Preview
Four days after the 1-1 draw in the Tel Aviv derby Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD33 WINNER League match against Maccabi Haifa. After beating Haifa twice last month 3-2 in the State Cup Semi Final at Teddy stadium and 3-1 on MD28 at Sammy Ofer, Maccabi will aim to record a first victory against Haifa this season at Bloomfield. Interim coach Kenny Miller whose side is third in the table with 62 points, will try guide Maccabi back to winning ways. With 12 points still left to play for, a victory could restore Maccabi’s lead from four place Hapoel Tel Aviv back to six points. But at the same time a victory could narrow the gap from second place Beitar Jerusalem to six points, before hosting them at Bloomfield on Saturday.
Miller didn’t make too many too many changes from the side that played in derby as Sagiv Jehezkel was named at right back while Tyrese Asante moved across the middle to partner Ali Camara as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper Ofek Melika. Roy Revivo who is experiencing an extra ordinary season after taking his assist tally to 12 in the league so far, recovered from the back injury which forced him to limp off at halftime against Hapoel. Revivo was back in the side at left back, as was Issouf Sissokho who completed his two-match touchline ban. Sissokho was named in the anchorman role behind Maccabi’s two top scorers Ido Shahar (12) and Dor Peretz (15). Kervin Andrade made his first start since the 3-2 victory over Ashdod in February, as the Venezuelan winger was named by Miller on the wing. Emir Sahiti was named on the opposite flank with Saied Abu Farchi leading the line.
On the bench alongside goalkeeper Roi Mishapti, Miller named Yonas Malede, Kristijan Belic, Elad Madmon, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Helio Varela, Itamar Noy and Itai Ben Hamo.
First half
Maccabi began the match on the front foot with Emir Sahiti and Saied Abu Farchi exchanging passes down the right to create a chance as early as the third minute. Abu Farchi’s backheel flick released Sahiti whose attempt of a chip was collected by Shareef Keouf. Sahiti fired a left foot shot a minute later which sailed wide before Kervin Andrade blasted a low drive from the edge of the area that narrowly missed the target.
In the 14th minute the deadlock was finally broken with a spectacular solo effort by Jehezkel. Andrade switched sides with a long ball from left to right which Sahiti let run to Jehezkel. The 31-year old picked the ball near the byline, cut towards the middle and sent a delicate chip which sailed into the top corner. Dor Peretz came close to double Maccabi’s lead as he was put through by Roy Revivo but from a tight angle fired a weak shot whicg was collected by Keouf. Ten minutes later nothing could deny Peretz from taking his tally to 16 league goals. Asante released Jehezkel down the right as the right back had the time and space to deliver an accurate cut back which Peretz swept in with one touch. Maccabi continued to dominate as two minutes before the half hour mark Revivo fired a shot which crept wide of the far post.
Maccabi continued to dance on the pitch and increased their lead to 3-0 in the 34th minute. Revivo and Andrade exchanged passes down the left before Ido Shahar received the ball and blasted it into the top corner to silence the 3000 visiting fans and send 18,000 Maccabi fans up in the air. Peretz could have doubled his tally in the 40th minute after Asante sent him through on goal but the attempt of Maccabi’s captain to lift the ball over the advancing Keouf sailed over. Ofek Melika made his first impact on the game in the 42nd minute as he pulled a reflex save to palm away a Trivante Stewart close range header.
Second half
Miller made no changes after the interval, while Ali Mohamad was introduced by Barak Bachar for Peter Agba at the restart. Ali Camara and Revivo were booked by referee Gal Levy for two mistimed tackles. Miller made two changes a minute after the hour mark as Andrade and Saied Abu Farchi both bowed out and were replaced by Helio Varela and Elad Madmon.
Four minutes later Shahar and Jehezkel almost swapped roles as the midfielder tied up the full back for a shot which narrowly missed the top corner. Two minutes later Shahar had an effort from inside the box which kept Keouf rooted to the ground but the ball rolled wide of the post. A counter attack in the 71st minute tore Haifa apart as Asante carried the ball out of defense and released Sahiti who picked Varela but the Cape Verde winger curled his shot over.
In the 86th minute Revivo was fouled near the corner of the area as the referee awarded a penalty but VAR intervened, corrected the initial decision as Maccabi received a free kick which Asante headed over. Miller made his fifth and final change as Ben Lederman replaced Issouf Sissokho for the closing stages.
