Preview
Three days after the 4-2 defeat away to Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD31 WINNER League home match against Hapoel Petah Tikva. After 48 turbulent hours that saw Ronny Deila depart and Kenny Miller take charge as interim coach, Maccabi will aim to bounce back and return to winning ways. The defeat to Beitar, Maccabi’s sixth of the season kept the team third in the table with 58 points, eight adrift of second place Hapoel Be’ersheva and nine behind leaders Beitar.
Miller, welcomed back from suspension Ali Camara and Osher Davida but will be forced to be without Issouf Sissokho who was sent off at Teddy and will also miss Saturday’s Tel Aviv derby. Camara returned to the starting line up at the heart of defense as the Guinean central defender replaced Heitor dos Santos to partner Raz Shlomo. Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s defensive line in front of goalkeeper Ofek Melika. Itamar Noy stepped into the anchorman role replacing the suspended Sissokho and behind Maccabi’s two leading scorers Ido Shahar and Dor Peretz. Helio Varela and Emir Sahiti were named by Miller as the two wingers with Saied Abu Farchi leading the line.
On the bench alongside goalkeeper Roi Mishapti and dos Santos, Miller named Kervin Andrade, Sagiv Jehezkel, Kristijan Belic, Elad Madmon, Noam Ben Harush, Ben Lederman and Osher Davida.
First Half
Maccabi couldn’t have wished for a better start as they took the lead after 70 seconds and in the first time they entered Petah Tikva’s box. Saied Abu Farchi released Emir Sahiti down the right before the Kosovar winger sent a delicate chip which was nodded home by Dor Peretz. Petah Tikva’s keeper Omer Katz didn’t get a chance but was forced to pick the ball out of the net with his first touch. Peretz on the other hand celebrated his 14th league goal and 17 in all competitions this season.
Peretz was inches away from scoring a second within a couple of minutes while Abu Farchi also didn’t connect onto a ball which would have left him in a great position to score. On the stroke of halftime Sahiti latched on a Yonatan Cohen sloppy back pass before being fouled on the edge of the area by Itay Rotman. Yoav Mizrahi awarded Maccabi a free kick before a well drilled set piece resulted with Maccabi’s second. Ido Shahar jumped over the ball and Revivo rolled it into the path of Tyrese Asante whose low drive was spilled by Katz to double Maccabi’s lead. Asante, who scored at this exact minute against Beitar celebrated a second goal in three days and fourth in all competitions while Revivo added another assist to reach a remarkable 10 in the league alone.
Second Half
No changes were made by either side after the interval as the second half resumed with Maccabi continuing to dominate. Time after time Sahiti, Varela and Revivo kept feeding Abu Farchi and Peretz with balls but none resulting with a clear chance. Abu Farchi carved Petah Tikva’s defense with a through ball to Peretz but the visitors’ managed to clear the danger. Shortly after, the 19-year-old striker sent a square ball that rolled across the face of goal but none of his teammates was able to connect. Right on the hour mark Peretz had a sight on goal as the captain pulled the trigger, but Katz managed to equal his effort and punch the ball away. Miller made a double substitution a minute later as he introduced Sagiv Jehezkel and Elad Madmon for Raz Shlomo and Abu Farchi.
Jehezkel stepped into the right back role with Asante moving across the defense to center-back. Madmon who replaced Abu Farchi almost made an immediate impact as Peretz played him in, but with only Katz to beat, the Maccabi forward saw his shot saved by Petah Tikva’s keeper. Maccabi had the ball in the back of the net on 66 after Peretz tapped in Revivo’s square ball from the goalmouth. But the referee assistant raised his flag for offside and the goal was disallowed denying both Peretz and Revivo a goal and an assist. Miller made another double change in the 73rd minute as Sahiti and Varela both bowed out to a standing ovation and were replaced by Kervin Andrade and Osher Davida. Madmon came even closer on 75 as he reacted first to a ball deep inside Petah Tikva’s box, but his attempt of a volley crashed against the base of the post and rolled wide.
Davida should have scored in the 80th minute after intercepting a pass and charging forward through the middle. Katz managed to save the winger’s shot with his foot and as his defense failed to clear the danger Maccabi were awarded a corner. Shahar floated the resulting corner into the box where Revivo rose above the visitors’ defense to head in Maccabi’s third on the night. This was Shahar’s final contribution as he was replaced by Kristijan Belic in the 84th minute. Two minutes later Madmon finally got his goal as Revivo picked the ball from Andrade broke into the box and added another assist for Madmon who swept his effort to seal the 4-0 victory. Maccabi’s 18th victory of the season takes their tally to 61 points as attention now turns to Saturday’s Tel Aviv derby against arch city rivals Hapoel.
