Pre Match
Boosted by the 3-1 victory away to Ashdod at the weekend, Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the State Cup Quarter Final first leg against Maccabi Jaffa. The 3rd division outfit featuring veteran players such as Eran Levy and Dovev Gabay advanced from the previous round at the expense of second division side A.S Ashdod at the end of a penalty shoot.
Maccabi’s coach Mladen Krstajic whose squad is still depleted by injuries, as Sheran Yeini and Shahar Piven are still recovering while Eden Shamir has been rested, gave a chance to several other players to impress.
Daniel Tenenbaum returned to goal as the Brazilian born custodian was named in the starting line up at a domestic match for the first time since last season’s State Cup Final. Maor Kandil, was handed a rare start at right back against the club which gave him his senior debut while Ofir Davidzada kept his place at left back. Dan Glazer led the team out with the captain’s armband as the defensive partner of Matan Baltaxa at the heart of defence. Eyal Golasa and Avi Rikan were both assigned to the midfield engine room, with Matan Hozez at the top of the midfield trio. Brandley Kuwas and Eylon Almog were named on both wings with Stipe Perica leading the line upfront.
First Half
Facing three central defenders and a five-man defensive Jaffa line, Maccabi took a while to carve an opening. Ten minutes from the start Brandley Kuwas was brought down by Jaffa’s Ronen Peretz on the edge of the area who was consequently booked. Kuwas took the free kick but failed to get the ball around the wall while Eylon Almog sent a cross into the area several minutes later which Stipe Perica failed to connect onto. In the 26th minute however all three players combined for Maccabi’s opener as Kuwas led fed Perica whose shot was initially saved by Jaffa’s keeper Almog Malul before Almog ensured the ball crossed the line by tucking it home from point blank range.
Perica should have doubled the score two minutes after the half hour mark as Matan Hozez found the tall Croatian striker whose close range effort was saved by Malul. A minute later however, Jaffa’s keeper was beaten for the second time by Almog who blasted a powerful low drive from the edge of the area that made it 2-0.
Second Half
Mladen Krstajic made a double substitution at halftime as Enric Saborit replaced Ofir Davidzada while Osama Khalaila came in for Stipe Perica for the restart. A minute later, Eyal Golasa began an attack deep inside Maccabi’s half, released Almog who teed-up Avi Rikan whose shot cleared the crossbar.
A minute after the hour mark Maor Kandil was shown a yellow card for a foul on Ron Gabay but following the intervention of VAR the decision was reversed and he was sent off instead. Almog had a chance to score his hatrick in the 68th minute but sent his shot high and wide. This was Almog’s final contribution on the night as he was replaced a minute later by Andre Geraldes as part of double change by Krstajic that saw Idan Nachmias come in for Eyal Golasa.
Matan Hozez limped off on 73 and was replaced by Gabi Kanichowsky as Krstajic made his final substitution for the closing stages. Khalaila curled a left foot shot over the bar, then sent a shot wide while Rikan also fired his attempt over the bar in the 86th minute as the numerical disadvantage didn’t prevent Maccabi from creating chances.
