Maccabi Tel Aviv U-14s South team took part this week in a tournament to commemorate Dr. Michael Besser, who was part of Maccabi Haifa’s staff for many years. Maccabi Tel Aviv U-14s team was invited to the ceremonial tournament and was led by coaches Uri David and Aviv Rein.

The tournament was built on two groups combined from three teams. Maccabi Tel Aviv was drawn to play Maccabi Netanya and Maccabi Haifa “Nahalal”. The young yellows beat Maccabi Netanya 4-1 in the first game. The next game against Maccabi Haifa “Nahalal” ended in a 1-1 draw, which sent our U-14s to the final against Maccabi Haifa “Ketzef”.

Maccabi Tel Aviv won the final with 1-0. A single goal by David Dego was enough for David’s and Rein’s team. Head coach Uri David spoke about the tournament and about his team’s spirit: “We took part at an impressive tournament on many levels with the senior management from Maccabi Haifa in attendance”. 

 

This is the second cup Uri David’s team lifts this season, after recently winning the State Cup. “It’s great to win the “Ketzef” Cup, especially with a team that keeps proving its strong character. For me, the indication of our strength is not only trophies. We see our strength it in the dedication to play in the same philosophy that Nir Levin guides us to. The team proves it in every game, every week. During the derby against Hapoel last Saturday we came back from a goal deficit to win 2-1 in the last ten minutes. I am very proud of the boys performances and by the fact that many of them are being promoted to U-15s teams, coached by Eyal Tzachi and Erez Belfer”.

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv U-14s will play today (Tuesday, 5:30pm) an away game against Hapoel Haifa in Kiryat Haim. The U-14s second team will face MS Kadima Zoran in Kiryat Shalom at 5:00pm. The U-16s Tel Aviv derby, which was postponed because of the international break, will take place on Wednesday in Kiryat Shalom at 4:00pm. The U-13s North are schedule to play Maccabi Shoam in Hadar Yosef at 5:20pm.

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv 'Shahar' beats Hapoel Petach Tika 1:0 and makes a crucial step towards winning the league

Maccabi Tel Aviv 'Shahar' made a significant step towards winning the league championship after beating Hapoel Petach Tikva 1:0 in the 28^th match day.

The home ground in Kiryat Shalom was packed with more than 150 home spectators who came to see Maccabi win and they weren't disappointed. On the 14^th minute Sohil Armeli nearly scored from close range after Petach Tikva's goalkeeper saved Mawis Tzibota's kick.

In the 37^th minute it was Matan Hozez's turn to miss a sure goal, Matan received a great intercepted ball inside the 16 yard box, but instead of shooting into the net he managed to miss the target.

We all thought the first half won't produce any goals until the 44^th minute arrived. Tzibota dribbled into the 16 yard box and was clearly fouled by Petach Tikva's defender, penalty to Maccabi on the verge of half time. Matan Hozez didn't fail to score from the mark 1-0 Maccabi at half time.

Petach Tikva open the second half determined to find the equalizing goal, but the closest they got was hitting Maccabi's crossbar.

Maccabi dominated central midfield and managed to keep the score 1-0 until the final whistle.

 

Maccabi's U19s stay top after beating Kiryat Shmona 0-2 courtesy of goals by Mavis Tchibota and Sohil Armeli. Next week: Showdown at nr.2, Maccabi Haifa

A week before the Under-19s play their crucial match away against title rivals Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" headed north for a tricky tie against Ironi Kiryat Shmona with a view to extending their winning run, started last week against Nes Tziona, and holding on to the top spot in the national U19 Premier League.

It took the visitors fifteen minutes to create their first scoring opportunity, when Congolese striker Mavis Tchibota snatched a ball at the halfway point. He passed on to fellow striker Raz Yitzhak, Yitzhak fed midfielder Sohil Armeli and Armeli returned the ball to Tchibota who failed to beat the Kiryat Shmona keeper. Five minutes from the break Tchibota would make amends when he received a clever chip from Sohil Armeli to the left of goal and fired home to give the visitors a 0-1 advantage. On the stroke of half time Armeli went from provider to goalscorer when he muscled his way past defenders to the right of goal and slammed home from an acute angle to make it 0-2 at the break. The second half was a far less spectacular affair, with a number of good goalscoring chances left to go begging, and the match ended with the same scoreline as the first half, with Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" taking all three important points after a 0-2 victory, their 19^th league triumph so far this season.

Next week Maccabi's Under-19s will travel up the coast for a crucial match at the "Ketzef" training ground, home of the Maccabi Haifa Under-19s, who now share with "Shachar" the top spot in the league but trail them on goal difference alone.

 

 

Maccabi's U19s beat Nes Tziona 3-0 to maintain their lead in the league table. Next week's challenge: Away to Kiryat Shmona

This morning Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" welcomed their counterparts from Sektzia Nes Ziona in gameweek 25 of the national U19 Premier League. In the parallel away fixture last December, "Shachar" succeeded in scoring an impressive eight goals to no reply. This time round, despite controlling affairs from the opening whistle, it took the home side twenty-five minutes for those efforts to bear fruit. A joint run between two Maccabi midfielders, Eliel Peretz and Matan Hozez, resulted in Hozez sending a high ball into the area. Striker Raz Yitzhak's resultant header was parried valiantly by the Nes Ziona keeper but fellow striker Mavis Tchibota was first to get to the rebound and stroked home to give "Shachar" a 1-0 advantage. Maccabi maintained their domination throughout the half and only a lack of concentration and simple bad luck in front of goal prevented them from widening the margin.

This state of affairs continued after the restart, with "Shachar" ruling the roost but failing to open up a more convincing lead. On 73 minutes head coach Ziv Arie sent on Omri Haramati for Mavis Tchibota and moments later the substitution paid dividends when the midfielder broke free after a Nes Ziona possession and passed on to the successful duo Hozez – Peretz, with the latter having only the keeper to beat. And beat him he did to make it 2-0 to the home side. Five minutes from time Haramati would play a crucial role in Maccabi's third, when he dispossessed the opposition and passed on to Raz Yitzhak, who slalomed his way past the Nes Ziona defence to fire into the upper left-hand corner of the net to finish off the scoring at 3-0.

The important victory keeps Maccabi top of the table, albeit on goal difference, ahead of next week's difficult away tie at Ironi Kiryat Shmona and just two weeks ahead of their crucial face-off against joint leaders Maccabi Haifa. The match also saw the Under-19 debut of two Under-17s, Tomer Altman and Ran Vaturi. 

Following a long and exhausting campaign, four of Maccabi's Youth teams today played State Cup finals in Shfayim near Tel Aviv. All the results, the pictures and the reactions here below

Today (Wednesday) the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division had a long and busy day at "Beit Nivharot" playing field in Shfayim near Tel Aviv. Four of the division's teams played in three separate State Cup finals, two of which resulted in Maccabi Tel Aviv lifting the trophy.

The first of those finals saw Maccabi's Under-11 Team North take on their counterparts from Maccabi Haifa. The charges of coaches Shay Levi and Adi Zana acquitted themselves admirably throughout the contest, but despite their best efforts ended the tie at the wrong end of a 5-3 scoreline. The Maccabi youngsters took the lead through Ido Mizrahi, but their northern opponents turned the match around to 2-1. Maccabi equalised courtesy of Amit Sharam but despite a spirited display missed the final touch and paid the price of seeing their opponents raise the stakes to 5-2 before Amit Gold scored a consolation goal for Maccabi to make it 5-3. At the end of a determined but ultimately disappointing encounter, head coach Shay Levi was full of praise for his youngsters: "What you have here is a perfectly splendid group of kids, including one spectacular young sportswoman. They were magnificent out there today and I couldn't be prouder".

Next up was the rare opportunity to see not one but two of Maccabi's youth teams competing in the same final. Both of the club's Under-12 teams, "Oz" and "Leibo", exhibited the kind of quality required to defeat all opponents throughout their respective campaigns, resulting in an all-Maccabi U12 State Cup final. And as befits two teams of such quality, the scoreline after regular time read a dramatic 5-5, moving the decisive stage of the tie to the penalty spot. It was there that the youngsters from Under-12 Team North got the edge and were awarded the tie, and the Yankele Grundman State Cup trophy, on a 6-5 outcome. Goalscorers for Team North were Omer Rozio (brace), Omer Senior, Ittimar Dekel and Guy Nof. For Team South the honours went to Aviv Shayo (brace), Ben Linker, Orel Azarzar and Shon Edry.

Following the hard-fought encounter, Team South head coach Guy Shemesh said: "This was a really high quality contest, you can see that on the result. Both teams chased the ball throughout. It's been a long campaign and we put everything we had into it. Losing to our mates from Team North on penalties, well, that's not really losing at all so far we're concerned". Team North head coach Adi Somech reacted to his team's victory by telling the official Maccabi Tel Aviv website crew: "This was a top-notch Cup final that went back and forth between North and South. Such high quality football means that the real winner here is Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club".

But the jewel in the crown of this youth State Cup day was supplied by coaches Ori David and Aviv Rein and their lads from Maccabi's Under-14 Team South.  Their opponents in the final were none other than traditional derby rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv, their objective to win for Maccabi a second youth State Cup trophy. The yellow half of Under-14 Tel Aviv dominated almost throughout the match, with Maccabi's Osher Davida providing the first goal. Hapoel succeeded in equalising just before the break and even managed to take a 2-1 lead just after the restart. But it was then, down a goal after surrendering the lead, that Ori David's charges really showed their character and mettle by slamming five successive goals past the Hapoel keeper without reply to finish 6-2 winners of the Duvid Schwitzer U14 State Cup. David Degu scored twice, Omri Ram, Omer Yitzhaki and Tal Yagudaev all added individual efforts. Maccabi Youth Division football director Nir Levin compared that never-say-die character to the kind the senior team displayed in their 3-1 victory over title rivals Hapoel Beer Sheva on Monday night.

After harvesting Maccabi Tel Aviv's second State Cup trophy of the day, Under-14 Team South coaches Ori David and Aviv Rein had an important message for the splendid lads under their charge: "They represented their club with honour and according to all the guiding principles of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division. We're proud of the lot of them and love them all in equal measure".

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow no less than four Maccabi Youth Division teams will compete in State Cup finals

Tomorrow (Wednesday), yet another successful State Cup season for Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division will reach its summit when four of the seven teams to reach the finals will play at "Beit Nivharot" playing field at Shfayim near Tel Aviv. Two of the four Maccabi teams will be playing against one another: Both of the club's Under-12 squads, "Oz" and "Leibo", who only last week won tense and goal-filled semi-final contests, will square off at 11.30am in a unique encounter that promises the trophy to Maccabi Tel Aviv whatever the outcome.

Earlier in the morning Maccabi's Under-11 Team North will attempt to become the Youth Division's first team to hoist a season 2014/15 State Cup trophy when they face their counterparts from Maccabi Haifa. At 4pm this busy State Cup final competition day will finish off with Maccabi's Under-14 Team South, who also last week won their semi-final 2-1 in a close tie against Ashdod FC. Their intriguing final opponents will be traditional derby rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv.  

In the Maccabi Youth Division's latest community service activity, some fifty youngster from Israel's Ethiopian community were guests at Kiryat Shalom

As Israel continues its celebration of the Jewish Passover with school and work holidays, the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division are taking no time off from their community service programme. As an outcome of the growing and ever warmer ties and collaboration between the Division and the Immigrant Absorption Centre in nearby Or Yehuda, some 50 youngsters aged twelve to seventeen from the town's Ethiopian community today came to visit Maccabi's Kiryat Shalom training ground at the Youth Division's expense.

Highlight of the visit was a showcase match played against the Division's Under-13 Team South, but the young visitors were treated to an exceptional experience both before and after the game as well. They were first given a guided tour of the Kiryat Shalom facilities before donning proper kit and making their way to the complex's eastern playing field for their match against Maccabi's Under-13s. The game was divided into three parts and proved to be a competitive but sportsmanlike affair, with the Ethiopian youngsters demonstrating a considerable level of footballing skill. When it was over the lads all shook hands and after recovering from their efforts, the visitors were treated to refreshments that awaited them in the touchline. The day brought smiles to all involved and was rounded off with a special ceremony during which the youngsters were presented with gifts on behalf of the club before boarding their coaches for the return trip to Or Yehuda.