At the start of his remarks, Ido Shahar addressed the missile impact in Haifa earlier and said: “We heard that Haifa went through a difficult evening. From here, I want to pray that everyone is found safe and well. The north is going through a tough time. I want to say thank you and pray for the safety of our soldiers, thanks to them, we are here.”
The 24-year-old midfielder, then spoke about the circumstances in which the match was played, after scoring a goal to take his tally to 10 league goals this season: “The feeling of returning to play is amazing. As much as possible, we can give fans two hours of disconnection from everything that’s happening. We’re happy to be back playing. I dedicate this win to the soldiers, we are glad to give them every moment of joy and happiness that we can.”
On Maccabi’s mindset, Shahar added: “I can say that we are coming back with maximum hunger and readiness. As a team and as a club, we are very hungry, we have been waiting to play and to complete our objectives.”
As Maccabi narrowed the gap from Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Be’ersheva, Shahar said: “We never gave up for a second, and we’re not giving up. We’re just trying to press the gas. Next week we have Hapoel Be’ersheva, we hope to win and we approach it like any other match.”
Shahar, who became a father for the first time last week, explained his cradle celebration after scoring:
“Today I arrived at the team hotel after my son’s brit, so it was for him and for my wife.”
