Maccabi Tel Aviv returned from the three-month coronavirus break on Saturday at Bloomfield and secured a 2-0 win over Hapoel Haifa in the first round of the third, playoff phase of the TASE Premier League to retain their dominant position at the top of the standings.

Goals either side of halftime by Matan Hozez and Itay Shechter secured the points, although the result might have been higher with several chances missed and Maccabi put the ball in the net twice more although an early effort by Shechter and a later one by substitute Nick Blackman were both ruled out for offside.

Haifa opened up well and tested Daniel Tenenbaum in the Maccabi goal early on and once more in the second half, but the Brazilian-born ‘keeper was pretty much unfazed during the match and kept yet another clean sheet.

Hozez finally put Maccabi in the lead on the stroke of halftime when he curled a free kick from just outside the area with his left foot that went around Haifa’s wall and beat the outstretched Yasmin Boric in the visitors’ goal who just managed to get his fingertips to the ball, but no more.

Maccabi were the more dominant in the second half too but it took them another 10 minutes to double the score as Shechter headed in at the far post from a corner taken on the left by Hozez that was headed on by Enric Saborit.

Blackman headed the ball into the net with his first touch after coming on as substitute in the 69th minute but the goal was disallowed after a VAR check that was ordered by referee Orel Greenfeld but the offside margin was miniscule.

The next test for Maccabi is a big one, against second-placed Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield on Wednesday.

The long wait for a resumption of football is nearing its end after almost three full months of lockdown and Maccabi Tel Aviv will enter an empty Bloomfield Stadium on Saturday night at 20:00 to face Hapoel Haifa in the first of the ten-match final phase of the season as the TASE Premier League leaders look to consolidate their position and retain the title.

Fans are not allowed into the 29,150-seat Bloomfield arena and it will be strange playing in silence, but the club has found ways to keep the fans close to its heart.

To start off, the players will wear shirts with the words of fans’ chants embroidered on them, ensuring that the supporters, who are so important and dearly missed, will be kept close to our hearts at all times.

The club has also called for fans to send pictures of themselves and of the artefacts they usually bring with them to support the players and from the next home game these will be displayed on the large screens and on the pitchside hoardings during the entire match.

With all 26 matches in the first two phases of the league completed, Maccabi lead the TASE Premier League table with 64 points, six ahead of second-placed Maccabi Haifa, who appear to be their only realistic challengers for the title. Beitar Jerusalem are third in the standings on 49 points.

The TASE Premier League will launch this season’s playoff phase when play gets underway on Saturday.

This is the 17th consecutive season in which a concluding playoff phase follows two phases of regular home and away fixtures in the 14-team Premier League. In the playoffs, the league splits into two sections and the top six teams battle for the title in two more rounds, while the bottom eight play to avoid relegation.

A playoff format was introduced in 1987-88 and it has undergone several changes over the years with the aim of making the final part of the season more exciting. This season, Maccabi are part of the upper section for the 15th time.

One of the two seasons in which Maccabi were in the bottom section was during the inaugural playoffs in 1988 and the first-ever fixture was a 1-1 draw against Beitar Jerusalem, when Motti Iwanir scored for Maccabi.

Since then, Maccabi have played 134 matches in the playoff phase and the overall record is 69 wins, 34 draws and 31 defeats. 

The most fruitful season was in 1991-92 when Maccabi amassed 24 points from seven wins, three draws and no defeats.

This season will be the first since the inception of the playoffs that Israel’s five biggest clubs — Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Beersheba — are all involved in the upper playoffs at the same time.

The current playoff format that was introduced in 2012-13, has always seen the club finishing in top spot at the end of the regular part of the season go on to win the title.

Maccabi’s biggest-ever win in the playoff phase was a 7-0 drubbing of Beitar in 2000-01 when Rodrigo Goldberg and Avi Nimni each scored two goals, and Dedi Ben Dayan, Baruch Dago and Guy Tzarfati struck the other three. With 31 goals to his credit, Eran Zahavi is Maccabi’s most prolific scorer in the playoff phase.

Second half goals by Dor Peretz, Omer Atzili and Andre Geraldes at Kiryat Shalom on Sunday secured a perfect record for Maccabi Tel Aviv in their season restart preparations as they look forward to the resumption of the TASE Premier League at the weekend.

The 3-0 win over Second Division outfit Beitar Tel Aviv/Bat Yam followed wins over Hapoel Ra’anana and Ashdod SC, both by a 3-1 margin, and appears to bode well for a successful restart on Saturday.

After several chances went begging for both sides in the first half, four changes by Vladimir Ivic at the start of the second period effected the change that the Serbian coach was looking for. Dor Peretz was first on the score sheet as he rose high to head home in the 54th minute after Matan Hozez crossed in a free kick in from the left.

Three minutes passed and Maccabi doubled the score after Ruslan Barsky sent a telling pass that cut through the Beitar defence that found Atzili who was on hand to slot home from close range.

Geraldes sealed the result in the 71st minute after exchanging passes with Atzili and Eyal Golasa. The Portuguese right-back pounced on Golasa’s rebounding shot and rifled the ball high into the back of the Beitar net.

The score might have been higher thanks to several attempts by a number of Maccabi players, including a late shot by Itay Shechter, who hit the crossbar.

Maccabi’s first match in the playoff phase of the Premier League will be against Hapoel Haifa at home on May 30, kickoff at 20:00. With all 26 matches in the first two phases of the league completed, Maccabi lead the table with 64 points, six ahead of second-placed Maccabi Haifa, who appear to be their only realistic challengers for the title. Beitar Jerusalem are third in the standings on 49 points.

Maccabi Tel Aviv: Andreas Gianniotis, (Omer Katz, 46), Maor Kandil, (Andre Geraldes, 46), Eitan Tibi, (Jair Amador, 46), Shahar Piven, (Sheran Yeini, 61), Enric Saborit, (Ofir Davidzada, 61), Dor Peretz (Dor Micha, 61), Ruslan Barsky (Avi Rikan, 61), Eyal Golasa (Parfait Guiagon, 73), Matan Hozez (Yonatan Cohen, 61), Eylon Almog (Omer Atzili, 46), Nick Blackman, (Itay Shechter, 61).

Beitar TA/Bat Yam: Daniel Peretz Muflah Shalata, Amit Glazer, Fadi Najjar, Eyal Chen, Tamir Glazer, Ido Shahar, Bar Cohen, Amir Berkovitz, Yahab al-Abid, Eduardo Guerero.

Maccabi Tel Aviv is saddened to learn of the passing of the club’s former Serbian striker, Miljan Mrdaković, who died in tragic circumstances on Friday in his native Belgrade, aged 38.

Mrdaković played for Maccabi in the 2006-07 season under then-coach Eli Cohen, and as a 24-year-old he made an immediate impression when in the opening round of the season he scored a spectacular goal against Beitar Jerusalem as he beat three defenders in a solo run that began in his own half before unleashing a powerful shot from the edge of the area.

That season was his only campaign with Maccabi Tel Aviv in which he scored eight goals and set up four others in 29 appearances. After leaving Maccabi he moved to Portugal.

In a career spanning 17 years, Mrdaković played for 20 clubs across 10 countries in Europe and scored 150 goals in all competitions. He ended his career at OFK Belgrade in 2017. He also played for Serbia at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.