Midfielder Guy Cohen scored the only goal of the match against Maccabi Petach Tikvah to give Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s their second consecutive victory
After a break of three weeks for the reseeding of the pitches, the national Under-19 Premier League returned to action today, and with it Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar". Maccabi's Under-19s hosted Maccabi Petach Tikva in the second and final match without spectators, the result of disciplinary measures taken after the hard-fought but significant 1-0 victory over Hapoel in the Tel Aviv derby. Midfielder Guy Cohen scored the match's only goal in the first half with an assist from fellow midfielder Daniel Gretz. This second consecutive league victory, and first home win after two losses at the Kiryat Shalom training gound, brings Maccabi Tel Aviv within touching distance of the top of the league table.
The first half saw Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" dominate the proceedings, maintaining possession and pressing their advantage in front of goal. Their first real opportunity came from Guy Cohen with a header the Petach Tikva goalkeeper Yugav Ben Nun saved admirably. A minute later the midfielder renewed his intentions with a smart pass from Daniel Gretz that he smashed into the net for the first goal of the match and his second of the season. Cohen continued his goal threatening efforts throughout the first half but at the half-time whistle the score remained 1-0 in Maccabi Tel Aviv's favour.
In the second half, the charges of head coach Amir Turgeman continued to display resolve in defence while still probing for additional goals at the other end. Striker Dor Jan, who scored in the Under-19s last match, was looking for his fifth goal of the season but his two opportunities met stiff resistance from the Petach Tikvah keeper. Midfielder Asaf Madar, who came in off the bench in the second half, also tested Ben Nun with his threatening efforts. Meanwhile, Maccabi Petach Tikvah's only real chance of the match came in the dying moments but the "Shachar" goalkeeper Sahar Hason made an excellent save of Otman Grava's attempt to equalise.
Though not scoring as freely as in the earlier stages of the season, the MTA Under-19's showed here signs of recovery from a run of poor form with this second consecutive 1-0 victory. In their next fixture Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" will be playing away to Hapoel Haifa, a strong side with one of the two best attacking records in the Under-19 Premier League.
Line-up: Sahar Hason, Rotem Buskila, Mansour Amash, Daniel Levi, Shaun Goldberg, Tamir Abrahamian, Daniel Gretz, Yarden Pinto, Amit Farhi, Guy Cohen, Dor Jan
