Maccabi Tel Aviv returned from the three-month coronavirus break on Saturday at Bloomfield and secured a 2-0 win over Hapoel Haifa in the first round of the third, playoff phase of the TASE Premier League to retain their dominant position at the top of the standings.
Goals either side of halftime by Matan Hozez and Itay Shechter secured the points, although the result might have been higher with several chances missed and Maccabi put the ball in the net twice more although an early effort by Shechter and a later one by substitute Nick Blackman were both ruled out for offside.
Haifa opened up well and tested Daniel Tenenbaum in the Maccabi goal early on and once more in the second half, but the Brazilian-born ‘keeper was pretty much unfazed during the match and kept yet another clean sheet.
Hozez finally put Maccabi in the lead on the stroke of halftime when he curled a free kick from just outside the area with his left foot that went around Haifa’s wall and beat the outstretched Yasmin Boric in the visitors’ goal who just managed to get his fingertips to the ball, but no more.
Maccabi were the more dominant in the second half too but it took them another 10 minutes to double the score as Shechter headed in at the far post from a corner taken on the left by Hozez that was headed on by Enric Saborit.
Blackman headed the ball into the net with his first touch after coming on as substitute in the 69th minute but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check that was ordered by referee Orel Greenfeld but the offside margin was miniscule.
The next test for Maccabi is a big one, against second-placed Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield on Wednesday.
