A third consecutive victory for MTA "Shachar" thanks to an own goal and a maiden one
This afternoon Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" registered their third consecutive league victory with a 2-0 win over Hapoel Beer Sheva. All three victories have been achieved with clean sheets, the last two by the margin of 3-0 against Hapoel Kfar Saba and Beitar Jerusalem respectively. The first time Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" met Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Negev they dropped their first points of the season after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. In today's home rematch the visitors were equally disinclined to let Maccabi have their way, but an own goal in the first half and a maiden goal from Maccabi's Lanre Kehinde close to final whistle handed Maccabi's Under-19s the victory.
The opening stages of the match saw "Shachar" head coach Amir Turgeman's lads pressing to break through the visitors' defence. Almog Ohayon and Guy Aviv repeatedly broke down the flanks and crossed balls into the area that ultimately resulted in a goal ten minutes into the match. Beer Sheva defender Ben Algarbelli attempted to clear a cross from Guy Aviv intended for team-mate Dor Jan but instead turned it into his own net. Both of last week's goalscorers for Maccabi, Sharon Ziso and Guy Cohen, came close to increasing the lead in the first half but the 1-0 Maccabi advantage remained until halftime despite Beer Sheva's Sahar Shabtai effort at the other end just before the half-time whistle.
Just after the restart Sharon Ziso tested Beer Sheva keeper Raz Rahamim with a shot from outside the area but the tempo in the second half only increased after Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" made their substitutions. First Sagiv Yechezkel came close but not until two minutes from time did Maccabi find themselves 2-0 up when Nigerian striker Lanre Kehinde turned in a pass from Dean Akafi, his maiden league goal in only his second start in a yellow jersey. The last two minutes of the match passed without incident giving Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" all three points and preserving their second place in the table, nine points behind leaders Maccabi Haifa. Next Saturday the Under-19s will be at Wolfson training ground as guests in the Derby with city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Line-up: Gal Tovli, Rotem Buskila, Osher Abu, Daniel Shvarzboim, Shaun Goldberg, Yarden Pinto, Sharon Ziso, Guy Cohen, Guy Aviv, Almog Ohayon, Dor Jan
