Category: News

“It is very painful. We need to continue and improve”

Posted on

Daniel Peretz who couldn’t prevent Maccabi from suffering a 3-1 defeat to Beitar Jerusalem in the Semi Final of the State Cup didn’t hide his disappointment after the game: “We created chances Nd should have won the game rlearlier but we didn’t do it which is something that happens too often lately. We must continue and learn from this as this is the only way” Peretz said.

The 22-year old keeper who conceded three goals for the first time this season, tried explaining what needs to improve: “There are plenty of matches when we are not playing well yet must know how to win. Some of the biggest teams in the world have spells when the team is not playing well, yet they manage to grind results and scrape a victory even with their teeth. We had too many matches this season that ended in draws or defeats which is way too much. This is the main thing we will have to change and end up winning such matches.”

As Maccabi will seemingly end a season without a trophy, Peretz tried summing-up: “It is obviously tough as the expectations from us were to compete for every title. I am sure you watched the press conference of Giannis (Antetpkounmpo) who spoke about the fact that it is a process, and in the end, I believe it is all for the best. We must continue, work hard as painful and frustrating as it may be. I can tell you that on a personal note, it was very very painful, but this is the life of an athlete and this is football for you. We must continue training and improving”.

MACCABI LOSE 3-1 TO BEITAR IN SEMI FINAL

Posted on

Maccabi arrived at the Sammy Ofer stadium for their 51st ever State Cup Semi Final against Beitar Jerusalem with one clear task – advancing to the Cup Final on May 23rd. With a 100% record at this venue and at this stage of the competition, Maccabi would like to emulate the success achieved in the previous three attempts against Bnei Sakhnin (2016), Beitar Jerusalem (2017) and Maccabi Haifa (2021).

Aitor Karanka, made several changes to his starting line-up which beat Hapoel Jerusalem 2-1 at the weekend as he welcomed back into the side Dan Glazer and Djordje Jovanovic.

The Spanish coach kept his defence unchanged as Derrick Luckassen and Enric Saborit lined-up in front of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz while Andre Geraldes and Ofir Davidzada completed the back-four on the right and left respectively.

Glazer, who served his one-match touchline ban due to yellow cards, returned to the midfield engine room at the expense of Eyal Golasa. Dor Peretz kept his place while Dan Biton also returned to the starting line-up with Gabi Kanichowsky waiting for his chance on the bench. Parfait Guaigon, who scored the equalizer against Hapoel Jerusalem on Saturday and was unlucky not to score more, remained on the wing in the support of Maccabi’s striking duo.

Djordje Jovanovic recovered from the tight hamstring which kept him out of the squad at the weekend, took the place of young Dor Turgeman to reform the striking partnership with Eran Zahavi upfront. The veteran marksman led the team wearing the captain’s armband aiming to add to his 26th goals in all competitions this season.

On the bench Karanka named goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum, Joris van Overeem, Gabi Kanichowsky, Sheran Yeini, Eyal Golasa, Eylon ALmog, Maor Kandil, Shahar Piven and Dor Turgeman.

First Half

Maccabi began the match with pressure on Beitar’s defence right from the start and managed to get the ball in the back of the net as early as the seventh minute. Enric Saborit picked Ofir Davidzada with a perfect through ball before the left-back squared to Djordje Jovanovic who moved to the near post. The Serbian forward flicked the ball past Beitar’s keeper, Miguel Silva but his celebrations were short-lived as Davidzada was judged to have crossed the line before cutting the ball back as the goal was disallowed. Three minutes later a pyrotechnics display of flares and smoke grenades Beitar fans lit in their section and then threw onto the pitch, caused a six minute delay until the smoke cleared.

Trazie Thomas tested Daniel Peretz with a dangerous shot on 22 and Danilo Asprilla blasted a long range effort of his own a minute later. But, on both occasions Maccabi’s custodian equalled the shots to keep his goal locked. Dan Biton tested Peretz’s opposite number, in the 26th minute with a long range free kick, before Saborit tried his luck from long range only for the former to be caught by the keeper and the latter to sail over the crossbar.

Right on the half hour mark Beitar took the lead at the end of a lethal counter attack. Thomas raced through the middle, exchange passes with Yarden Shuah before blasting a right foot shot which gave Peretz no chance.

Boosted by their lead Beitar continued to push forward in the 40th minute as Asprilla rifled a thunderbolt which Peretz could only punch before catching the Colombian’s attempt to head in the rebound.

Four minutes later however, Maccabi were back on level terms and scored a goal that resembled the one which was disallowed earlier. Dan Biton picked Davidzada deep inside Beitar’s penalty box, as the left-back managed to overj bbbbqcome two challenges from Avishai Cohen before heading into the path of Jovanovic. The 23-year-old striker slid the ball home to equalise and score his 23rd goal in all competitions.

Inside injury time Maccabi suffered a major blow as Eran Zahavi raced half the length of the pitch to try and reach a long pass from Daniel Peretz. But the veteran marksman pulled a calf muscle, limped off injured, was forced to withdraw with Aitor Karanka introducing Gabi Kanichowsky before the break.

Second Half

The second half began in the way the first one ended with Maccabi pushing forward trying to find a way past Beitar’s defence. Parfait Guiagon fired two shots but none of them found the target. In the 53rd minute Biton ended a Maccabi counter attack with a dangerous left foot shot which sailed over the crossbar.

In the 60th minute Kanichowsky stripped a Beitar defender of the ball, exchanged passes with Jovanovic before releasing Biton whose shot deflected out for a corner. Karanka made two more changes on 64 as Saborit limped-off with a thigh injury and was replaced by Shahar Piven while Joris van Overeem came on for Dan Glazer. Guiagon, came close once again in the 68th minute as he dribbled into the area but saw his effort role wide of Silva’s left post.

In the 79th minute Jovanovic tried once again with a shot on the turn from the edge of the area but a Beitar defender deflected the ball for a corner which was cleared.

As the clock kept on ticking and the match seemed to be heading towards extra time, Fred Friday restored Beitar’s lead. Friday shook-off Piven and Dor Peretz before sending a toe poke under the body of the advancing keeper to make it 2-1. Karanka introduced Dor Turgeman and Eylon Almog for Davidzada and Biton seconds before the fourth official indicated 6 minutes of added time.

Turgeman almost made an immediate impact as Guiagon found him in the box but the youngster shot agonisingly wide. Almog had a shot saved by Silva as Maccabi tried desperately to level the score and conceded a third from Avishai Cohen who charged half the length of the pitch skipped past Peretz and rolled the ball into the net.

A numbers game: 50 appearances in the Semi Final

Posted on

Wednesday’s State Cup Semi Final will be staged for the 86th time since Israel’s primary Cup was introduced. Maccabi reached that stage of the competition 50 times and advanced to the final on 37 occasions.

No Israeli side appeared in the Semi Final and reached the Final more than Maccabi. Hapoel Tel Aviv are second with 37 Semi Final appearances while Maccabi Haifa are third with 33.

In its’ last 17 appearances in the Semi Finals, Maccabi were knocked out only three times. Hapoel Ramat Gan (2003), Bnei Yehuda (2019) and Hapoel Be’ersheva (2022) prevented Maccabi from advancing through.

Over the years Maccabi were facing 25 different opponents in the Semi Finals. Beitar Jerusalem were the opposition in the Semi Final on four occasions knocking Maccabi out once 1986, with Maccabi successfully advancing 3 times (1987, 1997 and 2017).

The overall record between Maccabi and Beitar in the State Cup currently stands on 7 successful ties from 12 encounters.

Rafi Levy holds the record for the highest number of goals scored in the State Cup Semi Final with 5 goals to his name on the way to a 6-0 victory over Shimshon Tel Aviv in 1958.

Miko Belo made the most appearances for Maccabi in the State Cup Semi Final featuring 12 times in this stage of the competition.

Maccabi’s Semi Finals were decided by a sudden death penalty shoot-out on six occasions of which 4 resulted with a place in the Final.

Sammy Ofer hosted Maccabi for three State Cup Semi Finals and won all three.

A 3-2 victory over Bnei Sakhnin in 2016, a 2-1 victory over Beitar Jerusalem in 2017 and a 2-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa in 2021.

Maccabi also played 3 more State Cup ties at Sammy Ofer. An emphatic 6-2 victory over Hapoel Be’ersheva in the 2015 Cup Final, a 3-0 defeat to Maccabi Haifa in the 2018 Round of 16 and a 3-2 victory over Hapoel Haifa at the same stage of 2021.

 

 

Zahavi: “It was important to reach the Semi Final with a victory”

Posted on

Eran Zahavi whose penalty in the dying seconds of the first half completed Maccabi’s comeback on the way to a 2-1 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem at Bloomfield, said at the end of the game: “Before heading for the Semi Final of the Cup it was important record a victory” Zahavi said, “Our form wasn’t the best but we played matches before when we played amazing but didn’t take the three points – this time it was the other way round. We didn’t play poorly, we could have scored another two or three more goals in the first half and make our lives easier.”

The 35-year-old who scored his 20th league goal and 26th in all competitions added: “One should know how to kill off matches like that and then rest with the ball. We are struggling to do so and then continue doing things at a more simple and lighter energy. I hope we could manage to improve that.”

Zahavi, who played upfront alongside Dor Turgeman, said of the young striking partner: “He had a good game, he ran a lot, worked very hard and created some good chances, played well with the ball and well without it. Dor still has plenty to improve but he has an amazing potential. If he keeps on working hard I am convinced he could help us in the future.”

Ahead of Wednesday’s State Cup Semi Final against Beitar Jerusalem at Sammy Ofer stadium, Zahavi said: “Every title is important for Maccabi Tel Aviv. We are out of the (league) title race so the State Cup is the only trophy we are left to fight for. We really want it and will do everything to try and win. But we have no intentions to look too far ahead, as our sights or on Wednesday, which will have a totally different atmosphere than what we had here tonight. Wednesday will be a completely different story.”

MACCABI BEAT HAPOEL JERUSLEM 2-1

Posted on

Preview

Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD33 ONE ZERO League match against Hapoel Jerusalem aiming to return to winning ways following the two draws against Ashdod and Maccabi Netanya.

Ziv Ariye’s surprise package are ranked fourth in the table, 19 points adrift of Maccabi and were also the last side to inflict Aitor Karanka a defeat on MD25 earlier last month.

The suspension of Dan Glazer who is serving a one-match touchline ban, and Djordje Jovanovic nursing an injury, forced Maccabi’s coach Aitor Karanka to make several changes from last week’s side which was held to a 0-0 draw at Netanya.

Ofir Davidzada returned from suspension to the left side of defence with Andre Geraldes returning to his original role at right-back. Enric Saborit and Derrick Luckassen both lined-up as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper, Daniel Peretz, to complete Maccabi’s back four.

Eyal Golasa stepped into the midfield engine room alongside Dor Peretz with Gabi Kanichowsky and Parfait Guiagon supplying the width on the right and left respectively. Upfront, Eran Zahavi led the team out wearing the captain’s armband as the injury to Jovanovic saw him partnered with 19-year-old Dor who is still seeking his debut league goal.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum, Karanka named Dan Biton, Joris van Overeem, Sheran Yeini, Yonatan Cohen, Eylon Almog, Maor Kandil, Shahar Piven and Matan Hozez.

First Half

Less than two minutes after the start Maccabi found themselves trailing to an early goal following an Enric Saborit mistake which saw Cedric Don intercept a back pass towards Daniel Peretz and slot the ball past the advancing keeper.
Maccabi came close to level the score almost instantly as Turgeman released Andre Geraldes down the right flank before his cut-back found Parfait Guiagon in the middle of the area. The Ivorian’s initial shot was initially blocked by Omer Agbadish before his second attempt was saved by goalkeeper Adeleye Adebayo allowing his defence to clear.

The dual between Guiagon and Adeleye continued in the 10th minute as well, this time Jerusalem’s Nigerian keeper pushed out the Ivorian’s dangerous shot from outside the area.    

Maccabi continued looking dangerous down the right as Geraldes kept on tearing down the left side of the visitors’ defence in the 13th minute with another square ball reaching Turgeman who failed to connect.

A Maccabi counter attack in the 17th minute saw Guiagon carve Jerusalem’s defence open to release Eran Zahavi but the veteran forward sent his shot wide.

Two minutes later, Maccabi’s pressure on Jerusalem’s defenders forced an error as an attempt of a clearance fell to Gabi Kanichowsky on the edge of the area. Kanichowsky slid the ball to Zahavi whose back-heal teed-up Turgeman only for the youngster to be denied by the crossbar.

Maccabi’s blitz on Jerusalem’s goal finally paid off in the 21st minute as Ondre Baco’s clearance was intercepted by Kanichowsky near the corner of the box before a square ball to Guiagon was then sent into the top corner with a clinical finish.

Maccabi continued to attack down the channels with Geraldes causing Jerusalem all sorts of problems down the right. The Portuguese right-back who had an attempt of a cross blocked by Jorsdan Botaka before his header from the touchline found Turgeman whose close range header was caught by Adebayo. Turgeman was at it again right on the half hour mark as his shot on the turn from the edge of the area narrowly missed the target.

On the stroke of halftime Maccabi were awarded a penalty after Saborit managed to redeem his earlier mistake as his header struck the hand of Baco inside the area. Zahavi stepped up and successfully fired the spot kick to complete the comeback with his 20th league goal of the season.

Second Half

Aitor Karanka made no changes to personnel after the break, while his counterpart Ziv Ariye made a double change at the restart, introducing two of Maccabi’s loannees – Nadav Niddam and Roy Revivo for Noaf Bazea and Ofek Biton.

Turgeman’s persistence and good work down the left flank on 53 released Ofir Davidzada for a close range shot which was pushed for a corner by Adebayo. Derrick Luckassen came close as he headed the resulting corner over the crossbar.

Karanka made his first change in the 58th minute with Eyal Golasa and Kanichowsky both bowing out and replaced by Joris van Overeem and Dan Biton. Guiagon came off to a standing ovation by the majority of the 11,743 fans as he was replaced by Matan Hozez in the 70th minute.

Van Overeem went into the referee’s book for a mistimed tackle on Don a minute later. While a misunderstanding between Dor Peretz and Geraldes in the 85th minute left Revivo inside the area with only Daniel Peretz to beat. But Revivo who has yet to score a goal at senior level, rushed his shot allowing the keeper to recover and deny the young left-back from scoring a late equaliser against his own club.

Karanka made another double change in the 89th minute as Saborit and Turgeman were replaced by Shahar Piven and Eylon Almog for the closing stages. Almog’s instant impact almost led to the third as his good work on the edge of the area saw Biton send a square ball but Hozez failed to reach the ball which rolled across the face of goal.

The full time whistle confirmed Maccabi’s victory over one Jerusalem side as the team now sets its sights on Wednesday’s State Cup Semi Final against Beitar Jerusalem.