Tonight Maccabi enter the State Cup fray at Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramla. Sheran Yeini: "In the Cup, every opponent is tough"
Yesterday saw the first teams of the Israeli Premier ("Winner") League enter the mix on the road that leads to the coveted State Cup. Tonight Maccabi Tel Aviv too will have the opportunity to stake their claim in what for the club has been a frustrating undertaking in recent years. Originally scheduled for the "Moshava" Stadium in Petach Tikva, the match will now be Maccabi's first appearance at the Municipal Stadium of Ramla, 24 kilometres east of Tel Aviv, to face second division ("Haleumit") side Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramla in round 8 of the competition. "Of course it would have been ideal to play in Petach Tikva, we've played there many times", revealed Maccabi captain Sheran Yeini ahead of the match. "The stadium in Ramla is more their home turf, small and less space for supporters".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4gLfqSHvGU
Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramla are currently 13th in the "Haleumit" table, just one point above the drop zone. But the Maccabi skipper knows very well that the Cup has rules of its own: "We'll have to work very hard and come prepared to the match because in the Cup, every opponent is tough. They'll play with eleven men in their own half and try to put us under pressure. We'll just have to find a way to crack their defence open".
Maccabi go into the match just three days after recording an important away league win at Maccabi Haifa, and three days later they'll face Hapoel Acre in the league at home, a total of three matches in six days. The squad will just manage to squeeze in some morning training today before taking a break prior to the match. "Before the Haifa match we weren't able to focus on the Cup tie, but since then we've prepared ourselves properly. We're very keen to win the Cup so we'll have to work up a frenzy going into this tie".
Ramla Municipal Stadium has a seating capacity of around 2,000 and yesterday ticket sales got underway for Maccabi supporters. Yeini took the opportunity to express his admiration for the fans that pitch up for Maccabi's away games, including last Sunday in Haifa: "Our fans were absolutely brilliant there. It was cold enough even for us on the pitch so imagine what it must have been like for them, even in their coats. It gives us a fantastic feeling, we play away and it feels like we're at home. Obviously during the match you're focused on what's going on on the pitch, but the moment play stops you can hear them, and that really gets you going again".
