Preview
Three days after the 4-2 defeat away to Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi arrived at 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 as the partner of 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 goakeeper 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 inside the opening minute 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 while Peretz celebrated his 14th league goal of the season.
Peretz was inches away from scoring a second within a couple of minutes while Saied 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 as a well drilled set piece resulted with Maccabi doubling the score. Ido Shahar jumped over the ball before Revivo rolled it into the path of Tyrese Asante who blasted a shot which Katz couldn’t keep out. Asante, who scored at this exact minute against Beitar celebrated a second goal in three days and third goal this season while Revivo added another assist to reach a remarkable 10.
Second Half
No changes were made by either side after the interval as the second half resumed with Maccabi continuing the dominate. Time after time Sahiti, Varela and Revivo kept feeding Abu Farvchi 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 nark Peretz had a sight on goal as the captain blasted a shot but Katz managed to equall his effort as he punched 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 as Asante moved 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 has the ball in the back of the net on 66 as Peretz swept in Revivo’s square ball. 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 rolled agonisingly wide.
Davida should have scored in the 80th minute as shrugged off a defender and charged forward but Katz managed to save the winger’s shot with his foot. From the resulting corner Maccabi increased their lead as Revivo rose high to head in Shahar’s cross. This was Shahar’s final contribution on the night as he was replaced by Kristijan Belic for the closing stages. In the 86th minute Madmon finally got his goal as Revivo added another assist breaking into the box from the left and squaring for the forward who burried his shot for the fourth.
