Veteran central defender Tal Ben Haim looked back at Maccabi’s 5:0 Derby win over Hapoel Tel Aviv at the Netanya Stadium on Matchday Five of Ligat Ha’Al. Number 26 talked about the team defense, coming back from injury and of course the importance of the Derby victory:
“It’s a great feeling to win the Derby 5:0 and to see the crowd going crazy. We received many messages from the fans telling us how important the Derby is and we are very happy that for the third match in a row we didn’t give up a goal. Secondly, to see the fans celebrating is something that the players are very happy to see.”
Returning from injury:
“I came back and I feel good after not playing for five months due to the injury. In the first few matches of the season it took me time to get into the rhythm as I was still a bit slow. My passing wasn’t great, but the coach really believed in me and he understood that it takes time to recover from an injury. He gave me four-five games to play consistently and I’ve played well.”
Team defense:
“The defense isn’t just the four players in the back but it’s from the strikers to the wingers as everyone chips in. Eventhough we haven’t given up a goal for three games in a row credit has to go to the whole team. From Tal Ben Chaim, Oscar Scarione and Dor Micha everyone is working very hard.”
Looking back at Zenit:
“Sure we want to make up for this match. For 78 minutes we played brilliantly, something that most Israeli teams have never been able to do. What happened, happened in the last 12 minutes but we are over it and want to give a good performance on Thursday and take 3-points. However, it won’t be easy.”
