Preview

Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD21 ONE ZERO League match against Bnei Sakhnin after hosting the midweek cup tie against Maccabi Petah Tikva at Netanya. With his side at second place, five points adrift of the leaders, Maccabi’s Spanish coach, Aitor Karanka, who rested several players in the 4-0 victory over the second division side, made seven changes to his starting line-up.

Daniel Peretz started in goal while Daniel Tenenbaum who kept a clean sheet against Petah Tikva and was involved with two of Maccabi’s goals, suffered a back injury in training and was replaced on the bench by Or Yitzhak. Nir Bitton returned to the heart of defence as the 31-year-old former Celtic defender, partnered Derrick Luckassen as the two central defenders. Andre Geraldes returned to the right full-back position with Enric Saborit completing Karanka’s back-four on the opposite left flank. Dan Glazer and Dor Peretz were named by Karanka in the midfield engine room as the duo were set to face tough opposition from their Sakhnin counterparts. Gabi Kanichowsky who scored a goal and assisted another against Petah Tikva, and Parfait Guiagon were handed the wide roles in Karanka’s formation. Eran Zahavi led the team out wearing the captain’s armband as the 35-year-old who scored 12 league goals partnered Djordje Jovanovic who bagged a brace against Petah Tikva but scored one goal less than Zahavi in the league.

New signing Rares Ilie, who arrived on loan until the end of the season from French outfit OGC Nice, didn’t make the substitutes bench but was unveiled to the Maccabi fans prior to kickoff.

First Half

Maccabi began the match on the front foot with pressure on Bnei Sakhnin’s defence right from the start. Parfait Guiagon broke into the area in the 10th minute but his attempt to find one of his teammates was blocked and cleared by the visitors’ defence. Two minutes later however, the visitors took the lead against the run of play as Beram Kayal found Fabian Sporkslede on the edge of the area. Sporkslede sent a square ball into the path of Guy Melamed who blasted a right foot shot that gave Daniel Peretz no chance and Sakhnin a 1-0 lead.

Six minutes later, Sakhnin’s Abou Doso had a shot which was blocked by Derrick Luckassen while a minute later at the opposite end, Eran Zahavi, headed a Gabi kanichowsky corner which was saved on the line by goalkeeper Gad Amos.

Hasan Hilu was the first player to go into the book of referee Yigal Frid for a foul on Guiagon in the 23^rd minute. Zahavi tried curling the resulting free kick which was blocked by one of Sakhnin’s players who stood in the wall. Maccabi tried desperately to level the score and came close within a minute as Luckassen managed to head a Kanichowsky free kick goal-bound, only for Amos to pull a spectacular point blank range and deny the Dutchman.

Sakhnin came close to double their lead in the 29th minute but Peretz came off his line to collect and prevent Melamed a close range tap-in. Kanichowsky tried a long range effort two minutes later, but Amos collected with ease. In the 36th minute a Beram Kayal tackle on Dor Peretz near the Sakhnin area saw Frid called to the VAR before he returned to the pitch and sent the veteran midfielder off with a red card. Maccabi tried to exploit their numerical advantage as Zahavi snapped a left foot shot from inside the area in the 40th minute but once again Amos was well positioned to keep his goal locked.

Maccabi’s best chance of the first half came in the fifth and final minute of added time. Peretz whipped-in a cross from the edge of the area before Djordje Jovanovic sent a powerful header forcing Amos to stretch himself and pull another stunning save. Frid’s halftime whistle sent both teams to regroup in the dressing room for 15 minutes before returning for the second period.

Second Half

The second half began where the first half left off as 30 seconds after the restart. Guiagon charged into the area and was blocked before Jovanovic latched on the loose ball and forced another save from Amos. In the 52nd minute Maccabi’s pressure paid off as Sakhnin failed to clear a Geraldes cross which fell to Saborit who spotted Zahavi unmarked at the center of the area. The Spaniard slid the ball to the veteran marksman who turned and fired an accurate shot into the bottom far corner to level the score with his 13th league goal of the season.

Dan Glazer was booked in the 55th minute for a foul on Ihab Ghnaim near the center circle. This was Glazer’s final contribution on the night as he was replaced by Eyal Golasa shortly after.

Maccabi continued to dominate and a minute after the hour mark, Zahavi couldn’t direct his header on target as he sent Jovanovic’s cross over the crossbar. Three minutes later, Golasa released Saborit whose perfect square ball into the path of Zahavi was side footed by the 35-year-old striker wide.

Two minutes later, the dual between Zahavi and Amos continued as Guiagon released the veteran striker but his effort was blocked by Sakhnin’s keeper. Yonatan Cohen replaced Kanichowsky in the 68th minute as Karanka added a fresh pair of legs in a bid to carve an opening.

A rare Sakhnin attack in the 78th minute resulted with a corner which Dor Hugi headed and Peretz collected. Cohen who was introduced only 11 minutes earlier, pulled a muscle was replaced by Avi Rikan in the 79th minute.

In the 85th minute a Jovanovic cross into the path of Zahavi saw the veteran striker attempt a powerful volley which was blocked by a Sakhnin defender. Saborit also tried his luck with a long range left foot effort but Amos managed to deny the Spanish defender as well.

Zahavi must have thought he had scored the winner inside injury time. Zahavi headed Guiagon’s cross from close range, but Amos pulled yet another stunning save to keep his goal locked. Jovanovic wasted another chance in the dying seconds and as the ball ballooned into the stand it was proved that it is clearly not Maccabi’s night.

Maccabi Tel Aviv dropped two valuable points this evening (Saturday) after being held to a 1-1 draw by Bnei Sakhnin at Bloomfield stadium. At the end of the match, Aitor Karanka faced the media and summed up his teams’ performance on the night.

 

“It was a poor performance, I said before the game that we had a problem with the way in which we approach games as this is not the first time we concede an early goal or make mistakes and this was just one of those days,” Karanka said: “In the second half we created chances to score but that wasn’t enough.”

On what didn’t work on the night, Karanka said: “I must explain that to my players first and work on it on the training ground. This is time to think about what we are not doing well, think positively and change the mentality.”

On the chances to cut the gap at the top of the table, Karanka said: “We must focus on ourselves as I must explain to the players first on the way in which we want to win. We must bring passion and a strong mentality as I don’t care about the opponents or the points but only on our ability”.

Bnei Sakhnin visit of Bloomfield stadium on Saturday will be the 50^th league encounter between the two sides with Maccabi winning 32, losing 6 while 11 matches ended in a draw. The total goal tally of the league matches currently stands on 94-34.

Maccabi has a 72.8% success rate from their matches with Sakhnin which is the highest of all the 19 opponents which faced us in 40 matches or more.

The home record against Sakhnin currently stands on 18 victories, 5 draws and 1 defeat conceded in the 2004/05 season – with goal tally of 55-15.

The 5-0 State Cup victory over Sakhnin earlier this season was Maccabi’s highest in matches between the two sides in 66 matches in all competitions.

Maccabi’s highest victory over Sakhnin in the league were 4-0 wins recorded twice at Bloomfield in the 2010/11 and 2012/13 seasons.

Eran Zahavi is Maccabi’s leading goal scorer against Bnei Sakhnin with 12 goals to his name. Zahavi, who is the only Maccabi player to have scored a hat-trick against Sakhnin on the final day of the 2013/14 season, scored more goals only against Beitar Jerusalem (13).

Fifty five Maccabi players have a 100% record against Bnei Sakhnin with Eliran Atar (9) playing the most number of matches against them.

Throughout history, sixteen players featured for both sides of whom two foreigners: Scot Sealy and Alain Massudi.

Sakhnin’s coach Kobi Refuah faced Maccabi 15 times in the league, with Maccabi winning 9, losing 2 and 4 matches ended in a draw.

Gabi Kanichowsky, who began the match with an assist then won a penalty and rounded off the man-of-the-match performance with a spectacular goal to lead Maccabi to a 4-0 victory in the first leg of the State Cup Quarter Final, admitted: “It is fun to score. I could have possibly scored another and in the end the most thing is the result but we are already focused on Saturday’s forthcoming match.

 

The 25-year-old midfielder, who set up Djordje Jovanovic’s opener, was brought down in the area for Maccabi’s second and scored a solo effort for the 3rd against second division side Maccabi Petah Tikva, added: “We must prepare against every team regardless of their name or position. One must never disrespect any opponent at such situation – its a clear must. Maccabi Petah Tikva are a good tough team, and I am delighted we completed our job the way we had to. There is a still another game to play, but today we really came to work and it showed. In the first minute Daniel Tenenbaum rescued us with a top save, but we recovered quickly and got a good result.”

On life under coach, Aitor Karanka, Kanichowsky added: “It is true as swapping a coach midway through the season is not easy, but he brought with him a good spirit and plenty of positive energy. Us players must also prove themselves to the new coach and must raise their game to show what they are worth.”