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Maccabi head coach Paulo Sousa believes striker Rade Prica's injury time goal produced the right result in last night's match against Bnei Yehuda: "It wasn't easy but we never stopped believing in ourselves"

After two early goals at Acre in the first matchweek of the season, Maccabi Tel Aviv left it late, injury time in fact, to secure all three points last night against Bnei Yehuda. Their first home tie of the 2013/14 Premier ("Winner") League season was characterised by an abundance of missed opportunities, including two shots that hit the post and one that hit the crossbar. It wasn't until after 90 minutes of play that striker Rade Prica's header brought smiles to the faces of the 12,000 Maccabi fans in the terraces. So too to Maccabi head coach Paulo Sousa who said: "I believe we deserved to win, we dominated the match even though it wasn't easy. We played against a well organised team but we believed in ourselves and that's why we deserved to win, why the players deserve this win.  

"I enjoyed watching the mental approach of my players, that's what I look for in my teams. We dominated the match for the full 90 minutes, it was very difficult but we never stopped believing in ourselves, even after every chance we had that went unrewarded". The coach also said a word about the players that came off the bench: "I am very happy for the players who got off the bench and created chances in the time they were on the pitch. I don't wish to talk about specific players because for me they are all equal, I have a model I believe in and teach it to my players".

Midfielder Eran Zahavi, who hit the crossbar towards the end of the match, added: "This victory was sweet, the better side won. We created a lot of chances and dominated possession so we got the right result. We were better on the night but Bnei Yehuda also have good players but we won in the end because  when you play well as a team it's a lot easier. Maccabi Haifa's losing didn't affect us because we're focused on ourselves and try to get the job done in the best way possible".