Matchday 8 of the Youth Israel Premier League saw Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv host SC Ashdod at Kiryat Shalom. The young Yellow & Blue are in 7th place on the table while Ashdod sits in 5th and have gone three matches without a defeat.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI included: Daniel Peretz, Noam Cohen, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Tomer Machluf, Eden Kartzev, Yoav Hofmayster, Netanel Peretz, Muflah Shalata, Eyal Hen, Eyal Hen.

First Half
Maccabi “Shachar” had their first chance in the 8’ when Hofmayster sent a through ball to Almog who left it for Kartzev, but his shot went off of a defender and went over the bar by centimeters. A minute later, Shalata found Almog who put the ball in the goal but was called offside by the referee as the Yellow & Blue continued to control the pace of play.

In the 15’ Ashdod had a dangerous chance via Gal Aviv but Peretz was in place to clear the ball to safety, however, five minutes later the visitors took the lead. Yoni Siasi picked up the ball in the middle of pitch and went in on Peretz who couldn’t stop the striker for a 1:0 advantage. Ashdod took a two goal lead in the 25’ when Siasi took a loose ball and again put it by Peretz to make it 2:0. In the 35’ Shalata tried his luck from long distance but the Ashdod keeper made the save. Right before the break, Avi Butbol had an opportunity from inside the box, but Peretz made the terrific save to keep the deficit as is after 45 minutes.

Second Half
Prince Thomas came in at the start of the second half and had a chance to pull a goal back in the 51’ but his fine attempt went off of Ashdod defender and out, while two minutes later, Hen left a ball for Almog but his shot went over the goal.

In the 65’ Kartzev left the ball for Thomas who in turn sent a powerful shot towards the goal, but the Ashdod keeper came up big yet again to keep his clean sheet intact. Two minutes later, Cohen came steaming down the right side and crossed the ball to Hen but his chance went out. Finally the Yellow & Blue would cut the lead to 2:1 when Netanel Peretz found Almog who beat the Ashdod keeper. Maccabi almost found the equalizer five minutes later when Hen sent the ball to Almog on the left who in turn crossed it to Peretz, but his header just grazed the post and went out. Almog had one last chance to draw the hosts even but the Ashdod keeper made the stop yet again as Maccabi fell 2:1.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – SC Ironi Ashdod, 11:00 Kiryat Shalom
The Under-19 Club is back in action after a lengthy break. The Yellow & Blue will host Ashdod on Matchday 8 in the Youth Premier League as the visitors find themselves one point ahead of Guy Tzarfati’s squad.

Hapoel Herzliya – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 16:15 Herzliya Country Club Pitch Ran A
After a league win last week, the U17’s will play away at Herzliya in State Cup action. The young Yellow & Blue will look to keep up their positive momentum from league action.

SC Ironi Or Yehuda – Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv, 10:30 Moshava Synthetic
The Under-15 South team will have State Cup action on Saturday when they visit Or Yehuda as Ori David’s squad will attempt to continue their winning ways.

Agudat Sport Ramat Eliyahu – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 08:30 Ramat Eliyahu
Asaf Heber’s side play in the State Cup at Ramat Eliyahu as the young Yellow & Blue will look to move on to the next stage of the competition.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv faced Hapoel Acre’s First Team and drew 1:1 in an exciting and intense matchup that was played at a very high level and featured many chances from both sides. Eden Kartsev helped the young Yellow & Blue draw even.

The Under-19 squad had many dangerous chances but couldn’t find the winner as Prince Thomas hit the post while Eyal Hen and Adir Hardon came up short on good opportunities in front of the goal. Keeper Daniel Peretz made a couple of amazing back to back saves near the end of the match that kept the 1:1 scoreline intact as Guy Tzarfati’s side was dominant while dictating the high level of play and controlled the ball for much of the contest.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati summed up the match: “We played well and I’m very happy with my players. The intensity and their quality showed and we received compliments from the Acre staff. We have to keep up this pace and continue to play well when we face Ashdod this Saturday.”

On December 18th the Maccabi Academy will hold open an training day for goalkeepers from throughout the country. The Youth Department will see which keepers will impress and those who do will be invited for trials with the various teams in the Academy.

To register for the Goalkeeper training day please fill in the form by emailing iainy@mtafc.com

The professional staff will also take part in this special day as will the goalkeeping coaches of the youth department teams including the head goalkeeping coach Israel Ainy who is responsible for the Academy’s Goalkeeper Department. The Under-19 squad’s keepers will also take part in the day’s activities.

A keeper who impresses the staff will be invited to the Academy for trials to see if they can join one of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth department teams. Along with keepers who are interested in attending the open training day, amateur keepers as well as professional keepers are also welcome to participate from across the country.

Throughout the day there will be specific training for keepers by age group according to the philosophy of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Academy. There will also be various goalkeeper competitions and prizes for the most outstanding keepers.

The open training day will take place on December 18th (should there be an overwhelming response a second day will be added on December 19th).
Time: 11:00-16:00 (the full schedule will be published soon)
Goalkeeper ages Boys – 8-16
Goalkeeper ages Girls – 10-12

Please fill in the following details and email them to: iainy@mtafc.com

1. Full Name
2. Sex M/F
3. Birthdate
4. Height/weight and glove size
5. How many years have you been playing as a keeper?
6. Are you currently registered as an active player on a team?
If you are a keeper from another club that would like to participate in the goalkeeping day you must have an approval from your club that you are allowed to participate in the open day.
7. Mobile phone number, parents number, address, email

Medical consent:
Active player – please attach a current medical consent form to the email
Players on trial, amateurs etc… – please attach a medical consent form from your family doctor.
Date
Parent signature

Youth Club midfielder, Or Dasa, who has recently made the best of an opportunity to be a part of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s First Team, was called up to the Under-21 Israel National Team for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers.

Head Coach Marko Balbul will have Dasa available for Thursday’s away match at Kosovo who are in third place with 6 points after 4 matches and at home against Germany next Tuesday at Ramat Gan Stadium. The Under-21 side currently has 4 points in three matches thanks to a home win over Azerbaijan and a draw in Norway.

Maccabi “Shmuel” Haifa 3:0 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv
The club’s Under-19 side fell to their rivals from the Carmel on Matchday 7 of the Youth Premier League. The loss moves the team into 7th place, 8 points off of the top of the table. The young Yellow & Blue will now go on a 3-week break. For the full match report click here.

Bnei Sakhnin 0:4 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv
Eliezer Ben Aharon’s squad continued their positive momentum with yet another win in league play by defeating Bnei Sakhnin on Matchday 7. The Yellow & Blue sit atop the table with 7 wins in as many matches thanks to goal scorers, Raava Assayag with a brace, Gil Ben Shalosh and David Dego. Ben Aharon summed up the win: “We played on a tough pitch which was very small. The win was thanks to the way that our players were able to perform and how the Sakhnin team played. We prepared for the match and it worked as we scored quality team goals at the highest of levels. Now it’s on to the next challenge.”

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 2:2 Hapoel “Yoram” Rishon Le’Zion
The club’s Under-16 side split the points with Rishon Le’Zion on Matchday 8 after leading 2:0. Nehorai Bitton and Or Roizman scored for Maccabi. Head Coach Raymond Atteveld looked back at the match: “The match began very focused and very well as to what we had worked on this past week in training. After 5 minutes of play we should have been leading as we had a great chance but we failed to score. The attackers have to know the importance of scoring goals which is as important as the defensive work and not allowing goals. We scored the first and second goals but we weren’t able to kill the game, many chances but not enough goals. One mistake allowed the opponent to come back into the match. Mistakes happen during the game but the most important thing is to how the team reacts to those mistakes. We didn’t know how to deal with the mistakes and after an error a number of players were upset and displayed their frustration including at the referee. It’s time that one knows how to respect the referees regardless of their decisions. Rishon was able to draw even on a ridiculous penalty and the match ended in a disappointing draw. As a coach in the Academy I understand that there is a process of learning from mistakes and I hope that the players will learn quickly as it’s time that we understand that we are Maccabi and that we don’t give gifts to the opponents. We will continue to learn and improve.”

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 6:0 Hapoel Asheklon
The Under-15 South side got back onto the winning track after defeating the southern outfit on Matchday 6. The young Yellow & Blue are in first place and are undefeated so far this season. Ariel Belhassen, Elad Kaplan, Itay Ben Kimon, Oscar Gloch, Mor Siman Tov and Ener Osmandi all scored in the win. Head Coach Ori David spoke about the victory: “We didn’t play as well as we could have in the first half and as we weren’t as quick and missed some chances. We were much better in the second half and played at an excellent pace which led to two fantastic goals.”

Hapoel Petah Tikva 4:3 Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv
The Under-15 North squad fell for the first time this campaign as they lost to Petah Tikva on Matchday 6. Despite the defeat, the young Yellow & Blue sit in 4th place just 3 points off the top of the table. Omer Senior scored a brace while Aviv Pelles added a single marker. Coach Asaf Heber commented: “After a long period of time that we played well, we didn’t play aggressively enough and we weren’t as focused. We led twice in the first half but the hosts tied us up twice and we went into the break even. We gave up two goals at the start of the second half and we were just able to get one goal back near the end of the match.”

About the play after the Derby match:
“Were disappointed in how we played and we didn’t except to lose, especially as to how we looked. But we have to tell the truth that Haifa beat us in all the parameters that a team must do to win a football match. There are games like this. We have to take a look at the video and also look at ourselves in the mirror to see what we did wrong and correct the mistakes. We will take that and move on to the upcoming matches.”

Did Haifa surprise you?
“They didn’t surprise us as the Youth League is very competative this season and they still have some quality players. I believe that we are more surprised in ourselves. We made many mistakes on defense and we weren’t able to control the ball as we lost it numerous times, which is something that I can’t accept and it’s something that we must correct.”

The refereeing:
“Refereeing is part of the game and there can be dialogue between the coach and the referee, that’s part of the game as well. But you can’t cross the line and perhaps the referee took it more seriously that he had to, but my concern is the match itself and not the refereeing.”

Matchday 7 of the Israel Youth Premier League saw Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv take on the Greens of Maccabi Haifa as the Yellow & Blue came into the contest with 3 wins put of their last 4 matches and in 5th place on the table after a Tel Aviv Derby win last week. Haifa came into the match in 12th place with one win out of 6 games.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI featured Daniel Peretz, Ran Vaturi, Amit Glezer, Fadi Najar, Tomer Mahlof, Eden Kartsev, Tomer Altman, Prince Thomas, Eylon Almog, Eyal Hen and Adir Hardon.

First Half
Haifa had the first chance of the match off a 3’ Yam Cohen corner kick as he found Hamoudi Kaanan in the box but his header went over the bar and out. Two minutes later Alon Deri tried a long range strike, but Daniel Peretz was in place to parry the ball away for a corner.

The Greens took the lead in the 14’ when Kaanan crossed the ball from the right wing to Cohen who beat Peretz for a 1:0 lead. Maccabi’s opening opportunity came a minute later but Almog’s shot went into the Haifa defenders and out. In the 30’ Timothy Mozi came down the left flank but Najar was able to stop the dangerous situation while a minute later Almog’s attempt from long distance went out. Cohen, the Haifa goal scorer found Ziv Morgan but his 34’ chance went out however, ten minutes later Kaanan put the ball in the far corner to give Haifa a 2:0 advantage going into the break.

Second Half
Prince Thomas began the half with a terrific chance from 30 meters, but the ball went out while a minute later the Greens again put Maccabi under pressure as Muhammad Jabar came down the left side and crossed the ball to Cohen but his chance went out.

In the 53’ striker Gal Katbi took a through ball and had a great chance on Peretz but the Yellow & Blue keeper made the stop. However, four minutes later Katbi’s shot was saved by Peretz but Mozi found rebound and put the ball into the back of the goal for a 3:0 lead. Mufleh Shalata came on as a substitute and left a fine ball for Altman, but his long range attempt was saved by the keeper in the 64’ while ten minutes later Almog’s chance flew over the bar and out. The sides traded chances for the final quarter hour but Maccabi couldn’t pull a goal back as the match ended in a 3:0 defeat to Haifa.

Maccabi “Shmuel” Haifa – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv, 12:00 Ketsef Lower Pitch
Following the Derby win last week over Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi “Shachar” will look to keep up the positive momentum away at the league champs in the Carmel on Matchday 7. Guy Tzarfati’s squad find themselves in 5th place with 3 wins out of their last 4 matches as the Greens sit in 12th place with their only victory coming on the opening Matchday.

Bnei Sakhnin – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 14:45 Sakhnin Synthetic Training Pitch
The Under-17 side will look to maintain their perfect record on Matchday 7 in Sakhnin. The young Yellow & Blue are in 1st place while the hosts are in 13th place with one win in 6 contests. Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon’s goal will be to take home 3 points and another win.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Hapoel “Yoram” Rishon Le’Zion, 10:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic pitch
After scoring 5 goals last match at Maale Adumim, the Under-16 team plays at home against Rishon Le’Zion on Matchday 8. The Yellow & Blue are in 6th place while the visitors find themselves in 5th as one point separates the two sides.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Ashkelon, 12:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic Pitch
The Under-15 South squad will play at home when they host the southern side on Matchday 6 as they sit in 2nd place with the same amount of points as the first place team. Ashkelon are in 13th position with one win out of 5 matches as Ori David’s club will look to keep there undefeated streak alive.

Hapoel Petah Tikva – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 13:00 Moshava Synthetic Training Pitch
The Yellow & Blue Under-15 North team heads to Petah Tikva with a record of 4 wins and 1 draw good for 13 points while the hosts have collected 8 points so far and sit in 5th place.

The Derby victory against Hapoel Tel Aviv wasn’t just any Youth Premier League win for the coach and the players. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati and Captain Tomer Altman spoke about their feelings on taking home the important win.

“There’s no one happier than me to win a Derby. I thought about it when I was on my way to the match, that I’ve experienced the Derby as a fan, player, a player who won the State Cup Final Derby and as the coach of the Under-19 team. There were a lot of emotions and special energy and I’m happy that we were able to win the match. We can still play better than we did today and we should have killed the game and led 2:0. In the second half we stayed back a bit but we should have still been able to quietly finish off the match much earlier.”

Message to the players following the win:
“I brought the players together in a circle after the match right on the pitch so the fans and parents could see how much I appreciated their hard work and what they did on the pitch. You have to take into account that these are players who are just at the beginning of their careers and there is always pressure in a Derby, by the media and it’s not that simple. I only have compliments and winning 3:1 is really great.”

About Or Dasa playing with the first team:
“Or is a player who is part of the whole youth department. I was the coach who integrated him into the Under-19 side but it’s all of his coaches from when he was younger that deserve credit for doing a great job with him. This is something that the whole department and management can be proud of.”

Captain Tomer Altman also discussed the important win:
“It’s a wonderful feeling especially as to how the match began. Our start to the season wasn’t the best, so it was important to take home the Derby win.”

Looking ahead:
“I think that the good Derby result and the way we played will give us a big push going forward. We just want to continue to improve.”

About the Hapoel fans:
“We weren’t going to let them influence the game. It’s part of the match, the fans and crowd and soon enough the players will be on the first teams where it is also part of the match.”