Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Kiryat Shemona, 11:00 Ramle Municipal Stadium

After an away victory in Jerusalem, Maccabi “Shachar” returns to the Ramle Stadium to host Kiryat Shemona on Matchday 9 of the Youth Winner League. The Yellow-and-Blue’s Northern opponent are two places behind Maccabi but only one point separates the two sides. The match will be the first match in a very busy week for Maccabi “Shachar” as they fly to Kiev on Monday evening prior to playing Dynamo on Wednesday.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv – SC Ashdod, 10:30 Ashdod Training Facility

Ori Uzan and Leon Asraf’s team wants to make sure they continue their eight game winning streak as they will look to take three points away against Ashdod.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Gadna “Roni” Tel Aviv, 8:30 Kiryat Shalom Training Facility

The “Match of the Week” will feature a showdown between coach Eliezer Ben Aharon and his Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” team against Gadna which is coached by his son Elad. The Under-16 side has been playing very well of late and a win on Saturday should move them to the top of the table.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Kiryat Ono, 10:15 Kiryat Shalom Training Facility

With five wins in a row, Maccabi “Eldad” will look to extend their winning streak when they host Hapoel Kiryat Ono at home.

Maccabi “Team 2” Tel Aviv – Maccabi Barkai, 12:00 Kiryat Shalom Training Facility

The second Under-15 club will also host a match Maccabi Barkai at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility after defeating the Nesher club last week.

Beitar “Oren” Jerusalem 0:3 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv

After a rough few weeks, Ziv Arie’s squad picked up an important away win against Beitar Jerusalem. For all of the details CLICK HERE and you’ll also get to see a full gallery of pictures from the match.

Hapoel Beer Sheva 2:3 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv

The Under-17 didn’t wilt after losing an early 1:0 lead on a goal by Ron Zamir by giving up two goals in the first half and going into halftime with a 2:1 deficit. Ori Uzan and Leon Asraf’s side came back to win by scoring a pair of goals in the second half by Sahar Sa’adon and Yarden Shoa.

Ironi Modiin 0:3 Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv

Eliezer Ben Aharon an Gady Brumer’s Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” also recorded an away victory in Modiin defeating the hosts 3:0 on goals by Tamir Glazer, Gil Rachimi and Danny Amar.

Hapoel Beer Sheva 0:2 Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv

The Yellow-and-Blue youth department picked up a second win over Beer Sheva, this time 2:0 on goals by Gil Ben Shalosh and Osher Davida and launched the club into first place on the table.

Maccabi “Team 2” Tel Aviv 1:0 Sport Club Nesher

Maccabi’s second Under-15 club also won, defeating Nesher at Kiryat Shalom on a lone goal by Asaf Hershko.

After a number of tough matches in league play, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv defeated Beitar Jerusalem 3:0 on goals by Eylon Almog, Eden Karzev and Mahmoud Alawesat. The Yellow-and-Blue controlled the tempo and were able to convert their chances in the second half for the victory.

Head Coach Ziv Arie gave two players their debut in Winner League action against Beitar Jerusalem as Eden Karzev and Noam Cohen were part of the starting XI for Maccabi “Shachar”. Chen Ozeri made his second straight start in goal and made a number of solid saves early on in the first half with the hosts applying pressure. Wearing their blue away kit, the young Yellow-and-Blue began dictating the pace of the match. Eden Karzev’s smart chance was saved by Beitar ‘keeper Tamir Lalo and
Omri Haramati missed a wonderful chance when he misguided the rebound to keep the match scoreless at halftime.

Amit Rosenboim and Gaby Kanichowsky came on at the beginning of the second half in order to ignite the Maccabi offense for coach Arie and the opportunities began to flow. A tough error by the Beitar keeper landed right on the foot of Eylon Almog who made no mistake with the gifted ball and slammed it home for a 1:0 lead in the 56th minute. Soon thereafter the Yellow-and-Blue doubled the score when Eden Karzev received a magnificent ball from Almog and pounded it home for the 2:0 lead. Maccabi “Shachar” continued to press Beitar and added an insurance marker when Mahmoud Alawesat scored the first goal of his Maccabi career and top off a 3:0 win

Beitar “Oren” Jerusalem – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv, 12:00, Bayit Vegan

After falling to Chelsea this week, Maccabi “Shachar” will play Beitar Jerusalem away in an attempt to get back on the winning track. Ziv Arie’s team hasn’t been able to win over the past three Matchdays and will look to put an end to that streak in the Capital against a Jerusalem side that sits in 12th place, winning in its last game against Kiryat Shemona at home.

Hapoel Beer Sheva – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 12:00, Reisser Training Facility, Beer Sheva

Ori Uzan and Leon Asraf’s Under-17 club gets back to league play after a break with a perfect 7-0 record since the beginning of the season. The young Yellow-and-Blue will be in search of their eighth win in a row and increase their league leading point total against their southern counterparts.

Ironi Modiin – Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv, 12:30, Modiin

The Under-16 side will try to keep up the positive momentum and search for their fifth straight win. For this to occur Eliezer Ben Aharon and Gady Brumer’s team will need to top Ironi Modiin away.

Hapoel Beer Sheva – Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv, 10:00, Reisser Training Facility, Beer Sheva

After advancing to the next round of the State Cup, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Under-15 side will visit Hapoel Beer Sheva with both teams tied on points with 12.

Sport Club Nesher – Maccabi “Team 2” Tel Aviv

Maccabi’s second Under-15 team will play away as they visit Nesher. The young Yellow-and-Blue haven’t lost since Matchday One and will look to keep undefeated streak intact this Saturday.

Just prior to the huge Champions League day ahead, Maccabi’s youth team is busy preparing in earnest for their encounter with the Under-19 side of Chelsea. Maccabi “Shachar” will take on Chelsea at the Netanya Stadium, 14:00 and all fans are invited to come and support the club as there is no charge for admission.

The club’s captain, Dan Glazer spoke to the Official Website before the crucial game on Matchday Five of the Champions League Youth League and discussed preparing for the defending European champions: “We have a match to say the least that won’t be easy. Chelsea is the best team in Europe for our age group. We won’t be dominant in this match as we are in our Israeli league games. We will have to be strong, aggressive and focussed on our counterattacks with the hope of taking advantage of these situations.”

 On the club’s first match with the Blues:

 “They were much better than us in the first game and that was also our first ever in this competition. At the start of that match we were able to play with them. They are a team with a lot of amazing individual abilities and talents that will be hard to measure up against. I’m certain though that our professional staff will prepare us properly for the match.”

The side’s aspirations:

“We really want to win but we also know that it won’t be easy. We never come into a match looking to play for a draw or to get a nice type of result. This will be a different type of game than we have in league play and we will have to do things the best way possible.”

Just like the first team, the Under-19 squad is busy preparing for Tuesday’s match against Chelsea. Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv will face the defending Champions League Youth League champions Chelsea at the Netanya Stadium, 14:00. Yesterday, the side drew with Beer Sheva in Winner League play and the coach Ziv Arie spoke about the match and also about the challenge against the Blues that lies ahead:

“We’re not happy with the result. We may have to figure out how to win when scoring one goal but then we can’t give any up. I don’t have any complaints about the defense because Beer Sheva had very few chances other than when they scored and we made a mistake. We weren’t aggressive enough in the first half but I was much happier with our second half play.”

About the many missed opportunities the players had Saturday:

“We are still having problems in the last third of the pitch and when we want to complete a play, but we must have patience. We have a lot of new players and it will just take time and patience even though it may be frustrating.”

Coming into the Chelsea match:

“We love different types of matches and each one presents another opportunity to play a certain way. It will not be easy but just like every other match we won’t come to play for a scoreless draw. We will strive to look like a football club that can stand toe to toe and to get a good result, it’s not just pie in the sky. Chelsea is a very talented team and we have a very big challenge ahead of us.”

Champions League day has already begun. Maccabi “Shachar” had their final training session before their Youth League match against Porto tomorrow at Bloomfield Stadium, 14:00. All fans are invited to check out the next generation of players take on the Dragons free of charge.

Striker Eylon Almog spoke about the will to find the club’s first victory of the competition, advancing to the Elite Round with the Under-17 Israel National Team and also his personal feelings about being one of the younger players on the team: “We’re treating every match in the Champions League as our first, especially since we have yet to win. We’ve got tons of motivation to make sure we can take some points tomorrow at Bloomfield.”

Almog was also part of the Under-17 National Team that participated in the UEFA European Championship qualifying matches recently. Along with another five players from Maccabi’s youth department, the side advanced to the Elite Round: “I went into those games with a bit of concern. Two days before the tournament began I was injured and I thought that I may not be able to play, but thankfully I was ok and I did play in the games. I ended up scoring a brace in our first match against Norway and we won 3:1. Then we lost to France but defeated Northern Ireland 2:1 in the last game where I scored the first goal.”

Even though Almog plays for the Under-17 National Team he is part of the Under-19 Maccabi side. The striker explained his rapid rise in the youth ranks: “It’s not everyday that a player my age will have the chance to play with the older club, but I’m grabbing the opportunity with both hands. I won’t lie, it’s not easy but I’ve got to take things into proportion and not get too excited. I have been with the team since the start of the year and I was part of the training camp that took place in Croatia. I feel that I belong.”

On the opponents that he’s faced so far in the Champions League Youth League: “They are at a very high level. Every player has the physical abilities as a first team player, but I feel that we’ve been able to hold our own so far against both Kiev and Porto. You could really see the difference against Chelsea but we still we’re able to compete with them.”

Tomorrow, Maccabi “Shachar” will play its first match at Bloomfield: “I’m sure that every single player in the youth department dreams of playing at Bloomfield. The fact that we are playing there is motivation enough for our match against Porto tomorrow.”