazi touched it with an utter elegancy a moment before the diving Liran Strauber, to send the ball to the far-away corner, 1:0.
Hapoel Ashkelon seemed to give up after its painful loss to Hapoel Beer-Sheva the last week; otherwise, it's quite hard to explain why Shimon Zelig was put into the team's net, and Sagi Eini was positioned in the attacking line. However, this bet of the coach Ronnie Dora proved to be right, especially the latter. Eini opened his personal festival 11 minutes before the break, when he used a good pass of the young Shlomi Gueta and bombed the ball past the hesitant Shai Hess, 1:0. 4 minutes in the 2nd half, the most ridiculous goal of this week was scored - Kakha Gogoashvili cut his move to the right and, nearly falling, managed to roll the ball towards Shai Hess, but the keeper froze without any movement, and the diving Sagi Eini touched the ball to push it in, 2:0! In another 6 minutes, it was a humiliating score for the team of Nir Levin as Eini shot the ball in again, once more after the goal pass of Gogoashvili. Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa stayed in 10 men for the last 30 minutes, after Manor Hassan cursed the referee and therefore was sent off. And it could do nothing but reduce the score with a brilliant shot of Ilan Boaron from 22 meters under the right crossbar of Zelig. 3:1 and "The Goal Of The Week". Still, it doesn't seem that Ashkelon would be capable not to relegate - it became a point-collecting team indeed, but it's too little and too late.
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa registered just a home draw vs Hapoel Kefar-Saba, but this was enough for the team of Moshe Sinai to climb 2 places forward and to catch by now the 6th place; if it goes on that way for the rest of the season, Sinai might claim his part for the "success". The game began with an awful mistake of the referee David Barak - after awarding Hapoel Kefar-Saba an indirect free kick 20 meters diagonally from the net, he surprisingly counted the opener that came after a direct shot of Sharon Mimer! The hosts were much more active, but couldn't equalize in the 1st half - Eran Scheinsinger in Kefar-Saba's net was the main reason for it, and we should mention his wonderful dive that sent the ball of Roman Filipchuk to a corner (36). But in the 2nd half, those were the shots of Tsakhi Shemariyahu (51) and Sharon Tsofin (53) that made the comeback of Petakh-Tikwa perfect. Not for long - 25 minutes from time, this was a good work of Tomer Shem-Tov who managed to roll the ball past Kefir Partieli and Morad Magamedov, and Laszlo Komodi pushed the rebound in, 2:2.
Hapoel Beit-Shean, playing at home vs Maccabee Ironi Ashdod, knew it was the game of "make or break" for the team that found itself again at the bottom part of the table. And indeed, it started this game with a huge motivation; Ashdod, concentrating mostly on the Cup semifinals, was still a tough rival through the first minutes, and so the spectators enjoyed then. Those were the saves of Beit-Shean's keeper Meir Cohen (11) from the shot of Guy Sharabi and of Ashdod's keeper Akakiy Devadze (40) from the shot of Shimon Danan; 11 minutes from the start, it was a cool flat shot of Cobi Ganon from 30 meters, but the elegant dive of Devadze that parried the ball with his stretched hands, gave the Georgian keeper again "The Save Of The Week" award. 2 minutes before the break, however, even Devadze couldn't help - it was a sharp free kick shot by Eitan Taib, and Zadko Adic touched the ball before the diving keeper. And during the break, a disgusting thing happened as Yossi Madar and Eyal Almoshnino were hit by Beit-Shean's fans and therefore had to be substituted; Ashdod was deeply influenced by a disgusting scene, and therefore, only one team continued playing all along. 3 minutes in the 2nd half, Eitan Taib's shot surprised Devadze, 2:0. A foul of the young substitute Ben Parparov on Almog Hazan (88) caused a penalty kick, and Taib left Devadze no chance from 11 meters, 3:0. Ashdod still managed to score the consolation goal in an injury time, when a penetration of Naor Galili and his wide ball were cut short by the same Almog Hazan into his own net, 3:1. Beit-Shean seems to escape another "Film Of War".
In a desperate trial to save itself in the National League, Bnei-Yehuda raised above itself and defeated Maccabee Tel-Aviv at home, 2:0. The game of those teams some 5 or 6 years ago, with the brightest stars of the Israeli soccer in those then top teams (Niko Kudritskiy, Alon Mizrahi and Haim Revivo in Bnei-Yehuda, Itzhak Zohar and Avi Nimni in Maccabee), would've caused much more interest; still, this game didn't disappoint the few fans who risked to see it. 21 minutes from the start, those were the passes of Ron Nakhman and Cobi Refua, and Vassili Moukan headed the ball in from 3 meters to an empty net; Alexander Uvarov's protests and shouts about Moukan's offside were totally unwarranted. The great curved air shot of Maccabee's Alexei Gerasimov from 16 meters (44) found just Rafi Cohen's bar, and the goal came on the other side - 1 minute before the break, the same players of Bnei-Yehuda prepared the ball to Moti Sason's shot, and that caught Uvarov off-guard. During the 2nd half, Maccabee was better but saw Rafi Cohen in several good saves; on the other hand, Bnei-Yehuda had several chances as well, but Uvarov reminded us of his old and good days. So, both teams are still very close to the bottom, but Bnei-Yehuda seems to have a better motivation.
And finally, the best game of the round happened between the toughest outsiders of the League, Maccabee Herzliya and Hapoel Beer-Sheva. During the very first attack of the hosts, Vassili Ivanov made a far-ranged pass towards Beer-Sheva's box, and Ilan Bakhar overjumped the awfully timed Shaul Smadja and headed the ball into an empty net from 16 meters, 1:0 after 6 seconds! And if that wasn't enough, after another 13 minutes it was a penetration of Bakhar from the right wing, and Tsakhi Zanetti finished his wide ball with a cool header from 8 meters to the left crossbar of Smadja and in. However, Beer-Sheva refused to give up. 31 minutes from the start, it was a goal pass of Yair Simhon, and the great Yossi Benayoun shot flatly out of Yehuda Boaron's reach, 2:1. And 3 minutes from the break, it was another pass of Simhon, and Marco Di Constanza entered the box and sent a flat ball to the far corner, 2:2. Seconds before the break, the bars of Dudu Heffer and Yossi Benayoun saved Herzliya from being down.
Nobody could expect such a drama in such a bottom game, and this was just the beginning. 19 minutes from time, Ronen Feigenbaum and Yossi Benayoun met without a ball in Herzliya's box; Benayoun made a clear provocation, Feigenbaum overreacted and was sent off, a penalty kick was awarded, and Benayoun himself converted the penalty into a complete comeback. However, 6 minutes from time, Sharon Bukhnik kicked Yaacov Koretski down and conceded his 2nd yellow card; a penalty kick was awarded for the hosts, and Vassili Ivanov, "The Man Of The Game", sent it in without problems, 3:3. Despite a good game, both teams deteriorated in the table, and Beer-Sheva even found itself again under the red line.
NEXT ROUND (in a week): a very interesting round of numerous interesting games. In the games of the top and the bottom, in which all the 4 teams have a lot to lose, Beitar Jerusalem (1) hosts Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (14), and Hapoel Tel-Aviv hosts Hapoel Beer-Sheva (15). Hapoel Haifa (3) will try to exploit fully the leaders' and the runners-up's possible loss of points, but it won't be easy as well, in a very interesting Haifa derby vs Maccabee (4). And the outsiders Maccabee Tel-Aviv (12) will have a home game of "make or break" vs the outsiders Hapoel Beit-Shean (11). Also to watch - a game of Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (8) and Hapoel Jerusalem (10), which can be very meaningful for both of the teams, not far away from the bottom struggles.
Maccabee Haifa - Beitar Jerusalem 0:0.
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Hosts: -.
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Marco Balbul, defender, Maccabee Haifa.
HAPOEL TEL-AVIV - Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 6:0 (3:0).
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Hosts: Shalom Tikwa (8), Offer Shitrit (29, 31 pen, 53, 89 pen),
Sebastian Simerotic (75).
Guests: -.
RED: Sharon Martsiano, midfielder, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion, 16.
THE BEST: Offer Shitrit, forward, Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Hapoel Jerusalem - HAPOEL HAIFA 0:1 (0:0).
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Hosts: -.
Guests: Ronen Harazi (89).
THE BEST: Ronen Harazi, forward, Hapoel Haifa.
HAPOEL ASHKELON - Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 3:1 (2:0).
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Hosts: Sagi Eini (34, 49, 55).
Guests: Ilan Boaron (79).
RED: Manor Hassan, midfielder, Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa, 60.
THE BEST: Sagi Eini, midfielder, Hapoel Ashkelon.
Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa - Hapoel Kefar-Saba 2:2 (0:1).
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Hosts: Tsakhi Shemariyahu (51), Sharon Tsofin (53).
Guests: Sharon Mimer (14), Laszlo Komodi (65).
THE BEST: Shai Aharon, forward, Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa.
HAPOEL BEIT-SHEAN - Maccabee Ironi Ashdod 3:1 (1:0).
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Hosts: Zadko Adic (43), Eitan Taib (48, 88 pen).
Guests: OG (Almog Hazan, 90).
THE BEST: Eitan Taib, defender, Hapoel Beit-Shean.
BNEI-YEHUDA TEL-AVIV - Maccabee Tel-Aviv 2:0 (2:0).
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Hosts: Vassili Moukan (21), Moti Sason (44).
Guests: -.
THE BEST: Cobi Refua, forward, Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv.
Maccabee Herzliya - Hapoel Beer-Sheva 3:3 (2:2).
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Hosts: Ilan Bakhar (1), Tsakhi Zanetti (14), Vassili Ivanov (84 pen).
Guests: Yossi Benayoun (31, 71 pen), Marco Di Constanza (42).
RED: Ronen Feigenbaum, defender, Maccabee Herzliya, 71.
Sharon Bukhnik, defender, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, 84.
THE BEST: Vassili Ivanov, defender, Maccabee Herzliya.
THE WEEK'S TEAM:
----------------
Nir Davidovich
(Maccabee Haifa)
Ronen Adlen Vassili Ivanov Eitan Taib Shuki Nagar
(Bnei-Yehuda T.-A.) (Mcb. Herzliya) (Hapoel Beit-Shean) (Bnei-Yehuda T.-A.)
Marco Di Constanza Shimon Danan Dudu Heffer Shalom Tikwa
(Hapoel Beer-Sheva) (Hapoel Beit-Shean) (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) (Hapoel Tel-Aviv)
Offer Shitrit Sagi Eini
(Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Hapoel Ashkelon)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Hapoel Beit-Shean,
Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, Hapoel Beer-Sheva - 2.
Maccabee Haifa, Maccabee Herzliya, Hapoel Ashkelon - 1.
THE BEST GOAL:
MO: Ilan Boaron.
ALSO - Ilan Bakhar, Tsakhi Zanetti,
Ronen Harazi, Offer Shitrit (the 3rd).
THE BEST SAVE:
MO: Akakiy Devadze, from Cobi Ganon, 11.
ALSO - Liran Strauber, from Ronen Harazi, 23.
Eran Scheinsinger, from Roman Filipchuk, 36.
PLACE TEAM G W T L Goals Points
1 (1) Beitar Jerusalem 27 17 9 1 64-30 60
2 (2) Hapoel Tel-Aviv 27 18 5 4 36-13 59
3 (3) Hapoel Haifa 27 15 9 3 50-23 54
4 (4) Maccabee Haifa 27 13 7 7 43-30 46
5 (5) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 27 10 6 11 36-37 36
6 (8) Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 27 7 12 8 24-26 33
7 (7) Maccabee Ironi Ashdod 27 8 9 10 35-43 33
8 (6) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 27 9 6 12 33-44 33
9 (9) Hapoel Kefar-Saba 27 8 8 11 32-35 32
10 (10) Hapoel Jerusalem 27 7 10 10 31-37 31
11 (13) Hapoel Beit-Shean 27 8 7 12 30-39 31
12 (11) Maccabee Tel-Aviv 27 7 9 11 29-33 30
13 (12) Maccabee Herzliya 27 7 9 11 32-37 30
14 (15) Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 27 7 7 13 22-34 28
15 (14) Hapoel Beer-Sheva 27 6 9 12 36-52 27
16 (16) Hapoel Ashkelon 27 5 6 16 23-43 21
IN BRACKETS - the places of the teams after the last week.
BEST PLAYER: Offer Shitrit, forward, Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
TOP SCORERS: Alon Mizrahi (Maccabee Haifa) 15(2)
Offer Shitrit (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) 15(5) 4(2)
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Istvan Salloi (Beitar Jerusalem) 14(2)
Yossi Benayoun (Hapoel Beer-Sheva) 14(4) 2(1)
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Istvan Pisont (Beitar Jerusalem) 12(0)
Nir Sevilla (Beitar Jerusalem) 12(0)
Eli Driks (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 12(0)
***********************************************************
Liron Basis (Hapoel Haifa) 11(0)
Assaf Tubi (Hapoel Jerusalem) 11(2)
Moti Kakun (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 11(6)
***********************************************************
Igal Zrihen (Maccabee Ironi Ashdod) 8(0)
[3: Hap. Haifa] Sergen Culakovic (Hapoel Beit-Shean) 8(0)
Yossi Madar (Maccabee Ironi Ashdod) 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 |
| Beitar Jerusalem (1) | Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (14) |
| Hapoel Beer-Sheva (15) | Hapoel Tel-Aviv (2) |
| Hapoel Haifa (3) | Maccabee Haifa (4) |
| Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (5) | Maccabee Herzliya (13) |
| Maccabee Ironi Ashdod (7) | Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (6) |
| Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (8) | Hapoel Jerusalem (10) |
| Hapoel Kefar-Saba (9) | Hapoel Ashkelon (16) |
| Maccabee Tel-Aviv (12) | Hapoel Beit-Shean (11) |
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