Mishpati, whose last appearance was in the 5-0 Quarter Final victory over Maccabi Jaffa back in February, spoke of his relationship with Ronny Deila: “The coach spoke with me and gave me confidence. He felt he could rely on me, and he showed it by letting me start in such an important match. I’m glad I was able to repay him on the pitch.”
On his thoughts ahead of the Final against Hapoel Be’ersheva at the end of May, Mishpati said: “I always believe, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here. I really love these moments against the big teams, and it’s a shame the stadium wasn’t full.”
Mishpati, who watched his fellow keeper Ofek Melika from the bench, said of Maccabi’s recent defeat to Be’ersheva: “It was a key game for us. We didn’t manage to get a good result, but before the semifinal we talked about what’s left until the end of the season and about doing something special. That’s what we’ve been discussing in recent days, me, Dor, Ali, everyone with experience, and we managed to pass on to the younger players that this is the important game.”
In view of Sunday’s Tel Aviv derby, Mishpati said: “Of course, we’ve already started talking in the dressing room about the derby. For us, it’s the most important match and the main goal right now.”
