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Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s finished third at the 40th International Pentecost Tournament U17 VfL Theesen in the German city of Bielefeld, after defeating their counterparts from German side Borussia Dortmund

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s today ended their series of matches at the 40th International Pentecost Tournament U17 VfL Theesen in the German city of Bielefeld for the class of '96, and walked away with an impressive third place finish. The competition consisted of two groups of four teams playing three days of matches lasting 50 minutes each. The three other sides competing in Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded"'s group were German sides 1 FC Köln, VfB Stuttgart and the host club VfL Theesen. In the second group were Under-17 teams of German sides Borussia Dortmund and DSC Arminia Bielefeld, the Dutch club Feyenoord Rotterdam and the Swiss side FC Basel.

In the first group match of the competition, which began on Saturday, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" defeated their group rivals 1 FC Köln 3-1 courtesy of a brace by the Congolese youngster Mavise Tsjabote, now training with the team, and an individual effort by striker Sohil Armeli .In the first of Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded"'s two group matches yesterday they lost to VfB Stuttgart 3-1, with Mavise Tsjabote once again scoring for the Under-17s , but even a draw in their second group match against the host club VfL Theesen would have guaranteed them second spot in the group. In the event Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" left little doubt as to their deserved place in the semi-finals with a convincing 4-1 victory, with Mavise Tsjabote and Guy Aviv scoring a brace each.

In the semi-final match against  FC Basel,  Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" failed to find the net for the first time in the tournament and lost 3-0 to the ultimate tournament winners. But it still entitled them to challenge for the third place in the tournament and their opponents this time were the Under-17s of Champion League finalists Borussia Dortmund, who lost their semi-final match to fellow German side VfB Stuttgart. Guy Aviv put Maccabi ahead in the first half but two minutes from time Borussia Dortmund levelled sending the match into a penalty shoot-out. After five successful attempts by both sides, Maccabi keeper Omri Glazer succeeded in stopping Borussia Dortmund's sixth enabling Maccabi's Dan Glazer to finish the job and hand Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded"  an impressive 6-5 win and the third place tournament honours.

Youth Division Football Director Nir Levin, who accompanied the Under-17's on the tournament, had this to say after the match: "This was a competition at the highest level with teams of the highest quality, so a third place finish reflects a worthy performance and is an excellent achievement for our Under-17s".