Itamar Noy marked his 37th appearance in a Maccabi shirt during the 4-1 victory over his former club Hapoel Haifa and had a solid performance at the heart of midfield. Noy, who joined Maccabi in the summer is set to continue in the anchorman role for the top of the table clash against Hapoel Be’ersheva at Bloomfield. “We feel in good shape” Noy said in Friday’s Press Conference. “We trained well and worked hard during this period. Now everyone is together, feeling good, and ready for any match that comes.”
Ahead of the match against the leaders, Noy added: “Our focus needs to be on continuing the path we’re on, attacking and proactive football. Mentally, we’ll need to be strong and united. We’re ready for this match.”
With Maccabi currently third in the table with 49 points, seven adrift of Be’ersheva, as the regular season will reach its end and the Playoff will begin, Noy said: “We are in a situation where every match is critical. This is a big game, and right now our focus is on Sunday, to achieve the best result we can. I hope we come in the way we know how, continue the good momentum, and take the three points.”
On how Maccabi will approach the match, Noy didn;t give too much away: “We have our preparation, I won’t go into too much detail. We’ve been building something here recently. We’re doing things the way the coach and staff want. Each week we need to take another step forward in that direction. When we’re all focused on the same goal and method, this is a strong team that can do very good things.”
On not having beaten the top teams so far this season: “There were too many matches where we should have done better and won against the big teams. That’s something we know we need to improve. Now is our time to prove that we belong at the top and that the path we’re on will take us to where we truly deserve to be.”
On his connection with the foreign players during this period, Noy, added: “We try to explain this unusual situation. To make people understand that it’s not always simple. The club supports them very well and helps them, and as players we try to explain the situation and assist as much as we can. I’ve spoken with them quite a lot. We try to be there for them in anything they need and show them that we’re all in this together and will try to make the most of it.”
