Maccabi’s Head Coach Ronny Deila whose side returned to league action after a month long break due to the war with Iran, guided the team to a 4-1 victory at Sammy Ofer over Hapoel Haifa. At the end of the game the Norwegian coach said: “It has been a difficult month for everyone. Even today, I heard about the terrible incident in Haifa and my thoughts are with those affected, that’s more important than football. As for the match, I think we played a fantastic first half. The way the players performed today was excellent. We played with tempo and patience, reacted well, and pressed them effectively in their own half. In the second half we had more problems, these are things we’ll need to work on and respond better to changes.”
Deila, who is missing several foreign players from his squad, admitted: “I have spoken with all of them, and I hope more players will arrive during the week. We need to respect everyone. The club is doing everything in the way it supports us, and we will do everything we can to make it as comfortable as possible in the current situation to be part of the team. We want everyone here.”
Ahead of next week’s match against leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva at Bloomfield which would end the regular season and set the tone for the Playoff, Deila said: “Right now, it’s theirs to lose, that’s for sure. We want to win every match. We were dominant before the break and again today. Be’ersheva is a different game, so far they’ve been the best team, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
