Maccabi climbed to the top of the table after beating Maccabi Haifa 3-0 at Sammy Ofer following Hapoel Be’ersheva’s 1-1 draw against Beitar Jerusalem at Teddy stadium. Next week’s final league match against Beitar Jerusalem at Bloomfield which would end of the 2024/25 season could see Maccabi celebrate a championship. Maccabi captured top spot with 77 points and opened a two point lead from Be’ersheva that have 75. The 30-year-old midfielder refused to be drawn to any comments suggesting the title is now over as he insisted: “We played a really good game tonight, we were aggressive, determined, gave everything, were sharp and we can be very happy with that.”
Peretz, who knows that the job is not complete and at a turbulent season like this everything is possible, added: “It was a significant step but there is still the last match to play and we have the duty to continue doing our job. Now it is our time and we will focus on the next game.”
With Maccabi and Be’ersheva neck and neck throughout the season, Peretz spoke of the pressure at the business end of the season. “We have a group of winners here, real men who know how to deal with the pressure. The coaching staff and players deserve a lot of credit but we will remain humble. We will need to bring a lot of the things we did tonight for our next match. After a long season packed with matches I am delighted with the place we are in now and we will be there on Saturday as well.”
On Eran Zahavi’s announcement that he will be leaving Maccabi at the end of the season, Peretz added: “Eran is someone special for all of us and me included. He is a player of the highest caliber of the ones I got to play alongside. He is a person with values and standards on the pitch of the highest level. We will enjoy playing with him at our final match and will see where he will head from there. Eran earned the right to chose what he sees right to do and I wish him well.”
