Saied Abu Farchi Abu Farchi, previously scored a goal in a pre-season friendly against AFC Bournemouth ahead of the 2023/24 season and has since had loan spells with Kfar Qassem and Maccabi Bnei Reineh for which he scored 6 goals in all competitions last season.

The young striker who scored his first competitive goal on his first outing this season said: “Every player, every child dreams of this moment, and I am happy the coach gave me a chance and I took it with both hands. I hope to keep continuing like this.”

Abu Farchi, who has been training with the squad and received his first chance this season, added: “Every time I get the opportunity, I will give everything on the pitch, because that’s how I was raised. I’ve been at Maccabi since I was 7–8 years old, that’s the Maccabi spirit, and I’m glad I have it within me.”

Abu Farchi remained confident as he faced the media after the match and said: “I believe in myself and I believe that this year I can break through. I hope to keep going this way. I had a conversation last week with Ben and he told me that this year there’s no chance he’ll let me go. He said that some players might leave and I’ll get my chance and my stage. I got it today, and I’m glad I took it”.

Preview:

A month after hosting the Super Cup at Bloomfield, Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium for the Toto Cup match against Hapoel Jerusalem. Maccabi’s Head Coach, Zarko Lazetic, who secured qualification to the Conference League phase and is facing a crucial Europa League Playoff tie against Dynamo Kyiv made several changes to his starting line up.

Ofek Melika, was named in goal for the first time since his sending off against Pafos in the Champions League. Heitor partnered Ali Camara at the heart of defense as two central defenders who joined in the summer, caught their first glimpse of Bloomfield stadium. Noam Ben Harush and Denny Gropper made their first start as the two full-backs on the right and left respectively. New signing Kristijan Belic was handed his Maccabi debut as the Dutch born Serbian midfielder was named as the anchorman. Ben Lederman, who was an unused substitute in the Super Cup against Be’ersheva, made his first Bloomfield outing in midfield with Itamar Noy completing the midfield engine room. Saied Abu Farchi made his debut start for Maccabi on the wing while Sagiv Jehezkel led the team out wearing the captain’s armband on the opposite flank. Dor Turgeman led the line as the young striker is still aiming to score his first goal of the campaign.

On the bench Lazetic named goalkeeper Roi Mishpati, Avishay Cohen, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Nemanja Stojic, Elad Madmon, Ido Shahar, Itay Ben Hemo, Osher Davida.

First Half

Maccabi began the match on the front foot attacking Hapoel Jersualem from wide positions as Sagiv Jehezkel and Saied Abu Farchi exposed the visitors’ defense. In the 13th minute Abu Farchi who sent a dangerous cross which was intercepted by the keeper minutes earlier, decided to try have a go himself. The 19-year-old broke into the box and from a tight angle drilled a low drive that went in off the post for his first Maccabi competitive goal. Dor Turgeman came close to double the score as he fired a thunderbolt over the crossbar.

Referee Aviv Klein sent both teams for a water break right on the half hour mark as seconds after the players returned Itamar Noy flashed a shot wide of the post. Four minutes later Dor Turgeman had a solo effort which forced Ben Gotodin to a full stretched save. Turgeman came even closer on 40 as he picked a Sagiv Jehezkel pass took the ball around the keeper and sent a chip which struck the side netting. Maccabi continued to look dangerous as Noam Ben Harush was denied by Gorodin. A combination of the Jerusalem keeper and his crossbar denied Abu Farchi from scoring a close range header.

Second Half

Lazetic made a single substitution after the interval as Abu Farchi made way for Davida after the restart. Jerusalem’s coach Ziv Ariyeh made four changes at the restart but it was Ben Lederman who came close to score, yet his close range effort sailed over.

Noy limped off on 57 and was replaced by Ido Shahar but four minutes later the 7402 fans were on their feet. Turgeman on his 120th game for Maccabi was awarded for his efforts as he managed to beat Gorodin and score his first goal of the season. Turgeman and Belic were given a standing ovation as they were replaced by Elad Madmon and Yonas Malede on 66. 

Madmon rattled the crossbar with a powerful drive from inside the area that beat Gorodin in the 76th minute as Maccabi came close to score a third. Gropper who worked tirelessly down the left flank came off and was replaced by Avishy Cohen for the final few minutes. The visitors were awarded a penalty after Davida was adjusted to have fouled Ohad Almagor before Guy Badash stepped up and successfully converted the spot kick past Ofek Melika.

Noam Ben Harush marked a successful debut Maccabi appearance as the 20-year-old full back who joined the club from Hapoel Haifa this summer completed 90 minutes at Bloomfield.

“I can sum it up as a good evening. Playing here, in front of our fans and Gate 11, is an experience, an opportunity” Ben Harush said. “In every training session I come to prove myself, and in every game I arrive to prove myself,” he added.

Ben Harush who made a couple of appearances in pre season friendlies but was mostly an unused substitute in Maccabi’s European matches, said: “From the moment I signed, I was just waiting on the bench to get on the pitch, whether it is a friendly, a league match, or the Champions League, I just wanted to prove myself,” he added. “I think I’ve come to the biggest club there is, and it’s a battle not only for a place in the starting lineup but also for a place in the squad. In training and everywhere you have to come and prove yourself. I believe that with time and hard work I will get my minutes.”

As Maccabi will now compete with Dynamo Kyiv for a place in the Europa League phase in a two legged Playoff tie that will begin at the TSC Arena on Thursday followed by the reverse fixture at the Lublin Arena a week later, Ben Harush said: “It’s a very important game, we can qualify for the Europa League. I believe in the players and in the team, and with God’s help, we will advance.”

Maccabi secured a European group stage tonight (Thursday) after a 3–1 victory and 5-2 on aggregate over Hamrun Spartans to reach the Europa League Playoffs. At the end, Ido Shahar who scored a first half brace and added a an assist after the break for Osher Davida, summed up the match: “I think we started the match well. We controlled things early on, but then we had some minutes we didn’t play that well, that led to a penalty, and luckily for us, they missed,” Shahar said. “I am really happy that we pulled ourselves together. It was a team effort, and the most important thing is that we advanced.”

 

 On the difficulty of playing without fans, Shahar said: “It’s not easy to play without a home stadium, in an atmosphere without supporters. It requires everyone to give much more their maximum. I’m happy we went through.”

On the two goals he scored and the assist he gave, Shahar added: “I’m very happy, but for me, the goals and the assist are just a bonus. I’m happiest and proud both for the club and for the fans. We are representing Maccabi for another year in Europe; we have secured a group stage. To tell the truth, we still haven’t completed our mission, which is to qualify for the Europa League, that’s our target. We have a very tough match in the next stage against a big club with European tradition. We’ll need to come in at peak readiness and full focus to get through those two games and achieve our goal.”

Preview

A week after recording a dramatic 2-1 victory in Malta over Hamrun Spartuns, Maccabi returned to the TSC Arena in Backa Topola for the return leg of the Europa League 3rd qualifying round. Zarko Lazetic’s side that were knocked out of the Champions League campaign by Pafos, have one task on their minds – advancing past the Maltese to the Playoffs where they will face Dynamo Kyiv that were also beaten by the same Pafos in the corresponding round. Lazetic made three changes from the side that won in Malta as Raz Shlomo Shlomo teamed up with Nemanja Stojic as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper Roi Mishpati. Tyrese Asante on the right and Roy Revivo on the left completed Maccabi’s back-four. Issouf Sissokho in the anchorman role was joined by Ido Shahar i the engine room while Dor Peretz at the top of the midfield trio led the team out with the captain’s armband. Elad Madmon who scored the late winner in Malta, was handed a place in the starting line up, as was Osher Davida who was named on the opposite flank. Ion Nicolaescu led the line as the Moldovan striker is still seeking his first goal in a Yellow and Blue shirt.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Ofek Melika who completed his one match touchline ban following his dismissal against Pafos a fortnight ago, Lazetic named fellow keeper Shalev Saadya, Heitor, Ali Camara, Dor Turgeman, Weslley Patati, Denny Gropper, Noam Ben Harush, Ben Lederman, Itamar Noy, Saied Abu Farchi, Itay Ben Hemo.

First Half

Maccabi tried scoring an early goal as they looked dangerous right from the start. Inside the opening minute Roy Revivo whipped in a cross from the left which was directed at Dor Peretz before Marcelina Emerson managed to get a touch and deflect the ball out for a corer. The resulting corner almost resulted with an opener as Nemanja Stojic rose unmarked above Hamrun’s defense but sent his header over the crossbar from close range. In the 10th minute Osher Davida cut inside from the left and was brought down by Ryan Camenzuli who was consequently booked by Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi. Maccabi almost scored from the resulting free kick which was crossed by Davida and reached Revivo whose right-foot volley forced goalkeeper Henry Bonello to make his first save.

A last gasp Tyrese Asante tackle in the 25th minute rescued Maccabi from conceding but from the resulting corner Hamrun were awarded a penalty following the intervention of VAR after Davida was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area. Emerson stepped up to take the spot kick but blasted his shot which shaved the crossbar and sailed high. A water break called by the referee due to the hot weather conditions allowed Maccabi to regroup on the touchline. Three minutes after the hour mark Maccabi came close to break the deadlock as Issouf Sissokho picked Revivo whose square ball found Peretz whose flick went wide of the post. 

In the 37th minute Maccabi finally took the lead as Raz Shlomo split Hamrun’s defense open with a long pass into the path of Ido Shahar. The diminutive midfielder shrugged off a defender on the edge of the area and with only the keeper to beat buried his shot in the bottom corner. The visitors almost leveled the score two minutes later as Jovan

Čadjenović sent a volley crashing against the post before Rafael Compri had his effort blocked by Shahar. Čadjenović was booked for a foul on Revivo on 41 but two minutes later Hamrun. Joseph Mbong broke into the box and rolled the ball past Mishpati and into the bottom far corner to take the score to 1-1 on the night but 2-3 on aggregate. Inside stoppage time Davida’s good work down the right saw him beat his man and square to Shahar who flicked the ball home with one touch to score his second on the night which restored Maccabi’s two-goal aggregate lead.

Second Half

Lazetic made two substitutions after the break as Elad Madmon and Ion Nicolaescu were both replaced by Weslley Patati and Dor Turgeman at the restart. In the 54th minute Peretz was sent clear through but as he tried going around the keeper Bonello blocked with his feet only for Issouf Sissokho to clip the rebound which landed on the roof of the net. Seconds later at the opposite end Mishpati denied N’Dri Philippe Koffi as the veteran Maccabi custodian charged off his line to save with his feet.

Four minutes after the hour mark Lazetic made another double substitution as Shlomo made way for Heitor while Peretz came off and was replaced by Itamar Noy. Noy made an immediate impact as he dominated the midfield winning the ball off the Hamrun opponents. In the 69th minute Shahar turned provider as he picked the ball from Noy and released Davida who broke into the area before curling a low drive into the bottom corner to make it 3-1 and 5-2 on aggregate. In the 80th minute Lazetic added a fresh pair of legs as Ben Lederman came on for Sissokho.

In the 87th minute Turgeman unselfishly fed Patati who tried lifting the ball over the advancing keeper but somehow managed to miscue his shot and clear the crossbar. Turgeman came close himself as he was put through by Davida but despite beating the keeper a Hamrun defender cleared the ball off his goal line.

Following last week’s 2–1 victory, Maccabi departed today (Wednesday) for Serbia ahead of the return leg against Hamrun Spartans in the UEFA Europa League 3rd qualifying round.

All updates from Serbia can be found on the club’s official website and app, as well as on the social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Telegram.

Preparations for Maccabi continued this morning with a training session at Kiryat Shalom. Later, Zarko Lazetic and his players arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, from where the champions’ flight to Belgrade was set to depart. Maccabi is already aware that the winner of the tie against Hamrun will face Dynamo Kyiv in the Playoff, while the losing side will drop to the Conference League Playoff stage and meet the loser of the tie between KuPS of Finland and RFS Riga of Latvia.

At this morning’s press conference, the coach, said: “We need to change our approach and the way we play. Neither the players nor I were satisfied with the manner of play. I was a player myself, so I know what it’s like to play on pitches like the one we played on last week, it is always easier for teams of lesser quality to play there, and there are undoubtedly differences between us and Hamrun. Especially in the first 15 minutes, we could see where the match was heading. We had three chances, and they had two; we had no control, and I didn’t like that. I hope we can correct this for tomorrow.”

Before training, the Swiss Ambassador, Simon Geissbühler, visited the club’s complex to wish success to Ali Camara. Geissbühler is an avid supporter of Camara’s previous club Young Boys as the two exchanged memories from the defender’s time in Switzerland.