Since the 2-0 victory at Bloomfield over Hapoel Petah Tikva on September 30^th Maccabi had a 64-day-long break from the league due to the war. Hapoel Jerusalem host Maccabi on Sunday for the ONE ZERO MD6 at Teddy stadium.

Besides summer breaks, this is the second longest interval without playing league matches. COVID caused a break which lasted for 91 days between March – May of the 2019/20 championship winning season.

Just like the beginning of the 1968/69 season and for the second time in Israel’s history – Maccabi led the table at the end of everyone of the five league rounds so far. Only 7 clubs in Israel’s history reached that landmark, with Hapoel Petah Tikva (1961), Maccabi Haifa (2006) and Beitar Jerusalem (2008) won the championship that season.

After five league matches Maccabi’s record currently stands on 4 victories and 1 draw with an impressive goal tally of 15-2. Maccabi enjoyed a better start to a season only twice (1953/54 and 1993/94) while last season (2022/23) they enjoyed a slightly better record of 4 victories and 1 draw and 18-1 goals.

Twenty-three players featured so far in the league with Roi Mishpati is the only one who played the entire 450 minutes.

Eran Zahavi leads Maccabi’s goal scoring chart with 4 league goals to his name. Dor Peretz, Felicio Milson and Dor Turgeman scored 2 goals each while Gabi Kanichowsky and Roy Revivo scored one each.

Maccabi played 18 matches in all competitions this season winning 14, losing once while three other matches ended in a draw. Maccabi’s total goal tally currently stands on 49 goals scored and 15 conceded.

The 36-year-old Maccabi captain who scored his 16th goal in all competitions in the 82nd minute which secured the victory and qualification to the next phase said: “When the ball goes in there is always sheer ectasy” Zahavi admitted, “I will not lie, the demonstrations throughout the match bothered us and weren’t pleasant. But the best possible response is a ball in the back of the net.”

 

On the weather conditions and playing on an artificial surface, Zahavi added: “The conditions were not easy and the weather far from ideal, am artificial surface is very different but I am proud of our team. Despite the fact all the conditions were against us, this is something very important for the rest of our journey. We would really like to clinch the first place in the group, as this victory was very important. We have had a long journey, long flights, all those tough conditions one could get, but still we put everything aside and won this game which is the most important thing.”

Maccabi returns to league action on Sunday with an away trip to Hapoel Jerusalem at Teddy stadium. Zahavi, whose winning goal was his 16th in all competitions, reflected on the return of domestic football after a 64-day-long break due to the war in Israel: “Obviously we played some good matches, so we could prepare better than other teams, but on the other hand there is fatigue. We missed the league and our country. All the national team players, myself included, were not in Israel for a long time now, so we will return to out families. On Sunday we have a difficult task against Hapoel Jeruslaem. We don’t intend to give up on any match and will try to win the next match as well.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived at the Kopavogsvollur stadium in Reykjavik, Iceland for the Conference League MD5 match away to Breidablik. In addition to switching venues due to the frozen playing surface conditions, kickoff time was also switched to 13:00 local time thus avoiding temperatures from dropping even further below zero. Five days after beating Zorya Luhansk in Serbia, Maccabi have 9 points from four matches and are ranked second in Group B, one adrift of leaders Gent that play the Ukrainians later today before facing Maccabi on the final Match Day.

 

Maccabi’s Head Coach, Robbie Keane, made no changes from the side that beat the Zorya twice in Poland and Serbia as goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera kept his place in goal. Enric Saborit and Derrick Luckassen were named as the two central defenders in front of the Panamanian custodian. Roy Revivo on the left and Avishai Cohen on the right completing Maccabi’s defensive line. Joris van Overeem in the anchorman role supported by Dor Peretz and Gabi Kanichowsky were Keane’s three-man midfield engine room. Felicio Milson on one flank and Dan Biton on the other supplied the width to the side with the task of feeding Eran Zahavi.

The 36-year-old leading the team out with the captain’s armband will aim to continue scoring just as he did against Zorya and add to his 15 goals this season. On the bench Keane named goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum as well as Dor Turgeman, Yonatan Cohen, Sheran Yeini, Eyal Golasa, Ofir Davidzada, Sayid Abu Farchi, Ido Shahar, Nir Bitton, Kiko Bondoso, Osher Davida and Yvann Macon.

First Half

Playing on the artificial surface they are used to, Breidablik took the initiative putting pressure on Maccabi’s defense right from the start. Three minutes later though Maccabi launched their first attack as Avishai Cohen broke from the right and tried slipping the ball into the path of Dor Peretz before a defender cleared it out for a corner. Kristinn Steindorsson almost put the hosts in front after David Invargsson left him in a good position to score in the 8^th minute but his miscued close-range effort sailed wide and over. Maccabi continued to look lively down the right with Cohen causing Breidablik’s defense all sorts of problems. Cohen’s cross in the 15th minute found Felicio Milson whose effort was blocked for a corner which was cleared by the hosts’ defense.

Orlando Mosquerra was called into action in the 19^th minute as the Panamanian keeper was at full stretch to push away a dangerous corner. Maccabi’s best chance came five minutes later as Roy Revivo slid the ball to Gabi Kanichowsky who charged into the area before his attempt of a square ball was cleared from the goalmouth.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 36th minute as Dan Biton picked a loose ball near the corner of the area before cutting inside and unleashing a deadly left foot strike. With the sun directly in his face, Breidablik’s goalkeeper, Anton Einarsson, was caught off guard as Biton’s shot rocketed past him to put Maccabi in-front. The 28-year-old midfielder who scored his 7^th goal in all competitions this season, walked over the bench and picked up an Israel flag for which he got booked by Bosnian referee Luka Bilbija. Inside injury time, Maccabi’s claims for a penalty were waived by Bilbija after Milson was clearly brought down inside the area.

Second Half

With no changes to either side at the interval both teams emerged for the second half as the sun began to set and temperatures drop.

Nine minutes after the restart, Enric Saborit, sent Eran Zahavi into the area before the Maccabi captain on the day left the ball for Dor Peretz. But a Breidablik defender slid-in to clear for a corner before Peretz could manage a shot on target. Biton took the resulting corner and found Saborit who headed it into the path of Peretz who tucked the ball home from close range. But Maccabi’s celebrations were short-lived as VAR intervened and ruled the goal out for an alleged handball. A minute after the hour mark the hosts were back on level terms as a Gisli Eyjolfsson picked the ball inside Maccabi’s area, took it around Mosquerra and side-footed into the open goal.

Kanichowsky was booked in the 66th for a professional foul on Anton Logi Luoviksson before Robbie Keane made his first change, introducing Dor Turgeman for Biton two minutes later. Breidablik’s Jason Dadi Svanthorsson blasted a shot from the edge of the area over Mosquerra’s crossbar on 73.

Derrick Luckassen was shown the yellow card in the 78^th minute for a foul on Svanthorsson, a booking which would rule him out of the next match against Gent.

In the 82nd minute Eran Zahavi restored Maccabi’s lead as Kanichowsky chested the ball down to tee him up just in front of the area. Zahavi spotted the keeper off his line before blasting an unstoppable right foot shot which found the top corner.

A Maccabi counter-attack in the 85th minute almost resulted with a third goal as Saborit charged forward from deep inside his own half. The Spaniard released Kanichowsky who skipped past a tackle before squaring for Turgeman whose effort was blocked by the keeper. Sheran Yeini replaced Milson in the 88th minute as Keane introduced the veteran club captain to add more stability to the defense. Turgeman forced a save from Breidablik’s keeper in the 89th minute as Maccabi looked destined to increase their lead before the 4th official signaled four minutes of added time.

Breidablik tried desperately to clinch a late equalizer, but a last gasp Joris van Overeem tackle blocked Kristofer Kristinsson’s effort from beating Mosquerra. A minute later, Maccabi’s defense struggled to clear the danger as the ball fell to Damir Muminovic who had the goal at his mercy but shot wide. Keane replaced Zahavi with Osher Davida and seconds after his introduction Davida had the ball in the back of the net. But once again the goal was disallowed after the referee decided that Turgeman fouled an opponent whilst passing the ball to Davida. Breidablik were reduced to 10 men in the final minute as Eyjolfsson was shown the second yellow card for kicking Saborit who was on the ground. But that made no difference as the full time whistle saw Maccabi celebrate the victory and qualification to the next phase.

The three points gained and the European journey which will now continue well into the new year, made the long trip back from Iceland so much easier. Maccabi’s attention will now turn to the domestic league with a trip to Jerusalem on Sunday where they face local side Hapoel at Teddy stadium. Their next European opponents Gent, beat Zorya 4-1 and will face Maccabi in a fortnight for a match which will decide the group winner.

The changes of both venues and kickoff time didn’t seem to bother Maccabi’s 28-year-old midfielder Dor Peretz ahead of the penultimate Group B match against Breidablik.

The sub zero conditions led UEFA to move the kickoff time from 20:00 local time to 13:00 (15:00 Israeli time) but also switch the venues from the Laugardalsvollur national stadium to Breidablik’s home in Kopavogsvollur.

“We must adapt,” Peretz said: “If this is UEFA’s decision we must adapt to the conditions. It doesn’t make a difference in what conditions we play or on what playing surface, we must complete our targets and this is what we intend to do tomorrow.”

Peretz, who has been in top form recently scoring 10 in all competitions including a brace in Maccabi’s 3-2 over Zorya at the weekend, added: “I played once on artificial pitch and that is obviously a totally different feeling. We have a training session today, we will be able to adapt and get to learn the surface a bit more.”

Ahead of the match against Breidablik that caused Maccabi some concern when both teams met at Bloomfield in September, Peretz said: “They are a good side, as we recall they came back from 3-0 to 3-2 and could have even equalized. We need to be ready for this game, we know they have a very good build up at the back, have very good players but we know our coach would have us prepared in the best possible way.”

Just like all of Israel’s national team players, Peretz has been out of the country since the trip to Poland for Maccabi’s match away to Zorya on November 5th. On this challenge of being so long away from home, Peretz added: “We left Israel at the beginning of the month and haven’t been back home since. We travelled with Maccabi joined the national team, and returned for Maccabi’s matches. It is a challenging period but we are here to do our best.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv will aim to secure a place in the next stage of the Conference League as they face Breidablik of Iceland in Rykjavik for the penultimate Group B match. With temperatures dropping below zero thus affecting the pitch, UEFA changed the evening kickoff time to 15:00 as well as switched venue from the Laugardalsvollur to Breidablik’s home in Kopavogsvollur.

Two days after the 3-2 victory over Zorya Luhansk at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Maccabi began the preparations for the match against Breidablik in Iceland. Robbie Keane’s charges, held a morning session at Vojvodina’s Karađorđe Stadium in Novi Sad.

The victory over the Ukrainians at the rescheduled match, took Maccabi’s tally to 9 points from four matches and a step closer towards qualification from Group B.

A victory over the Icelandic outfit on Thursday, will secure Maccabi a place in the next stage with group winner advancing to the Round of 16 while the runners up qualify to the Round of 32.