Under-19s beat Hapoel Jerusalem 5-0

Dor Jan's hat-trick combined with Guy Cohen and Sharon Ziso GOALS to send MTA's uNDER-19s second in the table with a 5-0 win at home against Hapoel Jerusalem  

In matchweek 13 of the national Under-19 Premier League, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" hosted bottom of table Hapoel Jerusalem and romped to a 5-0 victory. In their third successive home tie, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar"'s victory brings their points total to 25 and keeps them within range of the top of the table. Head coach Amir Turgeman's lads already had a commanding 4-0 lead at halftime, with a hat-trick from striker Dor Jan an individual effort from Guy Cohen. Sharon Ziso netted in the second half to bring their total to five.

Despite the disappointing loss a fortnight ago to Bnei Yehuda at Kiryat Shalom, "Shachar" bounced back with a win at Ashdod FC last week and hoped to continue the momentum here against Hapoel Jerusalem. A brilliant first half guaranteed their success. Before the break Dor Jan was already celebrating his first hat-trick for the Under-19s. His first two goals were headers, one on the quarter hour mark and the second off the top of the crossbar. He completed his hat-trick with a right-footed goal just before the half-time whistle. Guy Cohen netted his third goal in two matches and brought the half-time score to 4-0. Jan and Cohen are Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar"'s leading strikers this season so far, with seven and five goals respectively.

In the second half "Shachar" slowed the game down a bit but still had some opportunities to increase their lead, with Amir Turgeman sending on substitutes Sagi Dror, Amit Farhi and Dean Akafi to attack down the flanks. The best and final goal of the match came eight minutes from time when Sharon Ziso cut in from the left to release a powerful shot from outside the area that sailed high into the net. It was the midfielder's first goal of the season and capped Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar"'s 5-0 win. Next week MTA's Under-19s will play host again, this time to Maccabi Netanya, and try to stay in touch with league leaders Maccabi Haifa, who also won and held on to their 9 point advantage at the top of the table.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar": Sahar Hason, Daniel Schwartzbaum, Mansor Amash (Dor Buzaglo 46'), Shachar Feban, Shaun Goldberg (Dean Akafi 62'), Tamir Avrahamian, Sharon Ziso, Daniel Gretz, Almog Ochayon (Sagi Dror 52'), Guy Cohen (Amit Farhi 62'), Dor Jan (Roei Yair 82') 

Youth Premier League table

Fixtures 

 

 

 

 

 

U19s held to 2-2 draw by Maccabi Netanya

MTA's Under-19s closed the gap on Maccabi Haifa to eight points with their second draw of the season. Sharon Ziso and Guy Cohen were the goalscorers for Maccabi Tel Aviv

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" played host on Saturday to Maccabi Netanya and hoped for a third successive win to firmly establish their second-place position in the national Under-19 Premier League table. Playing in blue, "Shachar" were first on the scoreboard after just twelve minutes courtesy of a goal from Sharon Ziso, but the cold weather and waterlogged pitch proved no impediment to the visitors and by the time the match had reached the half hour mark the guests from Netanya had turned the match around and led 1-2. A goal from Guy Cohen ensured a 2-2 scoreline when the teams left the pitch at halftime and so it ended after the full 90 minutes.

Both sides came into the match at Kiryat Shalom in good form. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" had recorded five wins in their last six matches, Maccabi Netanya four in their last five. Tel Aviv drew first blood after just twelve minutes when Sharon Ziso netted a Dor Jan back header for his second goal in as many matches, having scored his maiden goal of the season last week. Netanya recovered quickly and two minutes later scored the equaliser off the boot of Yair Ziv. Fifteen minutes later they were already out in front when Lee Agami prodded in from close range. But Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar"'s lads in blue didn't give up and found an equaliser before the end of an entertaining and goal-studded first half. This time it was the turn of Guy Cohen, who took advantage of a Netanya defensive error in the area to slot home his sixth goal of the season.

The second half was a less stormy affair, both in terms of weather and events on the pitch. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" pressed on but chances that fell to Guy Cohen, Mansur Amash and Guy Aviv all went begging.  At the final whistle it was still, as at halftime, a 2-2 draw and Maccabi's yellows-in-blue had missed an opportunity to close to six points the gap on their rivals at the top of the table, Maccabi Haifa, who lost 0-2 to Ashdod FC. Next week the two Under-19 teams will meet in Haifa, giving Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" a chance to end the first round of Under-19 Premier League matches just five points off the top.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar": Sahar Hason, Shachar Feban, Mansor Amash Daniel Schwartzbaum, Shaun Goldberg, Tamir Avrahamian, Dor Buzaglo, Sharon Ziso, Daniel Gretz, Dor Jan

Fixtures 

Youth Premier League table

 

 

 

Dramatic 1-1 draw for MTA’s Under-19s at Haifa

Guy Aviv gave Maccabi Tel Aviv a one-goal advantage over Maccabi Haifa that held till a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser

The last match of the first round of games in the national Under-19 Premiere League presented Maccabi Tel Aviv with the opportunity to put pressure on Maccabi Haifa, with "Shachar" going into the match at Haifa's "Ketsef" training ground trailing the league leaders in the table by eight points. Thanks to a lead provided by a Guy Aviv goal, for the first 94 minutes it looked like "Shachar" would succeed in that effort. But then, deep into stoppage time in the 95th minute, came Haifa's dramatic equaliser off the boot of Dor Hugi, forcing "Shachar" to share the points and preserving Haifa's lead at the top of the table.

The first half started with Maccabi Haifa in control and they came very close to scoring when Shuval Gozlan latched on to goalkeeper Gal Tovli's deflection. Then in the 14th minute, against the run of play, "Shachar" took the lead when Guy Aviv recovered a ball he'd already lost to Haifa defender Omri Zaid and with only the goalkeeper to beat shot high in the net to put his side in front 0-1. The goal shifted the balance of the match in "Shachar"'s favour and Sharon Ziso, Dor Jan and Guy Cohen all had chances to threaten the hosts' goal.

The second half continued at the same pace, with Amir Turgeman's charges looking for a second with swift attacking football and Maccabi Haifa in search of an equaliser. Dor Jan came closest to scoring at the start of the half, hitting the crossbar with a shot from close range. On defence "Shachar"goalkeeper Gal Tovli made another great save that preserved Maccabi Tel Aviv's advantage until the 90th minute, when the match went into stoppage time. Unfortunately, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s discovered that sometimes football is played for as much as 95 minutes and just moments before the final whistle they conceded the dramatic equaliser. A defensive error presented Dor Hugi with an easy goal in front of an open goal and handed Maccabi Haifa their share of the pointsA win would have brought Maccabi Tel Aviv to within five points of leaders Maccabi Haifa and opened up the title race considerably. But this second consecutive draw leaves them where they were before the match, eight points off the pace with Maccabi Haifa still firmly in the lead.

Next week Maccabi Tel Aviv will attempt to return to their winning ways with an away tie at Beitar Tubruk.

Line-up: Gal Tubali, Shachar Fiban, Daniel Schwartzbaum, Mansor Amash,  Shaun Goldberg, Dor Buzaglo, Tamir Avrahamian, Sharon Ziso, Guy Cohen, Guy Aviv, Dor Jan

 

 

Off on the Wrong Foot – U19s lose 0-1 at Tubruk

Maccabi's Under-19s open the second half of the season on the wrong foot with a 0-1 loss to Beitar Tubruk from a goal with just one minute gone

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" finished the first half of the national Under-19 Premiere League season in good form, albeit with a feeling of missed opportunity in the very last matchweek when they conceded a dramatic injury-time equaliser to Maccabi Haifa. In the hope of leaving that disappointment behind them, "Shachar" began the second half of their season on Saturday in Netanya with an away tie against Beitar Tubruk, whom they hosted in the season opener at Kiryat Shalom and defeated 3-1 courtesy of goals from Dor Jan, Daniel Gretz and Dor Peretz.

"Shachar" arrived at their match against Tubruk placed third in the table, equal on points with their second-placed rivals Ironi Kiryat Shmona and eight points behind league leaders Maccabi Haifa. But today there was no cause for smiles on the faces of Amir Turgeman's charges as they conceded an early first-minute goal off the boot of Tubruk's Shachar Keller. Throughout the first half the lads in yellow and blue worked hard to get back into the match but somehow they couldn't find the net. In the second half Maccabi went into attack with the quartet that has scored 16 of the 25 Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" goals this season: Guy Cohen, Sharon Zisso, Guy Aviv and Dor Jan. But still the net evaded them, even after Amir Turgeman had sent on substitutes in an effort to bring some fresh legs onto the pitch. In the end the hosts managed to hang on to their one-goal advantage until the final whistle, with Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" finding themselves on the wrong end of what has become their most popular result this season, 1-0. Amir Turgeman's lads thus suffered their second away loss of the season and their first since an identical scoreline brought them defeat against Bnei Yehuda in round 11.

Next week will see Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" hosting Hapoel Kfar Saba in an attempt to halt their winless run at three matches.

Line-up: Gal Tubali, Dean Akafi, Daniel Schwartzbaum,  Shaun Goldberg, Shachar Feban,  Dor Buzaglo, Yarden Pinto, Guy Cohen, Sharon Ziso, Guy Aviv, Dor Jan

 

 

MTA’s Nir Levin: “We’ve achieved all our goals”

Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division Director of Football, Nir Levin, looks back on another successful season

Less than a week ago the 2013/14 season at the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division came to a close, a season that proved to be a success in virtually every respect. Trophies galore, young players moving mid-season up the ladder of the Division's teams and improvements for the benefit of the players in the facilities at the Kiryat Shalom training centre are all among the Division's achievements of the past season.  Now in his sixth year as the Division's Director of Football, with a brief spell as head coach of the MTA senior team in between, Nir Levin has a look back at the Division's season in all its aspects. "This season we achieved all our goals," Levin declares about the subject closest to his heart. "Those goals are nurturing young players, advancing and training them to be good footballers qualified to play for the senior squad, or at least to play at the highest possible level. Those goals were achieved this season, as well as sending a large number of players to the various national youth teams. Both in regards achievements and advancing and nurturing young players, this season can be said to have been a great success".

Those successes were reflected in the great number of titles won by the various Division teams. "To begin with, one of those achievements is without parallel, one club winning six State Cups among the possible nine youth teams that participate in State Cup competitions. In fact we won cups at every final we contested, a source of great pride for the entire Division. On top of that three teams won league championships, the Under-19s and the Under-15 Team 2 won their "Champion of Champions" competitions and the Under-15 Team 1 won the "Nike Israel" tournament".

For all the glory of winning so many prestigious titles, for Levin it's more a question of the contribution they make to the future of the players themselves: "The titles are less important to us than the opportunity they provide to the players for high quality play against opponents whose game is good and physical, whose attack is strong and quick, in short opportunities not always available in regular league contests. There's also a mental aspect, because these are the very ages at which you need to begin to develop the players' sporting and achievement-orientated abilities. The youngsters need to learn how to play to win, to develop partnerships with their team-mates and to surmount all kinds of obstacles, like going behind in a match. Those are the kind of things that happen when you run up against good opponents. Competing for titles against good teams is much more beneficial for the players than winning yet another league game 6-0".

The Division's flagship team, the Under-19s, didn't succeed in winning the league title, but so far Levin is concerned the oldest of the youth teams had an exceptional season: "Despite recruitment problems, matriculation exams, injuries and other absences, the Under-19s made very good progress during the season. They got off to a slow start in the league but quickly found their feet and returned to excellent form, getting good results and largely avoiding consecutive losses. And despite the disadvantage to the team itself, another plus was that the Under-19's highest goalscorer, Dor Jan, spent the last third of the season playing for the club's senior squad".

In addition to these achievements on the pitch, Levin stresses other aspects of the Division's work that improved during the season: "As for our facilities, we added a sanded practise area and an artificial grass pitch for special training purposes. We've also made efforts to strengthen our personnel with respect to what we call the "total care" of the player, furthering co-operation with the club's psychologist Noam Eyal and the senior team's dietician Ron Almosni ".

Levin also touched upon the goals for the 2014/15 season, revealing a major change in one of the Division's teams: "Our vision for next season is to continue to work and improve and to stay in close touch with any innovations in the game that may arise. We'll also be looking to bolster the work of our current personnel and to bring in new people of the highest possible quality".

"One of the most important decisions we've made for the new season concerns the Under-16s. Starting next season this team will become part of our Academy at Mikve Yisrael with some of the training moving there from Kiryat Shalom. The players will study there and it will become a kind of day school for them. The team will be assembled from both the Under-15 teams and will profit from a training regime that will include lectures and lessons on the subject of football, in both its mental and physical fitness aspects. We'll have more control of the team's routine, and with the lectures I mentioned before the number of training hours will be increased significantly. We chose this group because it's a pivotal age for the youngsters and we'll be focusing on those we feel have the potential to make it to the first team". 

U19s put five past Hapoel Ramat Hasharon

Five goals and a fifth consecutive win for Maccabi's  Under-19S in beating Hapoel Ramat Hasharon 5-1

After four consecutive wins with a 9-0 aggregate, Maccabi's Under-19s played host on Saturday to Hapoel Ramat Hasharon. The 0-3 loss in the opposite fixture earlier in the season is one head Coach Amir Turgeman and his charges would rather forget.  The opportunity to correct that imbalance though is one the lads at Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" grasped with both hands by slamming five balls past the Ramat Hasharon keeper in a convincing 5-1 victory. Lanre Kehinde and Osher Abu added to Sagiv Yehezkiel's brace to give Maccabi a 4-1 lead by halftime. Guy Cohen finished off the scoring in the second half.

"Shachar" started off in high gear and only two minutes into the match Sharon Zisso had already found Lanre Kehinde in front of goal, who headed in for his third goal in as many matches. Five minutes later that advantage was doubled when Sagiv Yehezkiel tapped in Guy Cohen's cross. With still less than a quarter of an hour gone the guests got on the scoreboard themselves by converting from the spot, but the rest of the half saw almost all the traffic going in the opposite direction. On 22 minutes Osher Abu found the net from close range, his second goal since rejoining the club, and ten minutes later Sagiv Yehezkiel completed his brace to put Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" 4-1 up at the break.

The first half also saw some golden opportunities missed, with Lanre Kehinde's shot cleared off the line and Guy Cohen being stopped by the woodwork. But the latter, wearing the captain's armband, made amends in the second half when he latched on to a pass by Sagiv Yehezkiel in front of goal and slotted home for 5-1. And that's the way it stayed till the final whistle, giving Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" their fifth consecutive win and boosting their aggregate in those five matches to 14-1.

Next week the Under-19s are off to Rishon Lezion to face the local Hapoel side and will try to add one more victory to their longest stretch of consecutive wins so far this season.

Line-up:  Gal Tovli, Rotem Buskila, Daniel Schwartzbaum,  Osher Abu, Shaun Goldberg, Dor Buzaglo, Dor Peretz, Sharon Ziso, Guy Cohen, Sagiv Yehezkiel, Lanre Kehinde

 

Maccabi’s U19s beat Maccabi Petach Tikva 3-1

In form players Sharon Ziso and Lanre Kehinde combined to give Maccabi's U19s a 3-1 victory over Maccabi Petach Tikva

After a disappointing mid-week 4-2 loss to Hapoel Rishon Lezion saw them exit from the prestigious U19 State Cup competition, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" returned to league duties for an away match against Maccabi Petach Tikva hoping to maintain their run of good form that has seen them win six of their last seven league encounters. Maccabi Petach Tikva on the other hand were hoping a win would help them off the bottom of the table. Maccabi started well and were ahead 2-0 at halftime from a brace by midfielder Sharon Ziso. In the second half the home side pulled one back but Nigerian striker Lanre Kehinde's fifth goal since his arrival at Maccabi in January sealed Maccabi's 3-1 triumph.

After his lads played 120 minutes in their Cup tie against Hapoel Rishon Lezion last Wednesday, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" head coach Amir Turgeman made a number of changes to his first eleven. After a two month lay-off, Shachar Fiban returned to the right side of the defence, Dudi Aviv started as holding midfielder and Dean Akafi opened as midfielder wide on the left. But it was midfielder Sharon Ziso, who has started in the last 14 games in both league and Cup matches, who set the pace in the first half. He scored his second brace in as many league outings to bring his total to seven goals in all competitions and Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" to a promising 2-0 advantage at halftime.

After the restart the home side made several attempts to get back into the match and finally succeeded, but with fresh memories of their own mid-week comeback from two goals down against Hapoel Rishon Lezion in the Cup, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" were in no mood to see their opponents from Petach Tikva repeat that achievement. And indeed, not only did they keep their opponents at bay, they added a goal courtesy of Nigerian striker Lanre Kehinde, his fifth goal since joining the club this winter, and ended the match as 3-1 winners to complete the double against Maccabi Petach Tikva that began 1-0 at home in the very first matchweek of this year's league season.

The victory leaves Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" in second place in the national U19 Premier League, seven points behind Maccabi Haifa, who also won on Saturday at Rishon Lezion. Next Saturday Maccabi's Under-19s will host Hapoel Haifa at the Kiryat Shalom training ground in Tel Aviv.

Line-up: Gal Tuvali, Shachar Feban, Osher Abu, Daniel Shvarzboim, Shaun Goldberg, Yarden Pinto, Dudi Aviv, Dean Akafi, Sharon Ziso, Dor Jan, Lanre Kehinde

 

MTA’s Under-19s beat Hapoel Haifa 1-0

Striker Lanre Kehinde's 63rd minute goal was enough to earn Maccabi's Under-19s their fifth consecutive home win, 1-0 against Hapoel Haifa

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s registered their seventh win in their last eight games with a 1-0 home win over Hapoel Haifa at the Kiryat Shalom training ground. With just six matches left to the season, the squad at Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" knew that only a win would enable them to keep the pressure on the league leaders, Maccabi Haifa. A lone second-half goal by Nigerian striker Lanre Kehinde proved sufficient to earn Maccabi their fifth consecutive home win and keep them just seven points off the pace in the league table.

The last time the two sides met, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" were still nursing a bad run of form and went away with an important 1-0 victory. This time they had the wind at their backs after their best results of the season and hoped to continue that trend against footballing Haifa's red half, Hapoel. The first opportunity of the match fell to striker Dor Jan, whose shot on goal was deflected by Hapoel keeper Yarden Krishtol. At the other end Maccabi keeper Gal Tovali also had to be quick with his hands to push away a strike by Hapoel's Adir Dahan. A single effort by Maccabi defender Dean Akafi was the only other interruption in what was an otherwise uneventful and goalless first half for both sides.

After the restart the pace of the match accelerated with threats on goal by both sides, Maccabi in particular. Substitute midfielder Daniel Gretz, who scored last week's winner against Maccabi Petah Tikva, provided Lanre Kehinde with an excellent scoring opportunity but the striker shot wide. Dor Jan once again tried his luck but ultimately it was a 63rd minute header by Kehinde off a long ball by midfielder Daniel Shvarzboim that sailed over Hapoel keeper Krishtol's head for the Nigerian's fifth league goal, his sixth in all competitions.

The lads in yellow held on to the slim lead until the final whistle to book their second 1-0 victory over Hapoel Haifa this season. The win maintained the status quo in the national Under-19 Premier League table, with league leaders Maccabi Haifa winning against Ironi Kiryat Shmona. Next week Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" will visit the "Hatikva" neighbourhood in Tel Aviv for the "little" derby against municipal neighbours Bnei Yehuda.

Line-up: Gal Tuvali, Shachar Feban, Osher Abu, Daniel Shvarzboim, Shaun Goldberg, Yarden Pinto, Dudi Aviv, , Sharon Ziso, Dean Akafi, Lanre Kehinde, Dor Jan

 

MTA’s U19s concede title despite 0-3 win

Despite a 0-3 victory over Maccabi Netanya, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" conceded the U19 Premier League title after two consecutive championship seasons

With the possibility of a third consecutive national Under-19 Premier League title still within reach, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s set out to play an away match at Maccabi Netanya in their penultimate match of the season. With four points separating them from league leaders Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" were pinning their hopes on the latter's dropping points at their match against Ashdod FC this week in advance of a possible big showdown between the two top teams in the final match of the season next week. In the event, Maccabi Tel Aviv did their work – goals by defenders Guy Aviv and Shaun Goldberg in the first half and an own goal in the second sealed a 0-3 victory for second placed "Shachar". Unfortunately for the lads, Maccabi Haifa did their work too, beating Ashdod FC to maintain their four point advantage with just the one match remaining. After two consecutive championship seasons, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s will have to pass the championship trophy on to the new champions, Maccabi Haifa.

Head coach Amir Turgeman's charges came into the match on a run of six consecutive league victories that saw the gap at the top of the league table narrow to a mere four points, adding suspense to the last matches of the season. The game at Netanya was the last in a series of four away ties for "Shachar" and from the very start of the match they showed every intention of taking all three points from this match as well. With less than a quarter of an hour gone Guy Aviv had already put Maccabi Tel Aviv on the scoreboard with his fourth goal this season. Twenty minutes later it was defender Shaun Goldberg who uncharacteristically added Maccabi's second, also his personal second, giving his side a promising 0-2 lead at half time.

With just over five minutes gone after the restart, a Maccabi Netanya own goal put Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" 0-3 up and ensured that the 2-2 draw in the last encounter between the two clubs would not be repeated. At that very moment, Ashdod FC equalised 2-2 against Maccabi Haifa, raising hopes that the title decider would indeed be played out next week between the two league giants at the Kiryat Shalom training grounds. But while "Shachar" held on to their lead at Netanya, Ashdod FC were not so determined and Maccabi Haifa struck again to go 3-2 up. And so it remained – despite Maccabi Tel Aviv's 0-3 win, Maccabi Haifa's victory earned them the championship and condemned next week's match to one of record only.

Line-up: Sahar Hason, Shachar Feban, Osher Abu, Shaun Goldberg, Dean Akafi, Yarden Pinto, Dor Peretz, Guy Cohen, Guy Aviv, Dor Jan, Lanre Kehinde

 

MTA’s Under-19s beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0

A second half goal by midfielder Sharon Ziso enabled MTA's U19s to finish their season in style with a prestigious 1-0 victory over this year's U19 Champions, Maccabi Haifa

A week ago Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" watched their two year grip on the National Under-19 Premier League title come to an end as this year's championship fell into the hands of rivals Maccabi Haifa with one game to spare. This week Maccabi's Under-19s hosted the freshly anointed league winners in the last match of the season after an excellent record of 12 victories in their 14 games played in the second round of league matches this season, and they ensured a bright end to a somewhat frustrating campaign by beating them 1-0 at home. After Maccabi Tel Aviv provided the recently crowned champions with a guard of honour, a round of applause and a bouquet of flowers in recognition of their achievement, midfielder Sharon Ziso went on to score the only goal of the match after 54 minutes and guaranteed head coach Amir Turgeman's charges the second spot in the table, just one single point behind Maccabi Haifa.

It had been three long years since Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s had recorded a victory over their northern namesakes but they started out the first half with intent and were rewarded with an excellent opportunity for Nigerian born striker Lanre Kehinde. At the other end Gal Malka struck Maccabi keeper Sahar Hason's uprights and Dor Hoogie headed wide from close range. But as the halftime whistle blew neither side had managed to get on the scoreboard.

It took Maccabi Tel Aviv less than ten minutes after the restart to break the ice. Striker Dor Jan crossed from the left and Sharon Ziso jumped high above the opposition defence to head in his tenth goal of the season. Dor Hoogie, whose late strike earned his side a dramatic 1-1 draw in the opposite fixture during the first round of league matches, came close to equalising once again but his bounced shot over the head of substitute keeper Gal Tuvali strayed wide of the net. Maccabi Tel Aviv's midfielder Dror Sagi had an excellent opportunity to extend his team's lead when he found himself one on one with the Haifa keeper, but his shot went wide. In the end the result remained 1-0 to Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" and a handsome record of 13 victories in 15 games in the second round of league matches for the lads under the able stewardship of head coach Amir Turgeman.

Line-up: Sahar Hason, Shachar Feban, Osher Abu, Shaun Goldberg, Dean Akafi, Yarden Pinto, Dor Peretz, Sagi Dror, Sharon Ziso, Dor Jan, Lanre Kehinde