Dor Turgeman scored two goals in the space of 15 first half minutes to take his personal tally to 13 in all competitions on the way to a 4-1 victory over Maccabi Netanya. Turgeman remained with his feet firmly on the ground as he opted to mention the historic day Israel is experiencing following the hostage deal which was signed and the return of hostages from Gaza. “First, before I move to talk about football, tomorrow thank god something will happen which we have all been waiting for – hostages will begin their return home as I hope for the ultimate return of everyone. As for the game, we played an excellent first half, in the second half we felt good and reached more chances. On the downside, we conceded a goal, but I am happy we continued pushing forward and scored the fourth.”
After a 2-2 draw away to Ironi Tiberias and a shock State Cup exit at home to Bnei Reineh where Maccabi conceded two late goals I each match, Turgeman reflected: “It was a difficult spell, we are not used to concede goals in the 90th minute and to crash out of the cup at such an early stage, but we just have to pick ourselves up and move on.”
On the support form fans who turned up at Bloomfield, Turgeman said: “There was an amazing display of our fans against Netanya while we try to repay them as much as possible.”
Turgeman, who scored Maccabi’s opener from the penalty spot, explained his decision to let Weslley Patati the second spot kick Maccabi were awarded several minutes later. ”He hasn’t scored for a while and told me he needs it for his confidence, so I gave him the ball and he scored. It is a privilege to start as a striker for Maccabi. My duty is to prove myself every time and continue scoring goals.”
On the whether he was disappointed not tom start in recent matches, Turgeman replied: “Obviously it is frustrating not to start but this frustrating comes from my desire to play and nothing else.”
Maccabi’s next league fixture will see them travel to play Maccabi Haifa away sandwiched in between two trips abroad to play Bodo/Glimt in Norway (23.1) and Porto (30.1) as Turgeman said: “We have a long trip to Norway on Wednesday as we will head there in a bid to win and only then will move to think about the Maccabi Haifa match. We don’t need to do anything different, but the coach will decide who should play and will be rested. For us every match is like a cup final, every match at Maccabi is money time. Maccabi Tel Aviv needs to win every match and the next two weeks will be vital.”