Maccabi’s Head Coach Ronny Deila whose side returned to league action after a month long break due to the war with Iran, guided the team to a 4-1 victory at Sammy Ofer over Hapoel Haifa. At the end of the game the Norwegian coach said: “It has been a difficult month for everyone. Even today, I heard about the terrible incident in Haifa and my thoughts are with those affected, that’s more important than football. As for the match, I think we played a fantastic first half. The way the players performed today was excellent. We played with tempo and patience, reacted well, and pressed them effectively in their own half. In the second half we had more problems, these are things we’ll need to work on and respond better to changes.”

Deila, who is missing several foreign players from his squad, admitted: “I have spoken with all of them, and I hope more players will arrive during the week. We need to respect everyone. The club is doing everything in the way it supports us, and we will do everything we can to make it as comfortable as possible in the current situation to be part of the team. We want everyone here.”

Ahead of next week’s match against leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva at Bloomfield which would end the regular season and set the tone for the Playoff, Deila said: “Right now, it’s theirs to lose, that’s for sure. We want to win every match. We were dominant before the break and again today. Be’ersheva is a different game, so far they’ve been the best team, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

At the start of his remarks, Ido Shahar addressed the missile impact in Haifa earlier and said: “We heard that Haifa went through a difficult evening. From here, I want to pray that everyone is found safe and well. The north is going through a tough time. I want to say thank you and pray for the safety of our soldiers, thanks to them, we are here.”

The 24-year-old midfielder, then spoke about the circumstances in which the match was played, after scoring a goal to take his tally to 10 league goals this season: “The feeling of returning to play is amazing. As much as possible, we can give fans two hours of disconnection from everything that’s happening. We’re happy to be back playing. I dedicate this win to the soldiers, we are glad to give them every moment of joy and happiness that we can.”

On Maccabi’s mindset, Shahar added: “I can say that we are coming back with maximum hunger and readiness. As a team and as a club, we are very hungry, we have been waiting to play and to complete our objectives.”

As Maccabi narrowed the gap from Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Be’ersheva, Shahar said: “We never gave up for a second, and we’re not giving up. We’re just trying to press the gas. Next week we have Hapoel Be’ersheva, we hope to win and we approach it like any other match.”

Shahar, who became a father for the first time last week, explained his cradle celebration after scoring:
“Today I arrived at the team hotel after my son’s brit, so it was for him and for my wife.”

Preview

Thirty-six days of an imposed break due to the war with Iran came to an end as Maccabi Tel Aviv returned to league action for the WINNER League MD25 match away to Hapoel Haifa.

Ronny Deila’s charges that are currently third in the table with 46 points, arrived as Sammy Ofer stadium to play the match which was rescheduled from February 28th. On the penultimate match of the regular season, Maccabi’s task is clear – beating Hapoel Haifa and narrowing the gap from second place Beitar Jerusalem and leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva that arrive at Bloomfield next week.

Ofek Melika who kept two clean sheets with Israel’s U-21’s during the international break made his 20th appearance in goal. Ali Camara and Tyrese Asante lined-up as the two central defenders in front of Melika with Roy Revivo named at left back. Noam Ben Harush on the right completed Maccabi’s defensive line as he and Itamar Noy faced their former club and were honored by the host club before kickoff. Maccabi’s top goal scorers Ido Shahar (9) and Dor Peretz (10), completed Maccabi’s midfield trio. Osher Davida on one wing and Helio Varela on the other supplied the width to Deila’s team with Saied Abu Farchi leading the line.

Deila, who was missing Emir Sahiti, Heitor dos Santos, Kervin Andrade and Kristijan Belic, named Roi Mishpati, Sagiv Jehezkel, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Elad Madmon, Ben Lederman, Itai Ben Hemo, Lotem Asres and Ilay Ben Simon on the substitutes bench.

First Half

Infront of an empty stadium and with only 150 people present including both teams, the hosts came close to to draw first blood in the opening minute after Alon Turgeman exploited a mistake by Tyrese Asante to charge forward but Maccabi’s defense recovered in time. 

In the the sixth minute. Maccabi came even closer to score as Noam Ben Harush’s cross from the right found Saied Abu Farchi whose powerful header was saved by Yoav Gerafi. Heio Varela pounced on the rebound and sent a half volley towards goal which Gerafi punched away once again.

The hosts enjoyed a decent spell yet were unable to create any clear chances, but in the 24th minute Gerafi rescued them from conceding. Ido Shahar carved Haifa’s defense open as he released Dor Peretz into the box before Maccabi’s captain burst forward but was equaled by Gerafi before Varela curled the ball wide. Two minutes later the deadlock was finally broken as Ivan Kricak just managed to clear from the goalmouth. before Ali Camara could nod home. Haifa’s defense struggled to clear the danger before Osher Davida’s effort was initially saved by Gerafi who could do nothing to keep out Peretz from sweeping the rebound home.

Peretz continued to look dangerous as six minutes after the half hour mark Peretz almost doubled Maccabi’s lead as his shot from the edge of the area struck the base of the post. Two minutes later Maccabi’s other top scorer got his name on the scoresheet as Roy Revivo curled a pinpoint cross into the path of Shahar. The diminutive 24-year-old midfielder then flicked with his head to score his 10th league goal and 14 in all competitions.

Seconds after the fourth official raised his sign for two minutes of added time, Maccabi increased their lead to three with a clinical counter attack. Itamar Noy released the ball out of defense with a pass to Saied Abu Farchi who was in the center circle. Abu Farchi released Shahar who burst forward and passed to Peretz who released Davida. The pacey winger curled a left foot shot which Gerafi couldn’t keep out.

Second Half

Maccabi began the second half where they left off and almost increase their lead on 52. Shahar burst through the middle and saw his shot struck the post and hit Gerafi who managed to save Davida’s headed rebound. Two minutes later however Haifa cut the deficit as Turgeman was released before squeezing a low drive which beat Ofek Melika at the near post to make it 3-1. Revivo tried his luck with a thunderbolt from the edge of the area in the 63rd minute which was punched away by Gerafi who also managed to deny Varela three minutes later. 

Deila made a double substitution in the 77th minute as Raz Shlomo replaced Ben Harush while Sagiv Jehezkel came on for Davida. Shlomo partnered Camara at the heart of defense with Tyrese Asante moving to the right back role. In the 83rd minute, Jehezkel who received the ball from Shahar cut the ball back for Varela who turned and fired a right foot shot into the top corner for the fourth. This was Varela’s final contribution on the night as Deila made three more changes a minute later with Varela, Noy, and Abu Farchi bowing out as Ben Lederman, Elad Madmon and Yonas Malede coming on for the closing stages.

Yoav Mizrahi’s full time whistle ended the contest as Maccabi now have a week before hosting Be’ersheva at Bloomfield.

As Maccabi’s most experienced player in the squad, Dor Peretz has been through a fair share of irregular spells at the club. The 30-year-old Maccabi captain faced the media ahead of the league’s return after an imposed break during the ongoing war with Iran. Reflecting on recent weeks which saw football take a back-seat, Peretz said: “We went through an unusual time. At first, we trained with an Israeli coaching staff. Ronny (Deila) and the staff returned, the foreign players came back, and the energy returned very quickly as well. The work in training and the seriousness reflect the point where we left off before the war. I am very happy with everyone who is here, all focus is on Sunday.”

“At the beginning of the war we were at home with our families,” Peretz added. “The foreign players later gathered in Cyprus, while we were here a few days after the war began. Thankfully, the work here followed the coaching staff’s guidelines, under the direction of Avi Rikan and Israel Kakun we had a great tempo, excellent training sessions, and good energy despite an unusual reality. We are trying to do the best we can, as we always do.”

On the return to league action during wartime, Peretz added: “It is not an ideal situation, let’s be honest. Everyone knows that, but it’s the right decision. We wish we could play in a full stadium without sirens, but that’s not the reality right now. This is the situation, and we have to deliver as much as we can.”

While Ali Camara, Tyrese Asante, Helio Varela and Issouf Sissokho are back with the team, several others are exoected to rejoin in the near future, as Peretz added: “I spoke with all of the foreign players in the first few days. It was important for me to stay in touch and give them confidence. It’s not a pleasant situation, I understand them, and that’s okay. Whoever is here will give their best, and that will be enough.”

On the mental challenge of playing without fans, Peretz admitted: “When there’s no fans we have to push ourselves as much as possible to recover in the best way between matches. There are no second chances.”

Ahead of Sunday’s match at Sammy Ofer, he said: “Hapoel Haifa are a completely different team since January. Our main objective is to win the match and do it in the best possible way. Long-term goals? Right now, in our current situation, that’s not relevant. We need to go game by game and produce the best football we can. There are 12 league matches and two cup games left, there’s no room to drop our standards”.

The March international break is underway, as Maccabi’s players will be in action as part of the various national teams. The international roll-call will include:
Dor Peretz, Roy Revivo, and Itamar Noy are all part of Ran Ben Shimon’s National Team squad as Israel’s senior side face Georgia for a friendly at the Mikheil Meskhi stadium in Tbilisi on Thursday March 26th at 19:00.

Ofek Melika, Noam Ben Harush, and Saied Abu Farchi are all included in Israel’s U21 national team which will face a Hungary U21 side for a friendly at the Pancho Arena in Felcsut Hungary at 21:30 on Thursday. The Maccabi trio are all set to feature in Guy Luzon’s U21’s which will host their Group 9 European Championship qualifier against Bosnia at the BSC Stadium in Budaörs Hungary next Tuesday (March 31st).

Ilay Ben Simon is with the Israel U-18 national team playing the elite qualifying round of the U-18 European Championship qualifying campaign, where Ofir Haim’s side will face Austria, Germany, and Bosnia.
In addition to Ben Simon, other representatives from the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team in the squad are: Noam Levy, Leroy Abrebaya, and Yehonatan Kotzer.
March 25th – Israel U18’s v Austria U18’s
March 28th – Germany U18’s v Israel U18’s
March 31st – Bosnia and Herzegovina U18’s v Israel U18’s
(all matches in Austria)

The IPFL board announced today , its decision to return to league action on the weekend of April 4th. In accordance with Home Front Command guidelines, the matches will be played at this stage behind closed doors and with only a limited number of officials present (up to 150 per match).

Maccabi’s State Cup Semi-final against Maccabi Haifa will take place on April 15th.

We hope to see you back in the stands as soon as possible, and we pray for quieter and safer days ahead.

Match dates:
MD 25, Sunday, April 5th: Hapoel Haifa v Maccabi Tel Aviv, (Sammy Ofer, 20:15)

MD26, Sunday, April 12th: Maccabi Tel Aviv v Hapoel Be’ersheva, (Bloomfield, 20:30)

First Half:

Twenty minutes from the start Osher Davida broke into the Petah Tikva box from the right before he was brought down inside the area but referee Aviel Levy decided it wasn’t worthy of a penalty.

Five minutes later the deadlock was broken as Issouf Sissokho won possession deep inside Petah Tikva’s half before bursting into the area. The 24-year-old Malian midfielder squared to towards Davida who swept the ball home past Omer Katz.

Second Half:

Maccabi’s assistant coach Avi Rikan made four changes at the restart as Roi Mishpati replaced Ofek Melika in goal. Noam Ben Harush came on for Yonas Malede and slotted into the right back role with Sagiv Jehezkel pushing forward. Itamar Noy replaced Sissokho with Ido Shahar coming on for Kervin Andrade.

In the 51st ninute Petah Tikva were back on level terms after Shavit Mazal swept in a square ball past Mishpati. Ilay Ben Simon replaced Sagiv Jehezkel just before the hour mark. Rikan made another triple substitution as Liran Spiegel stepped in for Roy Revivo, Ben Lederman replaces Dor Peretz while Elad Madmon came on for Saied Abu Farchi.

In the 66th ninute Maccabi restored their lead as Petah Tikva’s substitute keeper Shahar Amsalem managed to save Shahar’s powerful drive but could do nothing to leep out Ben Simon rebound.

Yoav Junio replaced Davida for the final 20 minutes while Noam Levy stepped in for Itay Ben Hemo five minutes later.

In the 79th minute Petah Tikva levelled the score once again after Ari Cohen volleyed in Noam Cohen’s knock down to set the score at 2-2.

Maccabi: Ofek Melika (Roi Mishpati 46), Sagiv Jehezkel, Itay Ben Hemo (Noam Levy 75), Idan Weinberg, Roy Revivo (Liran Spiegel 60), Issouf Sissokho (Itamar Noy 46), Dor Peretz (Ben Lederman 61), Kervin Andrade (Ido Shahar 46), Osher Davida (Yoav Junio 70), Yonas Malede (Noam Ben Harush 46), Saied Abu Farchi (Elad Madmon 61).