They may not score much, but they’re dangerous on set pieces
Along with Ashdod, Raanana is the club that has scored the least goals this season having put the ball behind the opposing keeper only 18 times in 22 matches. Interestingly enough Raanana is the only side who haven’t scored from outside of the box.
On the other hand, although they haven’t scored too often, Raanana ranks seventh in the league in set piece goals with 8. Three came on penalties, 3 off of free kicks indirectly and 2 were on corners. This fact may lead us to understood why it takes only 4 seconds on average for Raanana to score on an attack while Maccabi’s offense controls the ball for 29 seconds on average before scoring.
Don’t lose the ball
For the majority of their matches, Raanana defends and that’s why Menachem Koretzky’s squad is second in the league when it comes to steals per contest – 59. They lead the league in steals per match on the opponent’s side of the pitch with 10 on average per contest and that makes them a threat for any team they are facing because they will go towards the goal quickly as they look to score. Maccabi will have to pay attention when they are in their half of the field and not give up the ball this Saturday or else they may pay for it.
Keys players on offense and defense
Although Raanana is not considered to be one of the most dangerous sides on the attack, Shimon Abuhatzira is always a threat to score. The striker has scored 4 goals this season and is 8th in the league in attempts on goal with 50 so far this campaign. Of those opportunities, 18 (36%) were on target for an average of one a match. He is also one of the leaders when it comes to hitting the post with 3, the same amount as Avi Rikan, Sheran Yeini, Ramzi Sfori and Rudy Haddad.
On the other side of the pitch, Ben Binyamin is one of the most aggressive Raanana players and he can be found at the top of many of the defensive categories. What do his stats tell us? He’s third in tackles (130), first in average steals in the opponent’s half (1.9 per match), second in picking up loose balls (192), first in steals (196) and he’s also 6th in the league when it comes to being issued yellow cards with 8.
