Eran Zahavi scored the opening goal, his fifth in all competitions this season, and assisted another to lead Maccabi to a 3-0 State Cup victory over Hapoel Jerusalem in the Round of 32. The 37-year-old who completed the full 90 minutes said at the end of the match: “The most important thing about the goal is that helped us advance to the next stage of the Cup.” Zahavi, who started the match as part of nine changes Zarko Lazetic made from the side which won the Toto Cup Final on Wednesday, added: “We played well as a team with many players who didn’t play for a while but showed motivation and quality during the game. I am delighted we received significant minutes and players showed their qualities. We corrected some things we needed, as we were a lot more coordinated with ambition to score goals. As soon as the first goal went in, the game opened for us and it went as we wanted it to.”
Zahavi who was an unused substitute in the Toto Cup Final on Wednesday, said: “It is just the Toto Cup with all due respect and not the first Toto Cup Final I am not playing. In the past against Maccabi Haifa I also didn’t play so maybe it helped me to be more fresh for today. Obviously I’d like to play in every game and this is what I love doing most, bit there is a coach and he decides. My role is to be the best I can in the minutes that I receive. Every athlete has to deal with the mental side of the game and I am no different. I will always feel as the leading striker even if this is not the situation right now. One always has to be at the top and focused at every given moment.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s top of the table clash away to Hapoel Be’ersheva, Zahavi said: “They are a very strong team who made our lives difficult when we played each other at Bloomfield. They are a good team but we are Maccabi Tel Aviv and wish to show what we have at every stadium, win the game and return home with the 3 points. It is going to be a very tough match, but the title race will not be decided there. We are heading there with a lot of confidence in a bid to try win that match as well”.
