The Yellow-and-Blue are preparing for their WINNER League Matchday 19 kickoff against Hapoel Acre up north on Monday at 20:00. During the first round of matches, Maccabi defeated Acre 5:0 at Bloomfield Stadium scoring four goals in the second half, as captain Eran Zahavi picked up a brace while Barak Itzhaki and Tal Ben Chaim each scored a goal to go along with a first half own goal. Head Coach Peter Bosz had a chance to watch Acre in action last week and talked about the challenges ahead for his club:
“I think every game until the end of the season will be important. Beer Sheva won last night and they will win more games. Acre may defend tomorrow and we will see that more often whether we are playing at home or on the road. We will try to open up the game, move fast and get past their defense.”
On the level of play so far:
“I was surprised by the first game we played as it was pretty high level against Maccabi Haifa. I was looking for a chance over the first couple of weeks to see all of the players and now that I’ve seen them all including the 9 players that didn’t play against Haifa as they played this past game a against Ramat HaSharon. I’ve got a better idea of who the players are and what they can do.”
First impressions of Maccabi and Tel Aviv:
“My first impression about the club is that the staff and players along with everyone else around the club has been terrific. The city of Tel Aviv is wonderful, but I’m here for the football and to win games and titles. There is a long way to go to play good football for the fans.”
The race for the title:
“The title is not going to be decided after tomorrow. It will be close until the end of the season and we have to play close, but even if we lose or draw it won’t be the end of the title race, there is a long way to go.”
Squad depth:
“We will need all of the players until the end of the season. We will use all 21 of them that are available as there are plenty more matches to go.”
