Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Haifa 2-0 over the weekend in the Israeli Classico, held at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem due to limitations imposed by the Home Front Command, which restricted the number of fans allowed to attend games in the Tel Aviv area.
The yellow-and-blue took an early lead when Gaby Kanichowsky scored a stunning goal in the 18th minute. Elad Madmon then pounced on a rebound in the box to double Maccabi’s lead.
The hosts had a chance to add a third goal via a penalty after Dor Peretz was brought down in the area, but Osher Davida’s attempt was saved by Haifa goalkeeper Sharif Kaiuf. The score remained 2-0 for the rest of the match as Maccabi Tel Aviv collected all three points.
Congratulating the team
“It wasn’t a knockout, and congratulations to Haifa for a good game,” said Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Marko Lazetic. “After we missed the penalty, they took control, and we suffered in the last minutes. But congratulations to our players, even though we don’t have a full squad. We were especially good without the ball, putting incredible pressure on, and that’s something we will carry forward.”
“We missed our chances, and you have to put the ball in the goal,” said Haifa coach Barak Bachar. “Both Dean David and Dia Saba are players who know how to do that, but in this game, they had issues. We fell behind early, but for most of the first half, we pressed. If we had scored in the situations we had, everything would have been different.”
At the Moshava Stadium, meanwhile, Hapoel Beersheba crushed Maccabi Petah Tikva 5-2.
Dan Biton opened the scoring for Beersheba in the first minute, but Anas Mahmid quickly equalized. Before halftime, Yoni Stoyanov gave Beersheba a 2-1 lead.
In the second half, Helder Lopes extended the lead, and Kings Kangwa added another to make it 4-1. Alon Turgeman added a fifth goal, while Liran Hazan pulled one back in injury time for Petah Tikva.
“This was one of our best games,” Beersheba coach Ron Kozuk said. “It was important to come in and show intensity, aggressiveness, and passion. We need to keep this level of intensity to compete at the top.”
Elsewhere, Hapoel Haifa secured a 1-0 win over Ironi Tiberias thanks to a late second-half goal from Guy Melamed.
“I think we deserved the victory,” said Haifa coach Rony Levy. “We had many opportunities, but it’s dangerous when you don’t break through and score because you could concede. We got the goal we deserved, but there’s still room for improvement.”
Also, Maccabi Bnei Reineh defeated Ironi Kiryat Shmona 1-0, thanks to a 72nd-minute strike from Kayes Ganem.“It was important to come in with the right energy and get back on the winning track,” exclaimed Bnei Reineh coach Sharon Mimer.
In Jerusalem, Hapoel Jerusalem beat Ashdod SC 1-0 with a goal by Omer Agvadish.Coach Ziv Arie was thrilled with his team’s performance, stating “We didn’t play well, but we got the win and the three points.”
Ashdod coach Eli Levy expressed his frustration with the result.
“We didn’t create enough chances, and it was clear there was only one team on the field today.”
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
