The Israeli Premier League reached its last matchday of the regular season, with one big question – who will join Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and FC Ashdod in the championship group.
There is nothing more important than winning the derby, and the Tel Aviv derby took place in front of 5,000 fans. Maccabi Tel Aviv is leading the table, while Hapoel Tel Aviv struggles in the relegation zone. That match was the last Tel Aviv derby of the season.
Six years have passed since the last time that Hapoel Tel Aviv won a derby. 13 consecutive winless matches, as they also lost the previous five encounters without scoring a goal. The reds felt that they could shock this time, as Omri Altman scored the first for Hapoel in the 15th minute. The league leaders were surprised but tried to find the net against Hapoel's poor defence. In the 52nd minute, Maccabi Tel Aviv has finally equalized. Dor Peretz tipped the ball to the net, as the Lithuanian goalkeeper, Ernestas Šetkus, gave it an extra push before it crossed the line.
Hapoel Tel Aviv failed to win, but they at least managed to stop Maccabi Tel Aviv's 10-win streak. This result sent Maccabi Tel Aviv to a different position - second place.
Taking The Lead Back
Maccabi Tel Aviv knew that they must win, mainly because Maccabi Haifa played first. Maccabi Haifa hosted Maccabi Netanya, that looked for the position in the championship group.
Things were finished quickly, as Raz Meir scored for Maccabi Haifa in the 7th minute. From this point, there was no chance that Maccabi Haifa will miss the opportunity to win the match. In the 62nd minute, the team welcomed back Nikita Rukavytsya, who scored his first goal since last January. The Australian scorer is returning after a short recovery, and also the Socceroos manager, Graham Arnold, was missing him. Although Australia will not play in the next international break, there is an option that he would be called up again to the national team.
This victory is worth more than just another three points for Haifa. They are taking back first place after a few weeks of staying behind. It also means that they will host Maccabi Tel Aviv first in the championship group.
A quick race to the top
The early lead of Maccabi Haifa made all the drama behind being on top six to end too soon.
As Maccabi Netanya failed, Maccabi Petah Tikva secured their place, even though they were defeated 1-0 by Bnei Sakhnin. Ironi Kiryat Shmona has done it as well, after a 1-0 win against Hapoel Kfar Saba. Hapoel Be'er Sheva took the chance, defeated Bnei Yehuda 2-0, and joined the upper playoff.
For one team, last night's results were a bit too much. Beitar Jerusalem had some chances to reach the top playoffs, but their first mission was to defeat FC Ashdod. Unfortunately, they lost 2-0, only a few days after FC Ashdod eliminated them from the Israeli State Cup. This failure was too much, and the manager Slobodan Drapic decided to resign. Just another brick in the unstable wall of Beitar Jerusalem this season.
Thumbnail photo by Maccabi Haifa official Facebook page
