Pregame

Maccabi arrived at Doha stadium where they suffered the first defeat on the opening day of the season for a match against a side they failed to beat in two attempts. Five days after the 5-0 victory over Hapoel in the Tel Aviv derby, suspensions and injuries forced Maccabi’s coach Mladen Krstajic to make several changes. With Matan Baltaxa serving a one-match touchline ban, Enric Saborit returned to the left side of defence with Shahar Piven moving to center alongside Josue Sa. Andre Geraldes who made a substitute appearance against Hapoel returned to the starting line-up and completed the back four that protected Daniel Peretz in goal.

Dan Glazer led the team out wearing the captain’s armband as the midfield anchorman. Avi Rikan who scored a brace and set up another in the derby, suffered an ankle injury in training was withdrawn and replaced by Eyal Golasa. Gabi Kanichowsky and Oscar Gloukh were also named by Krstajic in midfield with Djordje Jovanovic and Stipe Perica leading the line upfront.

First Half

In complete contrast to last week’s Tel Aviv derby the atmosphere at Doha stadium lacked the bite of a match in the top Playoff as less than 500 Maccabi fans travelled to Sakhnin. Shortly after kickoff, Sakhnin’s central defender Ante Puljic picked a knee injury, limped off and replaced in the 10th minute by Odah Marshall. A minute later, Maccabi’s loanee Moflah Shalattah blasted a shot high over Daniel Peretz’s goal. In the 22nd minute, Odah curled a left foot shot from the corner of the area that Peretz tipped onto his crossbar. Within a minute at the opposite end, Stipe Perica sent a square ball into the path of Djordje Jovanovic but the Serbian forward was let down by his first touch before the danger was cleared by Sakhnin’s defence.

In the 29th minute Jovanovic rose to meet Enric Saborit’s cross with a header which was blocked for a corner. Jovanovic’s aerial supremacy saw him head the resulting corner into the path of Josue Sa who couldn’t convert the ball over the line from close range.

Perica carved Sakhnin’s defence open as he released Jovanovic through in the 39th minute, but the Serbian striker was denied by Mahmoud Kandil who charged out of his goal and saved for a corner. Saborit rose high to head the resulting Oscar Gloukh corner towards goal but once again Kandil reacted well. Peretz also kept himself busy as he was forced to a full stretch to catch a dangerous Guy Melamed shot in the 41st minute.

Erez Pappir’s halftime whistle sent both teams into the dressing rooms to regroup and return for the second half in hope that the stalemate will be broken.

Second Half

The second half began where the first one left off as none of the teams seemed to be able to carve an opening. Maccabi that looked dangerous mostly in set pieces, came close in the 54th minute as Saborit reached a corner but his attempt of a toe-poke was caught by Kandil. Golasa flashed a right foot shot wide of the post in the 61st minute before Jovanovic blasted high over the bar less than 60 seconds later.

A minute later Krstajic made four changes as Ofir Davidzada came in for Saborit at left back, Sheran Yeini and Brandley Kuwas stepped in Gabi Kanichowsky and Gloukh while Tal Ben Chaim replaced Perica. An Andre Geraldes dangerous cross from the right sailed across the face of Sakhnin’s goal in the 65th minute but Jovanovic failed to connect. Maccabi came even closer a minute later as Ben Chaim sent Jovanovic into the area only for his shot to be saved by Kandil’s feet.

Seconds after being introduced as a substitute for Sakhnin, Ari Moura cut sent a powerful left foot shot that narrowly curled wide of Peretz’s post on 72. Krstajic made his fifth and final change as Eylon Almog stepped in for Eyal Golasa in the 76th minute. Ben Chaim fired high and wide over Kandil’s goal in the 79th minute as Maccabi tried desperately to break the deadlock.

In the 84th minute Almog dribbled towards the area and exchanged passes with Jovanovic before his shot was blocked by a Sakhnin’s defender. Two minutes later Maccabi reached their best chance as Yeini sent Ben Chaim clear through before the forward shrugged off a defender’s challenge but once again Kandil pulled a reflex save. Almog came close as his attempt of a cross in the 88th minute eluded Sakhnin’s defence and keeper but struck the crossbar and bounced out.

Deep inside injury time Sakhnin scored as Guy Melamed exchanged passes with Marshall before firing past Peretz to inflict Maccabi their second defeat of the Playoff.

Sheran Yeini’s second half substitute appearance against Hapoel Tel Aviv in Monday’s derby was his 518th appearance for Maccabi in all competitions. The 35-year-old captain who made his senior debut for Maccabi against Sakhnin in 2004 spoke about how his career evolved and took him this far: “I never thought about breaking any Maccabi records and find myself so high up in the appearances list. I thought about moving abroad, to Europe as my dream was to play for Ajax but I am glad with the way my career panned out. I started my senior in a Toto Cup match against Bnei Sakhnin, and I played in the middle against a player by the name of (Ernst) Etchi who was a giant of a man and as much as I am slim now I was even smaller then. I remember a few tough tackles with him as he gave me a welcoming reception to senior football”. Yeini, who leapfrogged past Eli Driks to capture the second place behind Miko Belo who made 599 appearances for Maccabi, added: “To reach this landmark now especially at such a match is very exciting”.

Ahead of Maccabi’s run-in, Yeini remained adamant: “Maccabi’s aim is to win all the time and collect as many points as possible. Sadly the victory in our last game didn’t bring us any closer so that we could still compete for the league title. What is important for us is to fight for titles, but if we are too far behind then we must do our best to collect as many points as possible for our remaining matches”.

An unforgettable night that resulted with a 5-0 Maccabi victory over Hapoel in the Tel Aviv derby. The day after the game and following the display and extra ordinary result we discovered some very interesting stats.

Eight years without a defeat in the derby

The 5-0 victory in Monday’s derby equaled the record victory in derbies which was achieved in 1970 and in 2016.

Maccabi’s unbeaten record

205 league matches have passed since the 5-0 victory and the derby which was the last time Maccabi won by a five goal margin.

Maccabi set a new all-time record of a 12 victory gap from Hapoel (48-46) as after 162 derbies played in the league Maccabi won 58, drawn 58 while Hapoel won 46 times.

Stipe Perica’s goal was the 200^th league goal scored by a Maccabi player in Tel Aviv derbies as the current all time goal record is 200-154.

Maccabi’s last defeat in a Tel Aviv derby was recorded in the 2013/14 season on April 26^th 2014 eight years ago almost to the day and exactly 2,922 days ago.

Respect: Yeini captures 2^nd place in the all time appearance record

Sheran Yeini reached an impressive landmark as the 35-year-old veteran captain who made a second half substitute appearance in the derby made his 518^th appearance for Maccabi in all competitions. Yeini, leapfrogged Eli Driks to capture the second place in the all-time appearance record. The only player ahead of Yeini is Miko Belo, who leads the all-time appearance record with 599.

The veteran Maccabi speaker, reached another landmark as he made his 29^th appearance in Tel Aviv derbies to go level with two former legends Benny Tabak and Avi Nimni as the trio trail Miko Belo (33) by four derbies.

How many goals has Maccabi scored from a direct corner?

Djordje Jovanovic became the second player in Maccabi’s history (together with Vidar Kjratansson) who scored in his first two derbies.

The 23-year old Serbian forward scored a brace to take his tally in Tel Avi derbies to three goals with one derby still left to play. Only Eran Zahavi who scored 5 goals in the 2014 season and Eli Dricks with 4 in 1993 – scored more goals in derbies during one season.

Avi Rikan who scored twice and assisted another, was responsible for the fifth ever Maccabi goal directly from a corner. Rikan’s 72^nd minute corner was the 97^th goal scored from a direct corner in Israel’s league history and the first since the 2017/18 season.

Shiye Glazer scored three similar goals between 1958-1961 while Benny Tabak scored Maccabi’s last goal from a corner against Maccabi Netanya in December 1977.

In a symbolic manner, the memorable night of Maccabi’s number 22 (Rikan) was the 22^nd time in Maccabi’s history that five second half goals are scored – and the first time since the 6-0 win over Maccabi Haifa in May 2016.

    

The 33-year-old midfielder who was instrumental in the 5-0 derby victory by scoring a brace and assisting another admitted: “I didn’t play too much lately but your character is judged in such times” Avi Rikan said. The veteran midfielder who joined Maccabi in 2015, added: “One has to work hard and train on a daily basis. I speak a lot with my teammates who are also in a similar situation and tell them that I had a long career and would like to extend it and enjoy it for as long as I possibly can. One has to work hard in order to be able to have such energies in matches like that. If I would have put my hands up and admitted defeat, I wouldn’t have been able to perform like I did today. I am part of a big club and a very strong team and will always be there to help when I am needed. A professional player’s career ends fast and I wish to extend it for as long as I possibly can. There are not many moments like that in a player’s career”.