Youth Department action, Saturday February 18, 2017

Hapoel “Roie” Raanana – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv, 11:00 Raanana
Following last week’s loss, Guy Tzarfati’s squad will look to get back onto the winning track in a difficult away contest. The Yellow & Blue find themselves in 4th place and will face the second place team who have won their last 4 matches in a row.

Hapoel Raanana – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 08:30 Raanana
The Under-17’s will also play against Raanana as Eliezer Ben Aharon’s side will look to maintain their lead atop the table which stands at 5-points after 19 Matchdays.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Moshe Dayan” Petah Tikva, 10:30 Kiryat Shalom (synthetic)
The Under-16 have a top of the table matchup against the team they lead by just one point Alon Brumer’s Club sports 16 wins in 18 matches while the Petah Tikva side have 15 victories this campaign.

Hapoel Kfar Saba – Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv, 10:30 Kfar Saba
Ori David’s side will look to keep up their fine play when they head to Kfar Saba on Matchday 17 as they sit in third place only 3-points from the top of the table.

SC Nesher – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 16:30 Nesher
The Under-15 team play away on Matchday 15 as Amir Sofer’s squad sits in fourth place as they will look to cut into the 9-point lead from first place.

Yellow & Blue Saturday – Match Results February 11, 2017

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 1-2 Bnei Yehuda
The young Yellow & Blue were ahead 1:0 at the break thanks to a goal by Fadi Najar, however, the visitors came back to defeat the Under-19 side. For the full match report, CLICK HERE

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv 1:0 Maccabi “Yoni” Netanya
Eliezer Ben Aharon’s squad maintained their 5 point lead atop of the Under-17 Ligat Ha’Al table. It wasn’t easy, but in the 82nd minute Adir Hardon scored the winner for the Yellow & Blue.

Maccabi Jaffa Kabilyo 0:3 Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv
The Under-16’s continued their fine play and kept their 1 point lead atop the table. Bar Cohen scored in the 2nd minute while Gil Ben Shalosh (45) and Tashgar Dego (64) found the back of the goal for coach Alon Brumer as the club has now won 16 of 18 contests this season.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 3:1 Hapoel “Dani” Jerusalem
Ori David’s team are now within 3 points of the top of the table after defeating the capital city side. Stav Nachmani scored in the 5th minute, but Shachar Racahmim evened the game up just one minute later. llay Hadad and Nehorai Bitton added 58th and 82 minute goal respectively to help decide the match.

Beitar “Oren” Tubruk 3:3 Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv
Plenty of goals were scored in Netanya as Eli Belachson found the back of the goal in the 24th minute for Maccabi, but the hosts evened the score at 1:1 in the 43rd minute. Niv Berkovic scored a second half brace (64, 70) to give the young Yellow & Blue the advantage, but a 74th minute strike by Tubruk split the points as the match ended in a 3:3 draw.

Bnei Yehuda defeats Maccabi “Shachar” 2:1

Prematch
After being eliminated from State Cup play, Guy Tzarfati’s squad hosted Bnei Yehuda in the Little Derby at the Ramle Stadium on Matchday 18 of the Youth Ligat Ha’Al. The Head Coach made a number of changes to his Starting XI as Daniel Peretz, Amit Rosenboim, Peleg Moshe, Eden Kartzev and Netanel Peretz all featured on the pitch to begin the match. Their opponent, Bnei Yehuda began the day in 13th place.

First Half
The Under-19’s got off to a good start and had their first chance in the 12th minute. Or Dasa sent Netanel Peretz a nice ball on the right side that he shot from 14 meters out, but his effort went off of one of the defenders. Three minutes later, Eylon Almog tried his luck from 18 meters but his chance was caught by the keeper. In the 19th minute, Bnei Yehuda had their first opportunity but their effort was blocked by keeper Daniel Peretz and sent out for a corner. Or Dasa tried to take matters into his own hands but his hard liner was saved by keeper Yuval Sade as the contest remained goalless.

In the 29th minute, Dor Galili sent a ball to Almog’s head, but his effort was again blocked by the keeper. However, Maccabi “Shachar” would finally find the back of the goal three minutes later when Kartzev lifted a free kick into the box and Fadi Najar headed it hard into the goal for a 1:0 advantage that the Yellow & Blue would take into the break.

Second Half
Bnei Yehuda came back into the match when they were awarded a 52nd minute penalty. Daniel Avital stepped up to the spot and put it home to draw the visitors even. Tzarfati decided to make a change up top and inserted Mahmoud Awesat in favor of Almog but the move didn’t stifle the Orange’s momentum as they took the lead in the 60th minute. Garia took the ball and put it behind the Yellow & Blue keeper to take a 2:1 lead. Prince Thomas and Neal Goldberg both came into the match and looked to find the tying goal, but in the 90th minute, Amit Rosenboim picked up a red card as the score stayed as is, sending the Under-19 side to the loss.

Youth Department action, Saturday February 11, 2017

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Bnei Yehuda, 13:00 Ramle
After being eliminated from State Cup play, Guy Tzarfati’s side will want to get back onto the winning track against Bnei Yehuda in the Little Derby on Matchday 18 of the Youth Ligat Ha’Al. The young Yellow & Blue have 31 points and sit in 4th place while their opponent comes into the contest with 14 points in 13th place on the table.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Yoni” Netanya, 10:00 Kiryat Shalom
With a five point first place lead, Eliezer Ben Aharon’s players will look to keep the status quo atop the table against the 10th place team.

Maccabi Jaffa Kabilyo – Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv, 14:30 Neve Golan
Alon Brumer’s side enjoy a one point lead atop of the table and will look to continue their fine play as they take on their neighbor who have collected just 4 points this season on Matchday 18 of the Arzit South League.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel “Dani” Jerusalem, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom synthetic
The Under-15 squad of Ori David will look to pick up the win after succumbing to defeat last Matchday. This Saturday, Maccabi “Eldad” will kick off against a team that has won two matches in as many weeks.

Beitar “Oren” Tubruk – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 08:30 Tubruk
Amir Sofer’s club may have been eliminated from Cup action last week, but they did win the Derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv last League Matchday. The young Yellow & Blue will attempt to close the gap at the top of the table as they find themselves 7 points out of first place.

Yellow & Blue Saturday – Match Results February 4, 2017

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 1:4 Maccabi Herzliya
The young Yellow & Blue were eliminated from the Israel State Cup in the Round of 32. Fadi Najar scored for Maccabi. CLICK HERE for the full match report.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv 1:0 Hapoel “Tzachi Ben Porat” (extratime)
Eliezer Ben Aharon’s Club advanced to the quarterfinals of the Under-17 Israel State Cup competition after defeating Hapoel Tel Aviv in a dramatic derby. Following 80 minutes of goalless action, the contest headed onto extratime as Omer Berami scored in the 84th minute.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 4:0 Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramle
The Under-16 team of Alon Brumer is unstoppable as they continue on to the Round of 16. Dan Lugassi, Koren Gadge and Gil Ben Shalosh all scored between the 41st and 49th minutes. Hadar Mor finished the match off with a 73rd minute strike for Maccabi’s 4th goal.

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv 1:2 Maccabi “Hadar” Herzliya (extratime)
Amir Sofer’s squad suffered a tough loss and were bounced from State Cup play in extra time. Eli Belhasan scored in the 25th minute to give the Under-15 side the lead, but the visitors drew even in the 47th minute thanks to Yehonatan Sungaker and went ahead in the 82nd minute via Roie Koren.

Maccabi “Shachar” is eliminated from Cup play

Prematch
Following a win against Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion in the Youth Ligat Ha’Al, Guy Tzarfati’s side faced Maccabi Herzliya in the Israel State Cup Round of 32, home at the Ramle Stadium. Dor Galili and Eylon Almog featured in the Maccabi “Shachar” attack.

First Half
Maccabi opened the match up poorly and were down a goal after just 7 minutes while six minutes later the visitors doubled the score to 2:0. The young Yellow & Blue tried to cut the lead and they did just that in the 35th minute as Fadi Najar headed a Dor Galili corner that was swatted away by the keeper, however right back to the aforementioned Najar who put the rebound in, 2:1 Herzliya at the break.

Second Half
Maccabi wanted to keep up the positive momentum from the first half and in the 53rd minute, Or Dasa sent a terrific ball into the box from the right side, but the Herzliya defense made the clearance before it got to an awaiting Galili. As the Yellow & Blue continued to press for an equalizer, Herzliya took a 3:1 lead in the 83rd minute and sealed the deal in injury time with a 4th marker, ousting Maccabi “Shachar” from the Cup competition.

Youth Department action, Saturday February 4, 2017

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Maccabi Herzliya, 12:00 Ramle Stadium
After getting back on the winning track in league play, Guy Tzarfati’s squad will continue on their State Cup run. The young Yellow & Blue will kick off against the Leumit club who will look to advance to the Round of 16.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv – Hapoel “Tzachi Porat” Tel Aviv, 10:00 Kiryat Shalom
The Under-16 Round of 16 pits Eliezer Ben Aharon’s team in a Derby against their cross city rivals. The Yellow & Blue lead their league while the Reds find themselves in 6th place.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramle, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom
Alon Brumer’s club will look to move on in State Cup action as they face a team that they had played just two weeks ago. That contest ended in a 3:0 victory for the Yellow & Blue.

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Hadar” Herzliya, 11:00 Kiryat Shalom
On paper this looks to be a very close match as the Under-15 sides are familiar with each other from league play. There is just a four point gap between the squads as Amir Sofer will look to guide his team to the next round.

Tzarfati: “Playing as a team is very important”

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv got back onto the winning track after defeating Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion “Yehuda” 2:1 thanks to goals by Dor Galili and Eylon Almog. Following the contest, Head Coach Guy Tzarfati looked back at the match that was:

“I think that the first half was fantastic from my point of view. The pace, the two goals that we scored were fabulous, goals with great touch and footballer’s goals, we scored some great goals. I believe that we should have had a bigger lead in the first half. On the other hand, I wasn’t satisfied with our second half and we got sloppy. The players should have played simple football and we got ourselves into a bit of trouble as Rishon had some opportunities where they could have scored.”

Coming back from an early deficit and the defensive player’s efforts:

“I was very happy with Hen Ozeri’s penalty save as well as Ron Gabbay’s clearance, on one hand those are their jobs, but I very much appreciated it. I think that we played a real team match today and I really am happy about that. Other than attacking and football play itself, playing as a team is very important for us all and I’m happy that is what I saw during the match.”

This coming Saturday, the young Yellow & Blue will face Maccabi Herzliya from the Leumit League in a State Cup contest:

“I’ll be telling my players that in order to win the Cup, each match must be treated as a final and we must prepare that way as well. As one who won a Cup with the First Team, preparing properly is clear, to go into every match as a Final, don’t make any drastic changes and don’t do things that we aren’t used to. We’ll put in maximum effort when we get ready for Herzliya.”

Yellow & Blue Saturday – Match Results January 28, 2017

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 2:1 Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion “Yehuda”
Guy Tzarfati’s squad got back onto the winning track thanks to goals by Dor Galili and Eylon Almog. For the full match report and photo gallery, CLICK HERE

Ashdod “Zilber” 1:1 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv
The table leaders drew at the port city as Eliezer Ben Aharon’s team now have a 5-point lead at the top of the table. The hosts tallied first but Dani Amar found the equalizer in the 60th minute.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 4:0 Bnei Yehuda
Alon Brumer’s Club found their way to the top of the table, after defeating Bnei Yehuda 4:0. Koren Gadge scored a pair of goals in the 6th and 32nd minute while Bar Cohen (55) and Gil Ben Shalosh (69) also found the back of the visitor’s goal.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 1:4 Hapoel Beer Sheva
The young Yellow & Blue were missing a number of players due to injury as the hosts took a 3:0 lead into the break. Nehorai Bitton scored the lone goal for the Under-15’s.

Hapoel Tel Aviv North 0:2 Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv
Amir Sofer’s side won the Derby as Roie Mayan scored in the 21st minute and Yehali Lazar doubled the score in the 44th minute for the victory.

Maccabi “Shachar” defeats Rishon 2-1

Prematch
After two away matches, Guy Tzarfati’s squad was back at their home Stadium in Ramle as they looked to get back onto the winning track on Matchday 17 of the Youth Ligat Ha’Al against Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion Yehuda. Eylon Almog and Prince Thomas featured in the Starting XI while Amit Rosenboim returned from injury and started the game on the bench. The wine city side sat in 11th place prior to the start of the contest.

First Half
The match opened up in the rain at Ramle as the visitors struck first early on in the 7th minute. Amit Malca stole the ball in the Maccabi half of the pitch, passed it to Gal Asulin who sent it back to the former and found the far corner of the goal for a 1:0 lead. The Yellow & Blue looked to find the equalizer and did just that in the 18th minute as Dor Galili’s effort from 12 meters hit the bar and went into the goal to draw his side even.

Maccabi continued to control the tempo and took the lead soon thereafter in the 32nd minute via Eylon Almog. Galili sent a fantastic cross to Almog who slammed the ball into the back of the goal for a 2:1 advantage. Five minutes later, Asulin almost found the tying strike for the visitors but missed on a one on one chance against keeper Hen Ozeri. In the 41st minute Zamir sent Dasa on his way down the right flank, but his effort was parried away for a corner. Just before the halftime whistle, Asulin had yet another quality chance but missed again on a one on one opportunity against Ozeri as Maccabi went into the break nursing a one goal lead.

Second Half
Almog had a 48th minute free kick from 20 meters but the Rishon keeper caught the ball and kept it out of the goal. Twenty minutes later, the visitors saw the equalizer in their sights, but Ron Gabbay cleared the ball off the line to safety, stoning Malca who was looking for his second marker of the contest. Tzarfati made his first substitution in the 73rd minute as Mahmoud Awesat came in for Galili.

Rishon was given a penalty with 14 minutes to go, but Malca again couldn’t draw his side even as Ozeri went to his right and made the stop as Maccabi still clinged onto the 2:1 lead. The Yellow & Blue Head Coach made another couple of moves and inserted Netanel Peretz in place of Zamir and Amit Shapira was introduced in favor of Or Dasa. In the 87th minute, Ozeri came up big again making the save off of an Asulin attempt as Maccabi held on for the 2:1 win.