Preivew
Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived at Teddy stadium for the State Cup Semi Final against Maccabi Haifa which was rescheduled following the war with Iran and relocated from Sammy Ofer to the capital.
Three days after the disappointment of the 3-1 league defeat to Hapoel Be’ersheva in the final match of the regular season and before the Playoff kickoff this Sunday, Maccabi turn their attention to the Cup. Head Coach Ronny Deila will try and guide Maccabi to a victory against a Haifa side that his predecessor didn’t beat in two attempts in the league this season drawing 1-1 at Bloomfield in October and suffering a 4-1 defeat at Sammy Ofer in January.
Deila named Roi Mishapti is goal as the 33-year-old keeper whose last appearance was during the Quarter Final 5-0 victory over Maccabi Jaffa in February, replaced Ofek Melika in goal. Eli Camara returned to the starting line-up ad partnered Heitor dis Santos as the two central defenders in front of Mishpati. Making his 80th appearance for Maccabi in all competitions, Tyrese Asante, returned to the role of right-back. Roy Revivo completed Maccabi’s back-four on the left side of defense. Deila stuck with the same midfield trio of Itamar Noy in the anchorman role right behind Maccabi’s leading goal scorers Ido Shahar and Dor Peretz. Helio Varela and Osher Davida were named by Deila on both wings supplying the width to Maccabi’s formation. In the absence of Saied Abu Farchi who is serving a one-match touchline ban for the fifth booking he collected against B’ersheva on Sunday, Deila named Elad Madmon. The 22-year-old forward who scored five goals in all competitions this season and was last on target at Teddy during the 3-1 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem in January, will lead Maccabi’s attack.
On the substitutes bench bench Deila welcomed back into the squad midfielder Issouf Sissokho who recovered from an injury and Emir Sahiti who returned to Israel. The duo were named amongst the substitutes together with Melika, Sagiv Jehezkel, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Noam Ben Harush, Ben Lederman and Lotem Asres.
First Half
Only a total of five thousand fans were allowed to attend due to the restrictions of the Home Front Command but those present gave the players a vocal support worthy of the occasion. Maccabi came close to draw first blood as early as the third minute as the ball reached Ido Shahar inside the box. The midfielder flicked a shot which Haifa’s keeper Georgiy Yermakov saved with his foot onto the post before catching the ball at the second attempt. Four minutes later Shahar was at it again as Roy Revivo released Elad Madmon into the box before the cut back reached Shahar whose effort was punched away by Yermakov. Roi Mishpati was drawn into the action at the opposite end in the 10th minute as he was at full stretch to push out a Manuel Benson dangerous shot.
The deadlock was broken in the 14th minute at the end of a spectacular team effort. Revivo fed Helio Varela down the left before slipping the ball to Madmon whose center was swept home by Dor Peretz. Maccabi’s lead didnt last long as Haifa were back on level terms within three minutes. A long ball by Abdulaye Seck caught Maccabi’s defense flat to release Ethan Azoulay who burst into the box and blasted a shot into the top corner.
Itamar Noy was booked on the half hour mark for tugging Kenji Gorre just inside Maccabi’s half. Six minutes later Shahar was booked as well for a professional foul on Gorre but within a minute Maccabi came close to restore their lead. Varela broke down the left and fed Madmon who shrugged off before sending a back heel which rolled between the legs of Seck to free Peretz. With only Haifa’s keeper to beat Maccabi’s captain fored a shot which Yermakov managed to block. A fangerous Seck header forced Mishpati to a spectacular save at the near post. But at the opposite end the crossbar denied Revivo as his chip to the far post eluded Yermakov and rolled on the frame of the goal before Peretz had his rebound blocked. On the brink of halftime Noy managed to block a Seck effort as Sapir Berman’s whistle sent both teams to regroup during the break.
Second Half
The second half began where the first one left off as Haifa looked dangerous mostly from set pieces. In the 56th minute Deila made three changes as Raz Shlomo replaced Heitor dos Santos, Issouf Sissokho came on for Noy while Emir Sahiti was introduced for Osher Davida. The impact was almost instant as Sahiti’s pressure on Haifa’s defense gifted Madmon the ball as the young forward gained control and blasted a shot which was deflected out for a corner. Maccabi took the lead from the resulting corner as Revivo curled a pinpoint cross to pick Tyrese Asante whose header at the far post put Maccabi infront.
Maccabi continued their ptessure and in the 62nd minute Peretz slipped the ball to Shahar whose attempt of a cut back was blocked by the arm of Seck. Berman didn’t spot the handball initially but VAR intervened and called the referee to the screen. A penalty was awarded before Shahar stepped up but his spot kick whivh could have increased Maccabi’s lead cleared the crossbar. The end to end action continued as Mishpati pulled a stunning goalmouth save on the goalmouth before Seck bundled the ball in. But the referee assistant raised his flag for offside as the goal was disallowed.
In the 76th minute Maccabi managed to get that two goal lead at the end of deadly counter attack. Madmon turned his man near the halfway line before releasing Shahar who continued to Varela. The Cape Verde winger spotted Revivo making the overlap run as he slipped him before the left-back squeezed a shot from a tight angle that beat Yermakov. Shahar bowed out and was replaced by Ben Lederman on 77 as Deila added a fresh pair of legs into the midfield. In the 86th minute Deila made his fifth substitution as Noam Ben Harush came on for Varela. The fourth official indicated seven minutes of added time, and with two minutes left a goal mouth scramble saw Haifa claimed the ball had crossed the line. VAR checked the incident and in the end awarded Haifa’s Silva Kangani a goal
