The 25-year-old midfielder said ahead of the match against Hapoel Haifa which will end the regular season: “We must win, and even if you are not playing well we must know how to take the points,” Kanichowsky said. “We need to gain confidence and collect the points. This is the most important thing right now because this is the money time.”

Last week’s defeat against Hapoel Jerusalem, dealt Maccabi a blow in the title race, as Kanichowsky reflected: “The feelings in the camp were tough as we were hoping for another result and it didn’t work. It took us two days to recover, but now we are already facing Saturday.”

When asked about what happened at the end of the game with the fans, Kanichowsky said: “As a team and players we fealt that the fans were not with us at that game and some of us were hurt. Maybe it was a mistake that we didn’t go out of the dressing room because the fans were supporting us throughout the season. We know that emotions were running high at the end of the match and maybe things are not perceived in a objective manner. But we spoke about this between us and we might have to do things different after the match.”

Regardless of Saturday’s outcome Maccabi will end the regular season in third spot trailing the leaders by 8 points as Kanichowsky shared his thoughts: “I don’t think it is all over. We must now focus only on ourselves and arrive at every game as if we are facing a cup final. We don’t have the luxury to look left or right but we must focus on every game we have, give the maximum and proceed forward.”

Kanichowsky, who scored three league goals and five in all competitions spoke about Maccabi’s instability which was evident in last week’s ability to string three victories in succession, summed up: “We changed a coach this season who had a certain method and replaced him with a coach with another method. I don’t think we as players managed to create a momentum and feel that not everyone managed to properly bond this season. Things are going tough for us but we must rise above it. It is tough right now like everyone can see and we are not happy with the way in which we are playing but with all due respect we are still in the Semi Final of the Cup and in third spot – so even though we are not pleased with ourselves we are still there”.

After a 6-1 aggregate victory over second division side Maccabi Petah Tikva in the Quarter Finals, Maccabi were drawn to face Beitar Jerusalem in the State Cup Semi Final. The draw which took place at the Israel Football Association Headquarters Today (Monday) also teamed-up Ashdod SC and Maccabi Netanya for the second Semi Final as both ties are scheduled to take place between May 2nd to May 4th with the venues announced at a later stage.

Despite a 2-1 defeat at home to second division outfit Hapoel Afula, Beitar Jerusalem advanced to the Semi Finals with a 5-2 victory on aggregate.

Ashdod SC also advanced at the expense of a second division side as a 4-2 victory in the second leg against Hapoel Petah Tikva, secured a 5-3 aggregate win.

Maccabi Netanya were the only side to knock out a top flight opposition as their 2-1 victory away to Maccabi Haifa, completed a 4-3 aggregate victory and a spot in the final four of the primary cup competition.

Semi Final draw: (matches to take place on May 2^nd – May 4^th)
Beitar Jerusalem vs Maccabi Tel Aviv
Ashdod SC vs Maccabi Netanya

Eran Zahavi, whose fourth minute goal against Hapoel Jeruslaem wasn’t enough to lead the team to victory as Maccabi suffered a painful 2-1 home defeat to Hapoel Jerusalem at Bloomfield.

“We started the match in an excellent way but suddenly there was a drastic dip in form” Zahavi said, “We didn’t manage to respond and didn’t score the second goal partly due to my fault. We conceded soft goals and in the end got ourselves under pressure. As soon as we concede a goal at Bloomfield there is enormous pressure and we struggle to handle that pressure, fail to create chances and don’t score goals.”

When asked about the team’s reaction to Jerusalem’s comeback the 35-year-old replied: “I don’t know if we don’t believe, but what I have seen is a team under pressure. We tried everything, the players gave a 100% and Hapoel Jerusalem did an amazing job and deserve a lot of credit for their performance. The made the adaptations during the game, changed formations and played good football.”

On what is currently not working, Zahavi replied: “Everything is not working right now. None of us is doing his job properly from the last player all the way to the top, including the coaching staff, the fans, everyone means everyone. We are one club and we are all not doing our jobs. There is not a player who doesn’t give from himself 200%. Sometimes it works more and sometimes less. We would all like to remain united even in tough moments. I also expect the fans not to boo but I also expect a lot more from ourselves.”