The mid-week round in the Israeli Premier League was a real fight, both on and off the field.
On Wednesday, the Haifa derby drew a lot of attention, as Maccabi Haifa could feel how Maccabi Tel Aviv is getting closer. With all the tensions of a derby match, the teams were ready to give the fans a show.
Nikita Rukavytsya was injured in the last match, but Maccabi Haifa managed to get the absence of their top scorer. In the 54th minute, Sun Menachem scored the first with a header. In the 84th minute, it was the turn of the Ghanaian striker, Godsway Donyoh, to find the net. Maccabi Haifa had a bad form in the derby matches recently, winning only two out of the last 11 league encounters. With a 2-0 win, Maccabi Haifa is taking the city's dominance once again.
The win made Maccabi Haifa players feel more relaxed, but after the final whistle, a massive brawl has begun. Sun Menachem celebrated in front of Hapoel Haifa's bench, and afterwards, players from both teams joined the fight. According to the referee's report, ten players had significant in the incident and Maccabi Haifa's CEO. It seems that next week we will have another busy day for the FA Disciplinary Committee.
Staying Closer
Maccabi Tel Aviv wouldn't like that Maccabi Haifa will make the difference in the top bigger. Before the mid-week matches, the difference between the two teams was just two points. To keep their form, they had to beat Hapoel Hadera, one of the league's bottom teams.
Surprisingly, Hadera scored first. Jonathan Cisse, the Ivorian defender that is part of the U-23 national team squad, found the net quickly after five minutes. The lead didn't last too long, as Avi Rikan equalled in the 20th minute, and three minutes later, Aleksandar Pešić scored the second. The Serbian striker completed a brace in the 69th minute.
Maccabi Tel Aviv completed their sixth win in a row, and they are in an unstoppable mode like we used to see the team in the recent seasons.
The Ride of The Black Horses
After the upset against Maccabi Haifa, FC Ashdod wished to win again and stay in third place. They played an away match against one of the contenders to reach the berth to the Europa Conference League, Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
The home team is in an unstable situation recently, and it was reflected in the first minutes. A poor mistake by the goalkeeper, Ohad Levita, made him lose the ball in a dangerous place and later foul Ashdod player in the box. Roei Gordana took the penalty in the 3rd minute, and Ashdod had an early lead. In the second half, Ashdod completed their successful days. Din David scored in the 50th minute, and Moussa Bagayoko added another one in the 75th minute. FC Ashdod thrashed Hapoel Be'er Sheva, aiming for their first European appearance since 2005-06.
Hapoel Be'er Sheva had to look for new solutions. For weeks there were reports that Ran Ben Shimon, the current FC Ashdod manager, will join the team at the end of the season, but now it seems to be unlikely due to his recent success.
Back from Quarantine
Beitar Jerusalem in recent weeks was a real rollercoaster ride. It began with a high number of positive coronavirus cases in the club, which lead to a series of delayed matches. In the last days, the extravagant owner, Moshe Hogeg, made an unusual decision to cancel a transfer deal with a Zambian player after it was leaked before the team's official announcement. Beitar Jerusalem also had another episode with their new ownership saga, as they decided to withdraw Hamed bin Khalifa's request.
Beitar Jerusalem got over all these problems against Maccabi Netanya. In the 9th minute, Michael Ohana scored the team's first goal. They have been dominant during the match, and they scored the second goal in the 61st minute when Idan Vered scored. Both of them are among Beitar's recovered players, and their comeback was successful. Fernand Guri scored Netanya's goal in the 77th minute, but it wasn't enough to tie it.
Hogeg and his team will need to do much more to reach the top position, but they made a first critical step on the road.
Thumbnail photo by Maccabi Haifa official Facebook page
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah forces schedule changes in Israeli leagues, while Lebanese football continues with political undertones.