Preview:

Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD10 WINNER League match against Beitar Jerusalem aiming to record their eight league win of the campaign. Three days after the EUROPA League 2-0 defeat away to Aston Villa, Zarko Lazetic’s side know that a victory against fourth place Beitar will see them climb to the of the table just before the international break. But the Toto Cup winners are not expected to be easy pushovers as the side coached by Barak Itzhaki are experiencing a good season winning five of the nine league matches they played so far.

The rib injury Ali Camara suffered at Villa Park forced Lazetic to make a single change at the heart of defense with Heitor Dos Santos stepping in to replace the Guinean as Raz Shlomo’s partner. Tyrese Asante and Roy Revivo comleted Maccabi’s defensive line on the right and left respectively aiming to keep Beitar’s forwards at bay. Maccabi’s midfield remained unchanged with Issouf Sissokho and Itamar Noy occupying the engine room while Dor Peretz captained the side as the attacking midfielder amongst the trio. Peretz who leads the goalscoring charts with six in the league and eight in all competitions, led the team out with the captain’s armband. Helio Varela who impressed against Premier League defenders, kept his place in the starting line up on one wing with Osher Davida on the opposite flank. Elad Madmon led the line aiming to add to his tally of two league goals in his last two matches.
On the bench Lazetic named goalkeeper Yoav Gerafi, Kervin Andrade, Sagiv Jehezkel, Denny Gropper, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Saied Abu Farchi, Ido Shahar and
Ion Nicolaescu.

Prior to kickoff an emotional ceremony was held on the pitch for the return to Bloomfield of Gali and Zivi Berman who were released last month after 738 days in captivity in Gaza. The Berman twins who received last week the two shirts which were waiting for them for more than 2 years beside the technical area, received two framed shirts signed by the entire squad.

First Half:

Maccabi began the match on the front foot with Helio Varela and Osher Davida tormenting Beitar’s defense down the flanks. In the 5th minute Varela skipped past a Beitar as he charged down the left but his cross was cleared. Elad Madmon fired a shot which left Miguel Silva rooted to the goalline but effort crept wide of the post.

In the 19th minute Roi Mishpati was drawn into the action as Maccabi’s keeper reacted well to Yarden Shuah’s left foot drive.

Three minutes later Davida cut inside and tried curling a left foot shot which was easily caught by Silva.

Roy Revivo and Varela combined well on 23 to tear Beitar’s defense apart before squaring for Dor Peretz who couldn’t keep his shot down. Two minutes later
Madmom forced Silva to full stretch as his powerful pile driver was pushed away by the Beitar keeper.

Varela’s pace allowed the Cape Verde winger steal the ball off a Beitar defender near the center circle right on the half hour mark before charging forward and firing a shot which hit the side netting.

Grigoriy Morozov was booked by refree Sapir Berman for a tackle on Varela in the 35th minute.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 42nd minute from the unlikely source of Heitor Dos Santos. The tall Brazilian defender rose above Beitar’s defense to flick Revivo’s throw in and send the ball to bottom far corner for his debut Maccabi goal.

Second Half

Three minutes after the restart Beitar were on level terms as Shuah exploited a misunderstanding between Mishpati and Raz Shlomo to score an equalizer. Two minutes later Adi Yona picked the ball inside Maccabi’s box skipped past a defender and blasted into the net to complete a two goal comeback on 51.

Maccabi’s tripled in the 58th minute as Mishpati beat Shuah to a cross and released the ball but after the ball was released was judged to have headbutted the Beitar captain. Berman showed Mishpati the red card and awarded a penalty for Beitar as Lazetic replaced Madmon with Yoav Gerafi. Omer Atzili stepped up and blasted his spot kick past Gerafi to give Beitar a 3-1 lead on 63. A minute later the visitors tore Maccabi’s defense apart as Yona scored the fourth and his second on the night beating Gerafi with an accurate right foot shot. Lazetic made two more changes as Ido Shahar and Sagiv Jehezkel came on for Itamar Noy and Varela. In the 70th minute Gerafi pulled a stunning save to deny Shuah from scoring a fifth. Davida charged into the box on 73 but sent his shot sailed high and wide.

In the 77th minute Gerafi couldn’t prevent Shuah from scoring Beitar’s fifth as a long ball out of defense reached Beitar’s captain who lifted the ball over the advancing Gerafi before floating it into the open goal.

Maccabi cut the deficit in the 86th minute as Kervin Andrade’s pressure on Silva forced the Beitar keeper to a mistake while the diminutive Venezuelan winger was gifted his debut Maccabi goal to make it 5-2.

Inside injury time a Beitar counter attack resulted with Ziv Ben Shimol scoring the sixth to round off a miserable night.

Sunday’s forthcoming league encounter against Beitar Jerusale, will be the 170th match between Maccabi and Beitar in all competitions. The record currently stands on 76 Maccabi victories, 50 defeats and 43 matches that ended in a draw with a total goal tally of 254–180.

Both sides met each other in the league 140 times with Maccabi winning 59, Beitar winning 40 while 41 matches ended in a draw as the total goal tally currently stands on 204–145.
Of the 68 league matches Maccabi hosted, they won 35 drawn 20 with Beitar winning 13 and a goal difference of 127–68.

Maccabi won 8 of the last 10 home matches against Beitar, with 2 ending in a draw including a 5–0 victory on the final day of the season that sealed the Championship title. Eran Zahavi scored a brace, Dor Peretz, Dor Turgeman added a goal each while a Beitar player contributing with an own goal.

A total of 72 players played for both clubs in league matches as Avishay Cohen and Ion Nicolaescu the current squad members who previously featured for Beitar.

Over the years 378 players have worn Maccabi’s shirt against Beitar in league matches. Avi Nimni featured more than any Maccabi player with 30 appearances, followed by Sheran Yinei (29) and Eli Driks (27).

87 Maccabi players have against Beitar with Eran Zahavi and Avi Nimni, sharing top spot with 15 goals each while Benny Tabak is ranked third with 13 goals against Beitar to his name.

Maccabi’s highest victory over Beitar was recorded in the 2000/01 season Playoffs — a 7–0 victory at Bloomfield. Rodrigo Goldberg (2), Avi Nimni (2), Dedi Ben Dayan, Guy Tzarfati, and Baruch Dego were all on target.

In the 1954/55 season, Maccabi beat Beitar 6–0, and recorded two 5–0 victories, one at the end of last season and another in 2012/13.

There have been only two meetings between Maccabi and Beitar in Matchweek 10: Maccabi beat Beitar 1–0 at Bloomfield in the 1970/71 season with Moshe Assis scoring the only goal of the game. In the 1988/89 season, Maccabi won 4–0 at Bloomfield with Benny Tabak (2) brace, Eli Driks, and Haim Goldberg on target.

The 22-year-old full-back spoke at the end of the defeat at Villa Park about facing a Premiership club: “This is a team at the highest level. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we gave everything we had. After all, they play in one of the best leagues in the world. It’s one of the most exciting stadiums and a great team, that’s football, and we move on.”

On Maccabi’s third defeat of the Europa League phase, Revivo added: “There’s nothing to do, I always look forward, I always believe. I think we played a good match, both as a team and personally,” he added. “It shows the difference between levels, one second of inattention or a missed moment, and you’re punished.”

On his personal and team performance on the night, Revivo said: “I wish I could have scored or assisted. We showed that we’re a team that can play football, defend well, and stand up to a team of this quality. I’m proud of every single player and of the staff, everyone encouraged us.”

The 30-year-old Maccabi captain whose side walked away with compliments but no rewards after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa said after the match: “First of all, we need to score goals,” Peretz said. “Especially since we had chances to take the lead. Those are situations that change the game. On the other side, they make us pay even from half a chance, while when we reach opportunities it’s close but not enough. We’ll need to know how to punish in the next games, and hopefully that will move us forward.”

Maccabi’s captain reached two good chances to score but couldn’t beat Martínez: “The first chance was great, it hit my heel. The second one, in my opinion, the shot was good enough, but the goalkeeper saved it. Two good chances where we could have got us back in the game. Those are critical moments that change the match, the momentum, and our dominance. We will learn from this, and hopefully we’ll be able to make better use of our chances. We’ll improve and progress.”

On the two goals Maccabi conceded on both sides of the interval: “We showed focus in the first half and also in the second. Conceding a goal before halftime is critical. I don’t think it was due to a lack of concentration, it was an unusual goal, and players at this level deserve credit for that. We can learn from it.”

On improving the record of the single point Maccabi has Peretz said: “We keep coming prepared and focused. We need to keep playing great defensive games like we’ve been doing. I think what will help us move forward is scoring goals, that will put us in a completely different place.”

Preview

Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived at Villa Park for the EUROPA League MD4 against Premiership club Aston Villa as Zarko Lazetic’s side have one point from their opening three matches. A draw away to PAOK was followed by defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Midtjylland before another tough encounter against a side that Champions League quarter finals.

Lazetic welcomed Ali Camara back into the side as the towering Guinean centra defender partnered Raz Shlomo as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper Roi Mishpati, Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s defensive line aiming to try and sop Villa’s forwards.
Issouf Sissokho in the anchorman role was joined in the engine room by Itamar Noy with Dor Peretz at the top of the midfield trio leading the team with the captain’s armband. Helio Varela and Osher Davida supplied the width to Maccabi’s formation with Elad Madmon leading the line upfront.

On the bench alongside goalkeepers Yoav Gerafi and Ofek Melika, Lazetic named Heitor Dos Santos, Kervin Andrade, Sagiv Jehezkel, Denny Gropper, Noam Ben Harosh, Ben Lederman, Saied Abu Farchi, Ido Shahar, Itai Ben Hamo and Ion Nicolaescu.

First Half
Maccabi didn’t seem too phased by the occasion or the atmosphere at Villa Park as they began the match on the front foot. Osher Davida’s bursting pace down the wing created a chance for Helio Varela whose effort in the 5th ninute was blocked by the hosts’ defense. A couple of minutes later Elad Madmon tried a shot from the edge of the edge of the area which was easily collected by Emiliano Martinez.

Ali Camara’s required medical treatment as the Guinean central defender went down clutching his ribs after a tackle. In the 14th minute Lazetic was forced to make his first change as Camara couldn’t continue and was replaced by Heitor Dos Santos.

Maccabi’s beat chance came in the 24th minute as a Osher Davida had a shot which deflected off a defender and rolled wide of the post.

A minute before the half hour mark Itamar Noy was booked by Austrian referee Julian Weinberger for a foul in Villa’s Morgan Rogers.

Rogers had a shot which curled over the crossbar on 35 before Mishpati pulled a double save to deny Donyell Malen’s close range effort. Issouf Sissokho also saw yellow in the 37th minute as the Mali midfielder was booked for a foul on Lamare Bogarde. Roy Revivo headed a ball out of the goalmouth on 38 while a minute later at the opposite end the Maccabi left back burst forward before Martinez charged off his line to collect.

Just as the fourth official signalled three minutes of added time Villa scored the opener as Rogers slipped the ball to Ian Maatsen who from the tightest of angles fired a shot past Mishpati to break the deadlock.

Second Half

With no changes at halftime the second half began just like the first one had ended with Villa pressing Maccabi back. A Maatsen shot in the 51st minute forced a save from Mishpati before Malen pounced on the rebound but missed the target from close range. Four minutes later Helio Varela broke through and sent a square ball into the path of Dor Peretz whose effort was saved by Martinez. At the opposite end Mishpati was quick off his line to deny Malen. In the 57th minute Madmon was judged to have fouled Ezri Konsa with Weinberger awarding the hosts a penalty. Malen stepped up and swept his spot kick past Mishpati to double Villa’s lead before Lazetic made a double change as he introduced Ido Shahar and Sagiv Jehezkel for Noy and Davida.

A fingertip Mishpati save on 77 denied Malen from scoring Villa’s third as the Maccabi keeper managed to turn the shot beyond the post. Lazetic made two more changes as Peretz and Varela bowed out and were replaced on 78 by Kervin Andrade and Ion Nicolaescu.

The fourth official raised his sign adding six additional minutes but despite Maccabi’s efforts to score a consolation the 29,524 fans saw Villa win 2-0.