Maccabi Tel Aviv showed their championship pedigree in one of the great domestic league games in Israeli football history on Monday.
The match had everything, a 15-minute delay before the game as ticker-tape from sections of the ground immersed one half of the pitch, as these two heavyweights slugged it out in front of 29,000 fans at Sammy Ofer Stadium.
Tel Aviv got out of the blocks quickly and were well on top after a rousing first-half which saw Avi Rikan finish in style after good work on the right from Itay Shechter. And just three minutes after the break when Eyal Golasa doubled the lead with a sublime first-touch finish from Andre Geraldes’s cross. 
But nobody expected the drama that would then unfold. Inside two minutes, Haifa were level with a brace of goals, both of which will surely make the shortlist for goal of the season. In the 60th minute, Nikita Rukavytsya struck a powerful volley from the edge of the box and with a resurgent home behind them, substitute Yanic Wildschut placed a perfectly weighted volley out of the reach of Daniel Tenebaum.
And there was further drama to come in the 63rd minute after referee Liran Liani awarded Tel Aviv a VAR penalty decision a minute after a handball from Tjaron Shery.
Yonathan Cohen’s spot kick was saved by Josh Cohen but the ball fell kindly for Cohen to slot the rebound home. Haifa responded with a wave of attacks and two minutes from time Muhammad Awad brought Haifa level with a close-range effort. And Awad could have won the game for Haifa with a one-on-one with Tenebaum but hit the shot wide.
But this game was a high roller and Maccabi hit the jackpot in the third minute of injury time with a beautiful finish from Cohen after a pin-point cross from Omer Atzili.
