Preview
Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD6 WINNER League match against Maccabi Haifa. On the back of Thursday’s defeat to Dinamo Zagreb and the goalless draw away to Bnei Sakhnin, Zarko Lazetic’s side that have 13 points as they won 4 and drawn one in the league so far, will be aiming to return to winning ways.
Lazetic made five changes to the side that suffered a 3-1 defeat to the Croatians in Serbia three days ago. Roi Mishpati kept his place in goal while Raz Shlomo stepped in to partner Ali Camara as the two central defenders in front of the Maccabi keeper. Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s defensive line. Ido Shahar recovered from the ankle injury he suffered at Sakhnin which ruled him out of the Europa League match as the diminutive midfielder joined Kriztijan Belic in Lazetic’s engine room. Kervin Andrade was named at the top of the midfield trio as the 20-year-old Venezuelan is seeking his first goal in a Yellow and Blue strip. Sagiv Jehezkel who missed the injury time penalty against Sakhnin last week, and Osher Davida on the other flank supplied the width to Maccabi’s formation. Dor Peretz led the team out with the captain’s armband as the 30-year-old skipper who scored 5 league goals and 7 and all competitions this season will try and extend his tally.
On the bench Lazetic named goalkeeper Yoav Gerafi, Heitor, Denny Gropper, Elad Madmon, Ben Lederman, Helio Varela, Itamar Noy, Saied Abu Farchi and Ion Nicolaescu.
Prior to kickoff a ceremony was held to commemorate the October 7th atrocities and raise the profile of the five Maccabi fans still held hostage in Gaza.
First Half
A sea of Yellow and Blue surrounded three quarters of the pitch at Bloomfield stadium while Haifa’s visiting fans occupied the north stand. Shortly after kickoff dozens of flaires were lit up in the away sector yet referee Yigal Frid allowed the match to continue. In the seventh minute a Kristijan Belic tackle on Eitan Azoulay earned the Maccabi midfielder a booking. Several minutes later Suf Podgorano tackled Belic bear the halfway line but Frid who awarded Maccabi a free kick opted to book Zarko Lazetic for dissent.
Haifa almost stunned Bloomfiled as Trivante Stewart broke free from the left and with only Roi Mishpati to beat struck his shot against the base of the post. Kervin Andrade’s pressure on Haifa’s defense right on the half hour mark saw the visitors concede possession to Osher Davida deep inside their territory. Davida slipped the ball to Dor Peretz whose attempt of a shot on goal was blocked for a corner. Three minutes later a mistake in Maccabi’s defense gifted Podgorano with a glorious chance to score but Mishpati produced a stunning save to tip the ball onto the crossbar before it was cleared.
Haifa almost stunned Bloomfiled as Trivante Stewart broke free from the left and with only Roi Mishpati to beat struck his shot against the base of the post. Kervin Andrade’s pressure on Haifa’s defense right on the half hour mark saw the visitors concede possession to Osher Davida deep inside their territory. Davida slipped the ball to Dor Peretz whose attempt of a shot on goal was blocked for a corner. Three minutes later a mistake in Maccabi’s defense gifted Podgorano with a glorious chance to score but Mishpati produced a stunning save to tip the ball onto the crossbar before it was cleared. At the opposite end Tyrese Asante carved Haifa’s defense to release Andrade whose square ball which was aimed at Peretz was blocked by Abdoulaye Seck for a corner. Davida tried curling a left foot shot come cross which Shareef Keouf managed to turn over his crossbar.
Second Half
Lazetic made a double substitution at the interval as Itamar Noy replaced Shahr while Elad Madmon came on for Andrade at the restart. The substitution paid off almost instantly as Noy was released into the box by Asante but conceded possession. The combative midfielder fought to win the ball back, cut inside and buried a left foot drive that found the bottom corner to put Maccabi in front and ignite Bloomfield. Maccabi continued their blitz as a Roy Revivo throw in released Sagiv Jehezkel whose snap shot fizzed across the face of goal. A Maccabi counter attack on 53 saw Peretz send Madmon chasing before he was brought down by Seck who was consequently booked.
Two minutes after hour mark Noy could havebbagged a second as he exchanged passes with Peretz but saw his effort rattle the crossbar from close range. Lazetic made another change in the 68th minute as Helio Varela replaced Jehezkel adding a fresh pair of legs on the wings. Belic came off to a standing ovation in the 80th minute as he was replaced by Ben Lederman.
In the 83rd minute Asante burst forward and had his shirt tugged in the box by Lissav Eissat. Frid pointed at the spot but was called to the screen by the VAR and reversed his decision. A minute later Azoulay broke into the box and went down before he was challenged by Camara. Once again Frid awarded a penalty and after a lengthy delay and inspection by the VAR kept his decision. Djoedje Jovanovic stepped up as the former Maccabi Serbian striker blasted the spot kick in to level the score. The fourth official added six minutes of added time as Lazetic introduced Saied Abu Farchi for Davida as his fifth substitution.
Peretz had a chance to win the match in the dying seconds after good work from Madmon but a last gasp tackle denied the Maccabi captain. Raz Shlomo also blocked a Haifa attempt at the death as the contest ended in a draw and the points shared.
