June is usually a month when teams can take a well-earned break and start to think about building for another campaign, but due to the extraordinary circumstances this year, as the weather begins to heat up, so will the action. There is no time to waste as one of the most important fixtures is upon us when second-placed Maccabi Haifa come calling on Wednesday.
These are the upcoming events in the coming month:
June 3: Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Maccabi Haifa, Bloomfield, 20:45
Vladimir Ivic’s charges have built up a nine-point lead as they go into this match against our closest rivals for the title and the intriguing fixture at Bloomfield will no doubt conjure up memories of the great thrills that were produced in February, the last time the two teams met, when the boys in yellow returned from Sammy Ofer Stadium with a 4-3 away win.
June 8, Beitar Jerusalem v. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Teddy Stadium, 20:45
Five days after hosting Maccabi Haifa, it will be the turn of Beitar Jerusalem, the team currently in third place in the standings, to have a crack at producing another classic encounter. Maccabi’s last visit to Jerusalem is not one Beitar will want to recall in a hurry, after they lost 4-0, although they did manage to hold us to a goalless draw in a radius match at Sammy Ofer Stadium this season.
June 15: Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Hapoel Beersheba, Bloomfield, 20:45
We head back home to Bloomfield for the next fixture against Hapoel Beersheba in the first of the two encounters against the southerners. The last meeting between the sides produced a draw at Turner Stadium but Maccabi are looking to maintain a positive record against Beersheba.
June 20: Hapoel Tel Aviv v. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bloomfield, TBA
The first of the two Derbies in the playoff phase will also be the final fixture of the first encounters against the other top five teams in the upper half of the standings. Maccabi have already secured wins in both their previous Derby fixtures this season and will not want to let that record slip. It will be the first of four matches in the space of 10 days for Maccabi.
June 23: Hapoel Haifa v. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Sammy Ofer, TBA
The second half of the playoff phase begins with a trip to Haifa, where the two clubs shared the points in a 1-1 draw the last time they met there.
June 27: Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Hapoel Tel Aviv, Bloomfield, TBA
Just a week after the previous Derby it will be our turn to host the big Bloomfield fixture, the last of the four meetings between the two clubs this season.
June 30: Maccabi Tel Aviv v. Beitar Jerusalem, Bloomfield, TBA
This will be the last home fixture for Maccabi at Bloomfield for the season after which the season will be wrapped up in early July with matches away from the club’s new fortress.
