Idan Nachmias marked his 16^th league appearance and 20^th in all competitions this season with three valuable points and a clean sheet after Maccabi recorded their 20^th league victory. Two late goals from Dor Peretz and Eran Zahavi helped Maccabi to a 2-0 victory over Sakhnin that extended the lead at the top to 10 points from second place Maccabi Haifa.

At the end of the game, a relieved Nachmias faced the media and said: “We remained calm. In my opinion we played excellent football in my opinion, we created very good chances of a-100%-goals and were really good. There are days when the ball doesn’t go in or goes in only in the 90^th minute. But we must continue in the same direction which is exactly what we did.”

Nachmias, who helped Maccabi keep a clean sheet in the last six league matches he started: “We take from here the clean sheet as we are very greedy about this achievement and value it greatly. We played well, created plenty of good chances while they had only one-and-a-half shots on goal all game. We were very good throughout the match and are making progress. There are very good things to take from here tonight.”

Nachmias who also played in the painful 6-1 defeat to Olympiacos that ended Maccabi’s European campaign, reflected: “The match against Olympiacos was a slap I will never forget for as long as I live, but at the same time we deserve a lot of credit for the way in which came out of it. We are not a team that concedes many goals especially not six which is way too much for us. To be able to do that switch speaks volumes about the team’s and the players’ maturity. We had a rotation at the end of that game and everyone who got a chance played well.

This is the 21^st season in the league’s history where the Playoff is played at the end of the regular season. Maccabi will feature for the 19^th time in succession at the top Playoff – more than any other club in the league. Maccabi played in the bottom Playoff only twice – during the inauguration season and the following season (1987/88 and 1988/89).

Maccabi won six league championships under the Playoff system: 1991/92, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Saturday’s opponents Bnei Sakhnin faced Maccabi in the Playoff during five seasons. The record currently stands on 5 victories, 2 draws and 2 defeats with a total goal tally of 17-7.

This is the 12^th season that the current Playoff system is played under the current format (since the 2012/13 campaign). This is longest period a league format is kept in Israel’s footballing history.

Since the 2012/13 season Maccabi’s record in 110 Playoff matches currently stands on 58 victories, 33 draws and 19 defeats with a total goal record of 181-95.

Up until this season, under the current league format, Maccabi ended the regular season (MD26) in the following positions: 1^st place: 5 times, 2^nd place: 3 times, 3^rd place: 3 times.

Only during the 2017/18 season Maccabi changed positions between the regular season and the end of the Playoff ending MD26 in 3^rd and MD36 as runners-up.

Maccabi kicked off all its’ past 11 seasons in the Playoff with a home match as their record currently stands on: 8 victories, 2 draws and 1 defeat with a total goal tally of 16-4.

The 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons were Maccabi’s best Playoff campaigns with 23 points of a possible 30 in each – 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat.

Sheran Yeini made the most appearances for Maccabi in the Playoffs as the veteran club captain featured in 70 Playoff matches throughout his career.

Eran Zahavi leads the goal scorers list in Playoff matches as the 36-year-old striker has 36 goals to his name.

Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium after the international break as Robbie Keane’s top of the table side hosted Bnei Sakhnin for the ONE ZERO League MD27 which kick started the Playoff. With a seven-point-lead at the top of the table, Keane’s charges will aim to record their sixth league victory in succession and increase the pressure on next week’s opponents Maccabi Haifa that play Bnei Reineh tomorrow. Keane sent out the same team that suffered a disappointing 6-1 defeat to Olympiacos as Roi Mishpati kept his place in goal with Enric Saborit and Idan Nachmias lining-up as the two central defenders in front of him. Ido Shahar started on the right side of defense with Roy Revivo completing Maccabi’s back-four on the opposite left-flank.

Joris van Overeem was named in the anchorman role with Gabi Kanichowsky and Dor Peretz joining the Dutch-born midfielder in Maccabi’s engine room. Osher Davida on the right flank and Felicio Milson on the left supplied the width in Maccabi’s formation, tasked at providing the ammunition for Eran Zahavi. The veteran striker who scored a brace against Hapoel Haifa before the international break that took his tally to 32 in all competitions will aim to continue his run of form.

On the bench, Keane, named Daniel Tenenbaum, Avishay Cohen, Dor Turgeman, Yonas Malede, Eyal Golasa, Ofir Davidzada, Matan Baltaxa, Kiko Bondoso and Eden Karzev.

First Half

Boosted by their return to league action and with the vocal support of the 20,267 fans at Bloomfield, Maccabi began the match with pressure on Sakhnin right from the off. That pressure on the visitors should have seen Maccabi score at least one goal inside the opening three minutes. After less than 90 seconds Osher Davida who intercepted a ball deep inside Sakhnin’s half exchanged passes with Dor Peretz before cutting the ball back. Eran Zahavi, who timed his run to perfection, must have thought he had scored but his shot was saved by the feet of Mohammed Abu Nil. A minute later Felicio Milson carved Sakhnin’s defense open with a through-ball to Peretz whose pass allowed Enric Saborit in on goal but the Spaniard’s shot to be blocked by Hasan Hilu.

Peretz had two more good chances to score but Abu Nil charged off his line and denied the Maccabi midfielder who later headed a corner just wide. The visitors managed to hang on while Maccabi continued to dominate as a Davida’s counter-attack on 16 reached Gabi Kanichowsky whose cross was volleyed by Zahavi forcing Abu Nil to a spectacular save.

While Maccabi struggled to find an opening and break through Sakhnin’s line of defense, the visitors almost took the lead against the run of play. In the 39th minute, Sakhnin almost took the lead from a corner as Constantinos Soteriou rose high to head a corner past Roi Mishpati before Enric Saborit rescued Maccabi from conceding by heading the ball off the line.

Despite one of the most dominant first halves Maccabi played this season, Robbie Keane’s charges couldn’t translate their superiority to a goal as Aviad Shiloah’s halftime whistle sent both teams into the dressing rooms with the score still goalless.

Second Half

With no changes after the interval Maccabi began the second half where the first one left off while the visitors’ continued to frustrate by keeping their goal locked. Six minutes after the restart Zahavi tried a shot which went wide of the target.

Right on the hour mark Peretz knocked the ball down for Kanichowsky who saw an opening for a shot which crept agonizingly wide. A minute later, Abu Nil, came to Sakhnin’s rescue as a clearance reached Milson whose volley was heading into the top corner. But the visiting keeper was at full stretch to claw the ball out from under his crossbar.

In the 67th minute and against the run of play, Maccabi were awarded a corner before Sakhnin’s Mohamad Shaker charged forward for a counter-attack at the end of which Zahi Ahmed side footed the ball home. Sakhnin’s celebrations were short-lived as VAR spotted a foul on Kanichowsky and cancelled the goal. Keane reacted instantly as Dor Turgeman replaced Davida on 72 and with the fans lifted by the cancellation of the goal, Bloomfield was at its vocal best. Four minutes later Keane’s substitution almost had an immediate impact as Milson slid the ball to Kanichowsky whose square ball reached Turgeman. But the young forward who run through and was unmarked at the far post, somehow managed to hook the ball over the crossbar. Keane made a second change adding a forward for a midfielder with Yonas Malede replacing Joris Van Overeem in the 75th minute.

Roy Revivo was booked for dissent in the 87th minute and while Keane was ready to introduce Ofir Davidzada, Dor Peretz scored one of the goals of the season. The 28-year-old midfielder picked the ball from Milson and with his right-foot teed the ball up and blasted a left foot volley that rocketed into the top corner to send Bloomfield in the air. Davidzada and Karzev replaced Revivo and Milson while Shiloah awarded 7 minutes of added time.

Inside injury time, Malede exploited an Abu Nil mistake, stripped a defender of the ball, and charged into the penalty box before being fouled by Gabi Joury. Shiloah pointed straight at the penalty spot before Zahavi stepped up, sent Abu Nil the wrong way and doubled the score to seal Maccabi’s win.

Ido, who has been playing recently at right-back, said: “The victory over Hapoel Haifa was extremely important. It was a game that already seemed like a Playoff match. The vibe in the team is really good as we feel good and are prepared for the start of the Playoff.”

Shahar, who had his first call-up to the Israel national team but like the rest of his seven Maccabi fellow teammates returned disappointed following the 4-1 defeat to Iceland that ended any dreams of qualification, reflected: “We all wanted to qualify and did our best. sadly that hasn’t happened and we are now focused on our targets at the club and our forthcoming match. We did the switch pretty quickly and are now looking forward.”

On the recent step-up he made which earned him a place in the team as well as national recognition, Shahar said: “This is a test for me as well. I did my best and even after my costly mistake against Olympiacos I improved in the second half as well as against Hapoel Haifa. This is part of the profession – there are mistakes but the right thing to do is to learn from them and bounce back as fast as possible.”

Ahead of Saturday’s home match against Sakhnin which will raise the curtain on the 10-match Playoff, Shahar said: “We would like to win every match especially at home in front of our fans so we will do everything to achieve that. We would like to see all the fans fill up the stadium as it would help us a lot. I understand them for wanting us to switch our focus back on the championship. We made that switch and now we are all focused on the game and wanting our fans to be happy.”

Shahar, a product of Maccabi’s Youth Academy who spent several seasons on loan with Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam, Hapoel Haifa, Maccabi Petah Tikva and even Apollon Limassol before breaking into the first team this season, concluded: “There has always been strong competition at Maccabi Tel Aviv for every position in the squad. My motivation has never changed even when I didn’t play that much earlier this season. I kept on working as hard as possible to ensure I do play as I keep on doing it today as well.”