Osher Davida, scored his third league goal and 6th in all competitions this season as he was on target during Maccabi’s emphatic 4-1 victory away to Hapoel Haifa. While Maccabi remains third in the table, the victory, narrowed the gap from second place Beitar Jerusalem, a week before hosting leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva for the final match of the regular season.
Davida’s goal on the stroke of halftime, was Maccabi’s third which ended a convincing first half on the way to a convincing victory. The 25-year-old, who was also involved in one of the other goals, admitted after the match: “First, I am happy with the first half. Not just because of the goals, we made good attacking movements and executed patterns we have been working on in training. It was great to see that it works. In the second half we struggled, especially in the first 30 minutes. We need to understand why that happened, fix it and improve. On the contrary, at 3-0 we should enjoy the football even more and score additional goals. Still, it is not easy after almost a month and a half without playing. I am happy that from the first minute we showed that we’re here, and I hope we continue like this next week.”
On his and Maccabi’s season so-far, Davida said: “The first two-thirds (of the season) were difficult. Since Ronny Deila arrived, this is already my second goal in four or five matches. I am happy and hope to continue delivering for the team and for myself.”
With several of his foreign teammates absent through various reasons, Davida admitted: “Some of the foreign players are injured, so it’s not entirely relevant. Ion Nicolaescu will only be available next season, and I hope Kristijan Belic returns as soon as possible. I think they are important for the team, but to be honest, if I were in their place, I don’t know what decision I would make, as this is not a normal situation. I appreciate everyone who is here and I have thanked them personally. Anyone who wants to be here is welcome, and those who don’t, we understand that as well. In the end, we’re a strong enough team.”
On the fact matches are currently staged behind closed doors due to the restrictions of the Home Front Command, Davida said: “It is not fun, especially for a big club like ours that needs the fans with us. We have no control over it. I hope the fans will return very soon.”
