Maccabi put the two goalless draws against Bnei Sakhnin and Beitar Jerusalem and recorded a convincing 6-2 victory over Hapoel Haifa which took Kenny Miller’s side to the top of the table.
Itamar Noy who made a second half substitute appearance and scored the final goal against the club he joined Maccabi from last summer, said after opening his account this season: “Scoring feels great. I have a lot of respect and affection for my former club. Scoring is always enjoyable, and I hadn’t scored for a long time, so it was a wonderful feeling from the outset. As for the celebration, I respect the club I came from and have a great deal of respect and affection for it, so I didn’t want to celebrate excessively. But scoring a goal is always great.” Noy, who is facing tough competition for places in a Maccabi midfield that includes Issouf Sissokho, Gabi Kanichowsky, Dor Peretz, Ido Shahar and Dan Glazer, added: “At Maccabi, things are never easy. Nothing comes easily, the competition is extremely tough and there are some genuinely excellent players. I worked very, very hard during that period and waited for my opportunity. I’m happy that things came together so well. I give my maximum whenever I can and always try to help the team. Of course, I want to play as much as possible, but that’s beyond my control. My job is to give everything I have.”
In his second season at the Club, Noy, who made his 34th league appearance and 55th in all competitions, added: “I think competition should push everyone to become as good as possible. Having such depth and so many good players means that competition drives us every day. In training, you compete against the best players every day in order to improve, and of course everyone wants to make their contribution. Ultimately, we’re part of a big organization, and we need to make the most of the opportunities we get.”
After not scoring for two matches, the six goals scored took Maccabi’s goal tally to 24 in eight matches, as Noy stressed: “I don’t think we saw it as pressure. Even in the games when the ball wasn’t going in quite as often and things were a little more difficult, the team showed a lot of positive things. You can see the team’s progress and the number of chances we create. Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in, and that’s part of the game. We weren’t worried. We knew things needed to click a little better, and I’m happy that they did today.”
The versatile midfielder who can operate in several positions on the pitch added:: “One thing I’ve managed to adapt to is playing in several positions. Wherever the coach decides he needs me, I’ll do the best I can there. I feel comfortable in a number of positions, and I’ll do whatever is required of me.” Ahead of Thursday’s Tel Aviv derby in the Toto Cup Final: “There’s a lot of excitement, and it’s great. The Toto Cup final, a derby, these are the games we’re all waiting for. We really want to make our fans happy. Of course, we want to win and lift another trophy, and we’re really looking forward to it.”
