Maccabi Tel Aviv were drawn to face Maccabi Haifa in the Semi Final of the WINNER State Cup. Sports betting board CEO Meir Bardugu and former Israel legend Mottale Spiegler conducted the draw which took place at the IFA headquarters. Second division side Bnei Yehuda will face Hapoel Be’ersheva in the second Semi Final.

Matches are scheduled for March 17th and 18th with the venues and kickoff times to be published by the IFA at a later stage.

Preview

Three days after his debut match at Maccabi resulted with a 4-1 league victory over Kiryat Shmona, Ronney Deila arrived at Bloomfield stadium for the first time. The State Cup Quarter Final tie away to second division side Maccabi Jaffa, gave the Norwegian Head Coach and his coaching staff an opportunity to experience Bloomfield at first hand. Goalkeeping coach, Dean Kiely, is the latest addition to Deila’s backroom staff which already includes assistant coaches Kenny Miller and Kenneth Dokken. After 6000 Maccabi fans travelled to Netanya for the match against Kiryat Shmona, almost double that amount purchased tickets to cheer Maccabi on and help the team reach the Semi Final of the Cup.

Deila made several changes to his starting line-up from the side that beat Kiryat Shmona on Monday. Roi Mishpati, who played his last three matches in goal in the Europa League, made his first domestic appearance since his dismissal during the 2-6 defeat to Beitar Jerusalem in November last year. The defense remained unchanged with Heitor dos Santos and Tyrese Asante named as the two central defenders while Noam Ben Harush and Roy Revivo were named at right and left back respectively.

Ben Lederman stepped into the anchorman role with Maccabi’s joint-top goal scorers; Dor Peretz (12) and Ido Shahar (12) completed the midfield trio. Kervin Andrade, who scored Maccabi’s fourth goal and his second of the season, was named by Deila in a wide position. After making his Maccabi debut as a second half substitute against Kiryat Shmona, Emir Sahiti, was named on the opposite flank for his first outing at Bloomfield.

Saied Abu Farchi, whose successful penalty against Kiryat Shmona was his sixth goal in all competitions this season, will aim to add to his tally against Jaffa as he led the line.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Ofek Melika, Deila named Sagiv Jehezkel, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Elad Madmon, Helio Varela, Itamar Noy, Itay Ben Hemo and Ilay Ben Simon.

First Half

A wall of noise created by around 11,000 Maccabi fans welcomed the team onto the pitch giving the players the support as if it was a home match. It took Maccabi 12 minutes to create the first chance as Jaffa’s attempt of a clearance fell to Kervin Andrade who blasted his shot over the crossbar. Andrade continued to look lively as Maccabi came closer seven minutes later with Dor Peretz heading the Venezuelan midfielder’s free kick wide of the post.

In the 22nd minute the deadlock was finally broken at the end of a spectacular team effort. Saied Abu Farchi carved Jaffa’s defense open with a perfect through ball to Peretz who cut it back for Ido Shahar. The diminutive midfielder swept the ball past Roy Baranes to put Maccabi in-front with his 13th goal of the season. Maccabi doubled their lead right on the half hour mark as Peretz was the provider once again, this time setting up Abu Farchi who blasted in the second. Maccabi’s blitz continued in the 33rd minute as Roy Revivo’s glancing header following an Andrade corner increased the lead to 3-0.

Emir Sahiti who tormented Jaffa’s defense down the left had a shot on goal in the 41st minute which was blocked for a corner.

Second Half

Deila made three changes at the restart as Raz Shlomo, Sagiv Jehezkel and Elad Madmon replaced Heitor dos Santos and the two goalscorers Revivo and Abu Farchi. Madmon tried making an immediate impact with a shot from the edge of the area. But Madmon didn’t make the cleanest of contacts as the ball spun out.

In the 52nd minute Maccabi scored their fourth with Peretz adding another assist for Sahiti who clipped the ball over the keeper with style to score his debut Maccabi goal. Three minutes later Jaffa were dealt an even bigger blow as referee Dekel Tzino sent their captain Ronen Peretz off for a second bookable offence to leave the second division side with 10 men.

Sahiti came close to bag a second on the hour mark as his left foot curler sailed wide of the post. In the 63rd minute Peretz bowed out to a standing ovation as the skipper was replaced by Ilay Ben Simon who was handed a chance to impress. Ben Lederman who worked tirelessly in midfield came off on 66 and was replaced by Itamar Noy as Deila made his fifth and final substitution. In the 72nd minute Noy played a part in Maccabi’s fifth as he exchanged passes with Sahiti who burst into the area before his shot deflected in off a defender to make it 5-0.

Maccabi continued to toy with Jaffa exploiting their numerical advantage as the pressure Ben Simon and Noy applied in the 82nd minute almost gifted them with the sixth. But Noy who found himself at the center of the Jaffa box with only Baranes to beat, dragged his shot wide. In the 90th minute Sahiti almost rounded his performance with an assist as his cross was flicked by Shahar towards goal. But the Jaffa keeper saved on his goal line to deny Maccabi a sixth goal. The full-time whistle sent Maccabi’s players and staff to celebrate the victory with the fans as attention now turns back to the league as Deila’s charges host Bnei Reineh at Bloomfield on Monday.

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC are delighted to welcome Dean Kiely (55) as the new first team goalkeeping coach.

Kiely joins Maccabi after seven successful years as goalkeeping coach at Premier League side Crystal Palace, during which time the Eagles lifted the FA Cup (2025).

Kiely, served in similar roles at West Bromwich Albion, Preston North End, Norwich City, and was also part of the Republic of Ireland national team’s coaching staff.

In successful playing career which lasted for more than two decades, Kiely made 759 senior appearances as a goalkeeper.

He featured for clubs including Coventry City, York City, Bury, Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth, Luton Town and West Bromwich Albion as well as representing the Republic of Ireland 11 times between 1999 and 2008.

The 22-year-old full-back made 33 appearances in all competitions this season to take his overall tally to 113 in Yellow and Blue. Revivo, who scored two goals in Europe but has yet to get off the mark in the league, reflected on Monday’s 4-1 victory over Kiryat Shmona that saw Maccabi end a four match winless streak. “It feels very good, it’s a lot of fun. It was important for the team’s energy, for every player, and also for the coach.”

Revivo paid tribute to the 6000 travelling fans who came to support the team against Kiryat Shmona at Netanya as he said: “I want to thank the fans who came and supported us in an away match, it felt like a home game, and they are very important to us.”

Ahead of the return to Bloomfield for tomorrow’s Cup tie which will be hosted by Jaffa, Revivo said: “There’s nothing like Bloomfield, we need our fans.”

On facing second division side Jaffa that already knocked out Bnei Sakhnin and Maccabi Netanya in the previous rounds, Revivo said: “We know that Jaffa is no pushover; they knocked out Netanya and Sakhnin. We are coming very prepared and are focusing on ourselves. First and foremost, I want to win, I don’t care how, but we do need to play our system, our way, and that’s how we’ll get the victory.”

On the change in the camp following the managerial changes and the arrival of Ronny Deila, Revivo summed up: “A spirit of change arrived with the new coach already from the first training session. Especially after the win, there were a lot of smiles, and I’m happy for the team and for myself. It was important for us to win.”

Abu Farchi, whose assist to Dor Peretz was followed by a successful penalty in the 4-1 victory over Kiryat Shmona, said at the end of the match: “A new coach has come in with new energy and fresh blood. We won and we move on.”

On the fans who supported the team today, he added: “We felt we owed it to the fans after the last game. We came with peak energy, played a good first half and carried that through the entire match.”

On the arrival of the new head coach, Ronny Deila, Abu Farchi shared: “The coach spoke to us a lot about energy, and that’s what won the game. We came with the right approach and it worked. He’s only been here two days and you can already feel he’s a good person. He spoke with every player on a personal level, which is a positive thing. I wish him and us success together. He knew me and told me I’m a player who works very hard and fights for every ball. If I lose it, I can run all the way to Bloomfield to get it back. He gave me confidence and told me, ‘I’m behind you.’ I’m happy I repaid that.”

Abu Farchi, whose goal took his season tally to six in all competitions, spoke of his personal targets: “The numbers are important to me. Today wasn’t enough, I could have given more. I need to work on myself to produce more numbers.”

On the title race: “We never give up. Right now we’re focused on the next match, want as many wins as possible, and in the end we’ll see what happens.”

Abu Farchi whose name was loudly chanted by the fans at Netanya, said after the match: “I get a lot of love and support this isn’t the first time. In previous games I received many messages and my phone almost crashed. I hope to repay them on the pitch.”