Three headers, one by Dor Jan (13') and two from Sharon Ziso (33', 58'), seal a convincing 3-1 victory for Maccabi's U19s over Ironi Kiryat Shmona. Three assists for Guy Cohen

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" beat Ironi Kiryat Shmona 3-1 at the Kiryat Shalom training ground yesterday and held on to second place in the national U19 Premiere League table, seven points behind league leaders Maccabi Haifa. After ending a run of five consecutive league wins last week, Maccabi's Under-19s put in a good performance and returned to their winning ways. Striker Dor Jan scored Maccabi's first before the break and midfielder Sharon Ziso added the first of his two to send "Shachar" off the pitch at halftime with a 2-0 advantage. Ziso completed his brace after the restart and despite a reply from Kiryat Shmona towards the end of the match, head coach Amir Turgeman's lads celebrated a 3-1 victory and their sixth in the league in their last seven outings.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" pressed straight from the kick-off and dominated in the air. In the 13th minute that dominance translated into a 1-0 advantage when Dor Jan headed in a corner from midfielder Guy Cohen for his tenth league goal of the season. Twenty minutes later it was once again Guy Cohen in the role of provider, but this time it was Sharon Ziso who headed in his high ball to register his fourth league goal this season. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" strikers Lanre Kehinde and Dor Jan both came close to widening the margin with headers that were deflected by the Kiryat Shmona keeper. At the other end, Maccabi goalkeeper Gal Tuvali had to be at his best to stop a free kick by Kiryat Shmona captain Ofir Mizrahi.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" started the second half in much the same way they began the first and kept the pressure up on the Kiryat Shmona goal. Close to the hour mark a free kick provided the opportunity for the home side to go three goals to the good, for the third time from a header. Sharon Ziso rose up between Kiryat Shmona's defenders to find the corner of Kiryat Shmona keeper Rom Iluz's net for his second goal of the match. Amir Turgeman's side could have widened the margin further still with a number of chances that came close. Dor Jan and fellow striker Sagiv Yechezkel both hit the woodwork and a strike from midfielder Daniel Gretz was deflected onto the Kiryat Shmona upright. An injury time goal from Kiryat Shmon's Ofir Mizrahi narrowed the gap but at the final whistle it was 3-1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar".

The victory maintained the status quo at the top of the U19 Premiere League table, with Maccabi trailing their northern namesakes Maccabi Haifa by seven points. This coming Wednesday the team will take time out from their league duties to travel to Hapoel Rishon Lezion for a difficult tie in the last 16 of the U19 State Cup competition. Next Saturday they're on the road once again, facing Maccabi Petach Tikva in matchweek 24 of the U19 Premiere League season.

Line-up: Gal Tuvali, Guy Aviv, Osher Abu, Daniel Shvarzboim, Shaun Goldberg, Dor Buzaglo, Yarden Pinto, Sharon Ziso, Guy Cohen, Lenri Kahinda, Dor Jan