Preview
Ten days after beating Maccabi Haifa for a top of the table clash at Teddy, Maccabi returned to the Jerusalem stadium for a MD8 WINNER League match against Beitar. Zarko Lazetic’s side top the table with 19 points and have a four-point-lead from second place Hapoel Be’ersheva. Beitar, that recorded an impressive 3-2 victory against Haifa in midweek, are currently fifth with 13 points but have a game in hand.
Lazetic welcomed back into his squad Dor Turgeman (calf muscle), Sagiv Jehezkel (cheekbone) and Eran Zahavi who recovered from illness. Roi Mishpati kept his place in goal at the stadium he made his man-of-the-match performance against Haifa last week.
Raz Shlomo and Nemanja Stojic were named as the two central defenders at the heart of Maccabi’s defense. Tyrese Asante returned to the role as right-back while Sagiv Jehezkel who made a substitute appearance against Real Sociedad made his first start since fracturing a cheekbone against Hapoel Be’ersheva. Issouf Sissokho in the anchorman role was joined by Gabi Kanichowsky and Dor Peretz to form Maccabi’s midfield trio. Hisham Layous on the left wing and Osher Davida on the opposite left flank supplied the width to Maccabi’s formation. Dor Turgeman, back from injury against Sociedad as well, spearheaded the attack aiming to add to his tally of two league goals and six in all competitions this season.
On the bench alongside goalkeeper Simon Sluga, Lazetic named Stav Lemkin, Idan Nachmias, Eran Zahavi, Joris van Overeem, Weslley Patati, Elad Madmon, Ofir Davidzada and Ido Shahar.
On the bench alongside goalkeeper Simon Sluga, Lazetic named Stav Lemkin, Idan Nachmias, Eran Zahavi, Joris van Overeem, Weslley Patati, Elad Madmon, Ofir Davidzada and Ido Shahar.
First Half
A sea of color and a wall of noise welcomed both sets of players as Teddy stadium was almost packed to its’ capacity with Maccabi’s fans filling the entire 2900 allocation while Beitar brought another 25,000. Dor Peretz could have opened the score early on as he found himself unmarked at the far post. But Peretz’s close range header bounced on the ground and over the crossbar. Osher Davida and Hisham Layous caused Beitar’s defenders all sorts of problems down the wings, pinging their opposite numbers in the corners and preventing the hosts from developing their regular game. Dor Turgeman had a shot saved in the 16th minute before Peretz came even closer to score. Tyrese Asante released Peretz through before the midfielder lifted the ball over Miguel Silva. But defender Jean Marcelin arrived on time to clear the ball off his line and keep his goal locked. Maccabi continued to dominate keeping Beitar in their own half with Layous forcing a save from Silva as it seemed a goal was a matter of time.
In the 36th minute Maccabi were rewarded for their efforts after Peretz sent Davida charging down the wing with a perfectly timed pass. Davida raced towards the box and squared the ball into the path of Turgeman who with one touch flicked it home to break the deadlock and take his tally to 3 league goals.
A well drilled free kick on 43 almost saw Nemanja Stojic double Maccabi’s lead as he ghosted past Beitar’s defense. The Serbian central defender met Gabi Kanichowsky’s pinpoint cross but guided his header wide of the post.
On the stroke of halftime, an incident which began with a collision between Sagiv Jehezkel and Marcelin left the masked wing-back on the ground clutching his face. A scuffle between the two players saw Marcelin jump to his feet and headbutt Turgeman in the chest. The two Maccabi players were booked while referee Snir Levy needed the assistance of VAR to send Marcelin off during the interval.
Second half
Despite their numerical disadvantage Beitar leveled the score two minutes after the restart. Timothy Muzie picked the ball just inside Maccabi’s half and released a powerful right foot drive that rocketed into the top corner to make it 1-1. Right on the hour mark Peretz almost restored Maccabi’s lead as he met Davida’s cross with a volley that had more power than accuracy. A minute later Kanichowsky fired a shot that rolled wide as Maccabi pressed forward trying to restore the lead. Lazetic reacted with a double substitution as he replaced both wingers Madmon and Davida introducing Weslley Patati and Elad Madmon on 67.
Kanichowsky had two shots in the space of three minutes with the first punched away by Silva before Beitar’s keeper collected the second which didn’t cause him too much trouble. In the 76th minute Lazetic introduced Eran Zahavi for Peretz as the veteran striker was sent to try win the match. But it was a Beitar substitute, Silva Kangai, who won Beitar a penalty seconds after his introduction as he was fouled by Raz Shlomo in the 80th minute. Yarden Shuah stepped-up and beat Mishpati with an accurate spot kick to give Beitar a 2-1 lead.
Ido Shahar replaced Asante on 85 as Lazetic made another change for the closing stages. But within seconds a lethal Beitar counter attack resulted with Kangai scoring another to seal Beitar’s victory at 3-1.
