A third consecutive victory for Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar". Midfielder Daniel Gretz scored the only goal of the game ten minutes into the match
After two consecutive victories that put Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" back on track, Maccabi's Under-19s visited Kiryat Haim training ground for a game against Hapoel Haifa. Head coach Amir Turgeman's charges, who recovered from three consecutive losses with two 1-0 wins, were looking to extend their unbeaten run in this match against league leaders Hapoel Haifa. Their mission today was not expected to be easy. Hapoel Haifa's Under-19s had lost only once in their eight league matches and have scored 24 goals. Last season, Kiryat Haim could have been the venue of Maccabi's championship match, but they lost and the celebrations had to be postponed.
In the event the match started out well for Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" with an early goal by midfielder Daniel Gretz just after the ten-minute mark, his second of the season and first since matchweek 1. Having significantly improved their line of defence in the past two matches, Maccabi managed to hold off the league's second best attack and held on to this slim advantage till the half-time whistle.
After the restart Maccabi continued to display an uncompromising defensive game while looking for a second goal that would guarantee their victory. Striker Dor Jan sought his fifth goal of the season, but failed to get past the Hapoel Haifa goalkeeper. At the other end, Maccabi keeper Gal Tuvali withstood the scoring attempts by Haifa's red half and the whistle ending the game was a signal for Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" players to celebrate their third consecutive win by a score of 0-1. This win means three important points for the team and puts them back in the running for the top spot in the table. This was only Hapoel Haifa's second loss of the season, putting them level on points with "Shachar" with a game in hand.
Next week, Maccabi's Under-19s will return to Kiryat Shalom training ground to host Bnei Yehuda in their first home encounter with spectators since the prohibition imposed as a result of the disruptive events that followed the derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar": Gal Tuvali, Daniel Levy, Mansur Amash, Rotem Buskila, Sean Goldberg, Dor Buzaglo, Dor Peretz, Tamir Abrahamian, Daniel Gretz, Guy Cohen, Dor Jan
