MACCABEE HERZLIYA - Hapoel Haifa 2:1 (2:1). --------------------------------------------- Hosts: Oleg Naduda (23), Liron Vilner (32). | Gilardi 6.5; Mishal 6.5, Barmecher 6.5, Y. Koretski 7, Entebbi 6.5; A. Levi | 6.5, Ivanov 7, OLEG NADUDA 7, Simhon 6.5 (Zanetti, 87), Gat 6.5; Vilner 6 | (Mchitarian, 68). ******** Guests: Oren Nissim (13). | Awwat 5.5; Talker 5, Ben-Shimon 5, A. Halfon (RED, 16), Grayib 6; Zeituni 5 | (Ilan Tal, 75), Ben-Margi 5, Milenko 5, Rosso 6.5; Basis 5 (Jovic, 62), | Nissim 5 (Ami Azulai, 20 - 5). ******** REFEREE: Eitan Tavrizi (8). AUDIENCE: 4,000, Ironi Stadium, Herzliya. ********
A huge surprise of the round enabled the bottom side of Maccabee Herzliya to breath evenly during its bottom struggles, as the team of Shiya Feigenbaum was full of determination to win and registered an impressive comeback. Taking a lead after Giovanni Rosso's corner and a great flying header of Oren Nissim under the left crossbar of Shuli Gilardi (13), 3 minutes later Hapoel stayed in 10 men after an unsportive behaviour of Alon Halfon; Herzliya took advantage of this immediately and soon equalized, after a goal pass of Vassili Ivanov and a penetration into the box of Oleg Naduda. 10 minutes later, the winner was scored - the long-ranged ball of Shuli Gilardi was deflected by Yair Simhon past the defender Ami Azulai, and the young Liron Vilner ran into the box and rolled the ball under the hand of Dudu Awwat, 2:1. After the break, a two-sided game developed as both teams were vehemently attacking, each for its own purposes - Haifa registered a bar after a killing shot of Liron Basis and a wide shot of Rosso after a terrific solo penetration, and Herzliya saw Simhon denied by a great flight of Awwat in one-to-one.
HAPOEL TEL-AVIV - Maccabee Tel-Aviv 2:0 (0:0).
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Hosts: Gabor Marton (59), Assaf Tubi (75).
| Elimelekh 6; F. Halfon 6, Gershon 7, M. Ohayon 6, Ben-Ami 6.5; Hillel 6.5,
| Rupenik 6 (Avi Azulai, 80), Idan Tal 7, GABOR MARTON 7 (Tikwa, 78);
| Simerotic 6.5, Tubi 6 (Tuama, 87).
********
Guests: -.
| Uvarov 5; G. Brumer 4.5, Emenalo 5.5 (RED, 54), Balbul 5, Ben-Dayan 5; A.
| Offir 5, Glam 4.5 (O. Haim, 80), D. Revivo 5.5 (Tsarfati, 80), Edri 5.5,
| Nimni 5.5; Kubica 6.
********
REFEREE: Haim Yaacov (8).
AUDIENCE: 30,000, National Stadium, Ramat-Gan.
[Double performance, the central game].
********
Surprisingly enough, it was Hapoel Haifa's loss that made me sure it would win the Championship - the closest pursuer, Maccabee Tel-Aviv, couldn't take an advantage of the leader's loss of points and lost itself, 0:2 to a reviving Hapoel Tel-Aviv. While Avi Nimni and Andrzej Kubica, the lethal force of the Yellows, were completely neutralized, Hapoel could develop its own attacks, through Idan Tal and especially Gabor Marton, and Maccabee's defence wasn't in its best, especially the veterans Michael Emenalo and Alexander Uvarov. Emenalo was sent off for an elbow into the face of Yaacov Hillel during Maccabee's attack (54), and Hapoel's goal became the question of time; 4 minutes later on, it was the pass of Idan Tal and an incredible cleverness of Gabor Marton, who softly lobbed the ball from 25 meters over the advancing Uvarov. [3-4 years ago, Uvarov would have no problem with this shot; at the age of 39 and something, however, he could just deflect the ball in. But nobody should complain about the Russian veteran - at such an age, he conceded just 9 goals in 16 games, with the 2nd best keeping in the League this season only to Dudu Awwat]. 15 minutes from time, the game was over, as Marton penetrated into the box and rolled the ball past Uvarov to Assaf Tubi who stood before an empty net, 2:0. Just before the end, it was Uvarov with the 2 stopped opportunities, from the legs of Sebastian Simerotic and Shalom Tikwa. The Reds in their current form can only regret they woke up late for the title race.
Hapoel Tsafririm Holon - BEITAR JERUSALEM 0:1 (0:1).
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Hosts: -.
| Pashko 6; Fleeter 5 (D. Kabeda, 62), Fur 6, Sokher 5, B. Hadad 5; Zaric 5.5
| (Tsafrir, 84), Shlomi Dahan 5, Ben-Barukh 5 (Buzaglo, 78), Flash 5,
| Daraselia 5; Siasiah 5.
On the 39th minute Oren Flash missed a penalty - Itzhak Korenfein saved.
********
Guests: Nir Sevilla (1).
| Korenfein 6; ILAN BAKHAR 6, Domb 6, Shelakh 5.5, E. Mizrahi 6; Abuksis 5.5
| (R. Deri, 83), Talesnikov 5, T. Sandor 5, Salloi injured (Hamar, 15 - 5);
| Sevilla 6, O. Shitrit 5.
********
REFEREE: Dani Koren (9).
AUDIENCE: 20,000, National Stadium, Ramat-Gan.
[Double performance, the early game].
********
In a very dull game, Beitar scored its goal 50 seconds from the start and then became dormant, something that Holon failed to exploit. The goal was scored after a free kick, raised by Yossi Abuksis to the head of Nir Sevilla, and Holon failed to score from a penalty spot, 38 minutes later - Samson Siasiah was knocked down inside the box, but Oren Flash shot an awful penalty, saved by Korenfein with no problems. Just before the end, Beitar had another opportunity to score, but Rafi Fur headed from the goal-line a header of Hamar.
Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa - Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 1:1 (0:0). ------------------------------------------------------- Hosts: Walid Badir (90). | Hess 6.5; Maya 5 (Stan, 46 - 4.5), Kolosevic 5.5, Ihiel 5, Ben-Ishai 5; | Kozoshvili 5.5, Badir 6, Attar 5 (Hassan, 53 - 4.5), Abrabanel 5 (Rosen, | 77), Makoveyev 6.5; Kakun 5.5. ******** Guests: Yossi Madar (76). | Smadja 6; O. Levi 6, AHARON SITON 7, Schwegger 5.5, Y. Avihail 5; | Feigenbaum 6, Liberman 5.5, Fibernik 4.5, Madar 6 (Mararo, 84); Shirazi | 5.5, Refua 5.5. ******** REFEREE: Amit Klein (5). AUDIENCE: 4,000, Ironi Stadium, Petakh-Tikwa. ********
A result equally disappointing for both teams - Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa dropped one place and got further away from the top struggles, and Bnei-Yehuda dropped behind the thin red line, conceding a goal in the injury time. In the game with no real opportunities, it was a clever shot of Yossi Madar after a preparation of Cobi Refua, to the far corner of Shai Hess from 16 meters, 1:0 (76). However, in the injury time it was a goal pass of the substitute Yossi Rosen from the right wing, Shaul Smadja registered an awful jump to the ball, and Walid Badir had no chance to miss with his perfectly put header. For Badir, it was the 2nd goal that week after a National team goal in Romania, and there are some rumours Fiorentina is after him; let's wait and see...
HAPOEL RISHON LE-ZION - Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 2:1 (0:1). ---------------------------------------------------------- Hosts: Moshe Sebeg (78, 86). | Y. Mizrahi 6; G. Deri 5.5, Rothem 5.5, T. Eliyahu 5.5, Albert 6; Pitusi 5.5 | (Shikwa, 53 - 6), Markicevic 6, MOSHE SEBEG 7, A. Brumer 5.5, Capeta 5.5 | (E. Cohen, 77); Kabudi 5.5 (Y. Amar, 90). ******** Guests: Rave Sharabi (13). | O. Cohen 5.5; I. Amar 5.5, Magamedov 5.5, S. Tsofin 5, Ben-Yosef 5, | Partieli 6; Lusek 5.5 (Muslem, 55 - 5), Malihi 5 (Bialla, 86), G. Itzhak 5, | R. Sharabi 6; S. Avitan 6 (Petrosian, 66). ******** REFEREE: Nir Baabour (6). AUDIENCE: 2,000, Superland Stadium, Rishon le-Zion. ********
The 3rd victory of Rishon in a row, and it seems the coach Elisha Levi is really famous for leaving the teams in the National League. Petakh-Tikwa took a quick lead, after a goal pass of Ismail Amar; Rave Sharabi, opening the game ahead of Rajid Bransi, turned around, passed his defender and rolled the ball past Yaniv Mizrahi. Nir Shikwa's mighty header (58) from 16 meters met a great spectacular save of Ohad Cohen, but 20 minutes later on, the hosts managed to equalize the score, with a header of Moshe Sebeg, after the preparation of Nir Shikwa. 4 minutes from time, it was a great penetration of the same Sebeg, and the recovering after an injury midfielder finished it coolly too, 2:1. Just before the end, Ohad Cohen tried to get into the hosts' box and to head the equalizer from a corner kick, but failed.
Hapoel Jerusalem - HAPOEL KEFAR-SABA 1:2 (1:2). ------------------------------------------------- Hosts: Udi Shnorman (43). | Strauber 5; S. Amar 4.5, S. Mihei 4.5, T. Azulai 4.5, S. Danino 4.5; Gola | 4.5 (Oka, 55 - 4.5), Shnorman 5.5, Costelnik 5, Zeladzevic 4.5 (Menakhem, | 65), M. Salman 5.5; Aharon 4.5 (Valentinic, 46 - 4.5). ******** Guests: Avigdor Itzhak (20), Yaniv Avvargeal (40 pen). | Strauss 6; I. Koren 6, TAMIR BEN-HAIM 6.5, Netser 5.5, Ganon 6; Shem-Tov | 5.5, A. Itzhak 6, S. Danan 6.5 (Chichian, 55 - 5.5), Shum 6 (Catalyn, 83), | Avvargeal 6 (Niv Tal, 66); Ungur 5.5. ******** REFEREE: Meir Levi (7). AUDIENCE: 2,000, Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem. ********
A sad game of Hapoel Jerusalem, which surprisingly lost at home to the weak squad of Hapoel Kefar-Saba and dropped close to the relegation zone. The score was opened after 20 minutes, when a ball badly fisted away by Liran Strauber was quickly sent under his right crossbar with the clever shot of Avigdor Itzhak. 20 minutes later, it was a foul of Udi Shnorman on Avigdor Itzhak inside Strauber's box, and Yaniv Avvargeal converted the penalty kick to make it 2:0. 3 minutes later on, Shnorman repaid his team by scoring a reducer, after a goal pass of Joseph Costelnik, but he only heard the whistles of his own fans! The only beautiful moment of the 2nd half belonged to the young Mahmoud Salman, who passed 7 players (!) in a wonderful slalom, but a flying header of Itai Koren from the goal-line denied what could've been "The Goal Of The Season", as the action was performed truly Maradona-style.
Maccabee Yaffa - Hapoel Beit-Shean 1:1 (0:0). ----------------------------------------------- Hosts: Omri Afek (60). | Zoidze 5 (Davidoff, 46 - 5.5); E. Sayag 6, Mahamid 5, Rabinovich 5, Moyal | 5.5, Abu-Kishak 6; G. Hershlikovich 6, Rishti 5 (N. Cohen, 57 - 6.5), Afek | 6; Djilovski 6, Shakruka 5. ******** Guests: Gala Pancheladze (62). | MEIR COHEN 7; Tsuref 5.5, Taib 6, Hader 5 (Gili Levi, 89), Sapir 5.5 (A. | Irmiyahu, 72); Pancheladze 6.5, Rozosevic 5, Almog Hazan 5 (Y. Biton, 37 - | 5.5), Cinka 5.5, M. Uzan 5.5; Culakovic 6. ******** REFEREE: Lior Korenfeld (9). AUDIENCE: 120, Gaon Stadium, Yaffa. ********
In a game which decided nothing more or less, we surprisingly saw a good quality of the outsiders; Beit-Shean was much more disappointed after the game, as the victory could've given it a slight chance to return to life in the National League. Instead, Yaffa attacked most of the time, but Meir Cohen was wonderful and made several very spectacular saves. The goal of Yaffa was scored after 60 minutes of play, as the veteran Nissim Cohen (nearly 44 years old!) made a clever pass to Omri Afek, who used his hand to pass Meir Cohen and to roll the ball into an empty net; surprisingly, the referee Lior Korenfeld saw nothing wrong in it. 2 minutes later, Gala Pancheladze equalized with a header, after a corner kick of Moris Uzan. Pancheladze himself had an opportunity to win the game later on, but missed the frame.
THE WEEK'S TEAM:
----------------
Meir Cohen
(Hapoel Beit-Shean)
Guy Mishal Aharon Siton Shimon Gershon Igal Entebbi
(Maccabee Herzliya) (Bnei-Yehuda T.-A.) (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Maccabee Herzliya)
Gabor Marton Idan Tal Moshe Sebeg Oleg Naduda
(Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Hap. Rishon le-Zion) (Maccabee Herzliya)
Sebastian Simerotic Nir Sevilla
(Hapoel Tel-Aviv) (Beitar Jerusalem)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv - 4.
Maccabee Herzliya - 3.
Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Rishon le-Zion,
Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv, Hapoel Beit-Shean - 1.
PLACE TEAM G W T L Goals Points
1 (1) Hapoel Haifa 21 16 3 2 42- 9 51
2 (3) Beitar Jerusalem 21 13 3 5 51-23 42
3 (2) Maccabee Tel-Aviv 21 13 3 5 50-22 42
4 (4) Maccabee Haifa 20* 12 3 5 43-18 39
5 (6) Hapoel Tel-Aviv 21 11 6 4 32-19 39
6 (5) Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa 21 11 4 6 40-27 37
7 (7) Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa 21 7 5 9 32-31 26
8 (8) Hapoel Jerusalem 21 8 2 11 27-39 26
9 (11) Hapoel Rishon le-Zion 21 7 5 9 34-43 26
10 (9) Hapoel Tsafririm Holon 21 6 7 8 25-20 25
11 (12) Maccabee Herzliya 21 7 4 10 24-31 25
12 (10) Maccabee Ironi Ashdod 20* 6 6 8 27-35 24
13 (14) Hapoel Kefar-Saba 21 7 3 11 28-49 24
14 (13) Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv 21 6 4 11 28-41 22
15 (15) Hapoel Beit-Shean 21 4 3 14 18-55 15
16 (16) Maccabee Yaffa 21 1 3 17 11-50 6
* - missing game, will be played on 07/04/1999
IN BRACKETS - the places of the teams after the last week.
BEST PLAYER: Gabor Marton, midfielder, Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
TOP SCORERS: Moti Kakun (Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa) 16(1)
Offer Shitrit (Beitar Jerusalem) 16(1)
Andrzej Kubica (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 16(3)
**********************************************************
Alon Mizrahi (Maccabee Haifa) 14(2)
Avi Nimni (Maccabee Tel-Aviv) 14(4)
Amir Turgeman (Maccabee Ironi Ashdod) 14(6)
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Nir Sevilla (Beitar Jerusalem) 11(0) 1(0)
Victor Pacha (Maccabee Haifa) 11(0)
(9 goals in Hapoel Jerusalem)
Cobi Refua (Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv) 11(0)
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Yossi Benayoun (Maccabee Haifa) 10(0)
Giovanni Rosso (Hapoel Haifa) 10(3)
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Rafi Cohen (Hapoel Rishon le-Zion) 9(0)
Adrian Ungur (Hapoel Kefar-Saba) 9(0)
Yaniv Avvargeal (Hapoel Kefar-Saba) 9(6) 1(1)
**********************************************************
Assaf Tubi (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) 8(0) 1(0)
Samson Siasiah (Hapoel Tsafririm Holon) 8(0)
Udi Kabudi (Hapoel Rishon le-Zion) 8(1)
Rajid Bransi (Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa) 8(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 Haifa (1) | Maccabee Yaffa (16) |
| Beitar Jerusalem (2) | Maccabee Herzliya (11) |
| Maccabee Tel-Aviv (3) | Hapoel Tsafririm Holon (10) |
| Maccabee Petakh-Tikwa (7) | Maccabee Haifa (4) |
| Hapoel Kefar-Saba (13) | Hapoel Tel-Aviv (5) |
| Hapoel Beit-Shean (15) | Hapoel Petakh-Tikwa (6) |
| Maccabee Ironi Ashdod (12) | Hapoel Jerusalem (8) |
| Bnei-Yehuda Tel-Aviv (14) | Hapoel Rishon le-Zion (9) |
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