Maccabi Tel Aviv dropped points for the first time this season as Kenny Miller’s side were frustrated by Bnei Sakhnin in a disappointing goalless draw at Bloomfield. A man-of-the-match performance by Sakhnin’s keeper Raul Bălbărău denied Maccabi’s players throughout the match and was beaten only once by a Raz Shlomo second half header which rattled the crossbar.

Shortly after the match, Shlomo faced the media and didn’t try hiding his frustration: “First of all, they didn’t create too much,” Shlomo said. “We knew how to suffocate the game, press immediately after losing possession and take control in their half. It’s the first time this season we’ve faced a team defending this deep, after playing more open games until now. We created our chances but didn’t score. It’s disappointing that things turned out this way, but we can also look at the positives, our first clean sheet of the season. We’ll learn from what happened, work on the things we didn’t do as well and move on to the next match.”

“I don’t think we did anything wrong; we did what we set out to do. There are games when the ball simply refuses to go in. We created good, clear-cut chances, got into the penalty area, hit the crossbar and made runs in behind. Perhaps we were also a little unlucky. When a team lines up with five players inside the penalty area, leaving no space in behind, it isn’t easy. Obviously, if we had scored an early goal, the game would have opened much more and everything would have looked completely different. I hope that in the coming games we’ll score an early goal to make things easier for us later.”

“We’re maintaining consistency; there’s no room to take our foot off the gas”

On the criticism directed at Maccabi’s defense that kept a clean sheet for the first time since the 5-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol, Shlomo added: “When people talk about the defense after we concede goals, that’s legitimate, but from my perspective, defending is a collective team effort. We learned lessons from the previous matches and this time we kept a clean sheet. I hope we can continue doing that in the future.

Shlomo, who made his 106^th appearance for Maccabi summed up: “A defender needs consistency above all else, especially at a club where the competition is so intense that you can’t take your foot off the gas for even a second. It’s up to you, if you perform well, you keep your place; if not, you can find yourself out of the team. At a club like Maccabi Tel Aviv, you have two or three quality players competing for every position, and whoever earns a place in the starting line-up has to fight to keep it.”

Finally, the defender was already looking ahead to the next challenge awaiting Maccabi at Teddy Stadium against Beitar Jerusalem: “We know that in recent years this has been one of the toughest matches we have in the league. We’ll analyze the opposition, prepare accordingly, and go there with the aim of winning away from home.”

Preview:

After a three-week-long international break Maccabi returned to action for the MD6 WINNER League home match against Bnei Sakhnin. With five victories from the opening five matches, Maccabi that leads the table by three points, will aim to extend their 100% record against Sakhnin that are currently 10th.

Miller made two changes from the side that beat Maccabi Netanya before the international break as Ali Camara who withdrew before the match, recovered and returned to the heart of defense. Raz Shlomo partnered Camara as the second central defender in front of goalkeeper Ofek Melika with James Tavernier and Noam Ben Harosh completing the back four on the right and left, respectively.

Issouf Sissohko was joined in the engine room by Gabi Kanichowsky while Dor Peretz completed the midfield trio. The 31-year-old captain who scored nine goals in the last six outings, will aim to extend his goalscoring run of nine league goals and 12 in all competitions this season. After making a second half substitute appearance in Netanya, Sagiv Jehezekel, made his first start since suffering an injury against Sheriff Tiraspol on July 30th. Jehezkel stepped into the side replacing Helio Varela who recovered from an injury he sustained in Netanya and was named amongst the substitutes. Ester Sokler led the line as the Slovenian who scored all three of his goals away from home is still seeking his first goal at Bloomfield.

On the bench, Miller named alongside goalkeeper Roi Mishpati and Varela, also Tyrese Asante, Dan Glazer, Elad Madmon, Itamar Noy, Hisham Layous, Ido Shahar and Itai Ben Hamo.

Prior to kick-off the fans paid tribute to former captain Sheran Yeini with a display which was acknowledged by the 39-year-old on the pitch.

First Half

Maccabi started the match on the front foot, buoyed by the support of an almost packed Bloomfield stadium. Kenny Miller’s side pressed from the opening whistle, pinning Sakhnin back inside their own half as they searched for an early breakthrough. Sagiv Jehezkel’s cross in the opening minute was punched away by the Sakhnin goalkeeper Raul Balbarau. Maccabi continued to apply pressure, as a James Tavernier dangerous cross couldn’t find Sokler in the box. In the seventh minute, Osher Davida flashed a left-footed shot from the edge of the area wide of the post before a Tavernier free kick narrowly missed the target.

Maccabi’s best chance came in the 20th minute, as Noam Ben Harush’s cross was pushed away by the Sakhnin goalkeeper before Osher Davida squared the ball to Sokler. The Slovenian striker teed up Dor Peretz, whose shot deflected off a defender before Sakhnin’s captain Maroun Gantous headed the ball off the line and out for a corner.

Maccabi continued to press and almost scored once again within two minutes as Raz Shlomo played Ben Harush through. But with only the keeper to beat, Ben Harosh’s right-footed shot was saved by Balbarau before Sakhnin’s defense managed to clear. A foul by Ahmed Taha on Gabi Kanichowsky inside Sakhnin’s half stopped a Maccabi counterattack and earned the visiting midfielder a yellow card, while captain Gantous was also booked for dissent. A minute later, Sana Gomes became the third Sakhnin player to enter the referee’s notebook following a foul on Osher Davida.

Kanichowsky carved Sakhnin’s defense open to release Jehezkel who raced through on goal but was blocked by Balbarau’s feet. Sokler managed to make contact with a Ben Harosh cross but could only guide his header over on 39.

Second half
With neither side making any changes at the interval, the second half began much like the first, as Maccabi pushed for an early breakthrough. Two minutes after the restart, Balbarau produced a reflex save to deny Peretz’s shot and keep the scores level. In the 51st minute, Sakhnin’s keeper was called into action once again, this time turning away Davida’s fierce left-footed drive after the winger was played through by Issouf Sissokho. Maccabi kept on trying to break the deadlock as Raz Shlomo rose high in the 59th minute to meet Davida’s corner but saw his header rattle the crossbar. Four minutes after the hour mark, Miller made his first substitution on the night, as Davida limped off and made way for Hisham Layous. A minute later, Kanichowsky unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from outside the area that narrowly cleared the crossbar.

Tavernier whose first half free kick missed the target, came closer on 67 but his curled effort struck the side netting. Miller made a double substitution in the 73rd minute, introducing Helio Varela and Elad Madmon in place of Jehezkel and Sokler.

The two substitutes combined within a minute of coming on, as Varela dispossessed Gantous, burst into the area and cut the ball back for Madmon. But the 22-year-old forward fired his shot high over the crossbar before sending a header wide a minute later. Peretz blasted a right foot shot over on 78 as the clock continued to tick while Maccabi couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Madmon sent a snapshot on the turn in the 88th minute but once again his effort sailed wide of the crossbar. The fourth official indicated six minutes of added time as Maccabi continued to press forward in search of a late winner. But Sakhnin managed to hang on and celebrate the point they won at the final whistle.

“Listen, what didn’t work? Obviously, putting the ball in the back of the net. I mean, you won’t see a more dominant performance in any game over the course of the season, from start to finish. You could clearly see they came with a plan to frustrate us, defend and protect, which they managed to do for long, long spells. But we’ve done more than enough to win that game. Particularly in the first half, we were in full control and had a few half-chances. But in the second half, we had three or four big opportunities, and when you play in these games, you have to take one of them. Because if you score a goal, the whole thing changes.”ֿ

“Unfortunately, with every missed opportunity, we gave them more hunger and more determination to protect that 0-0. Fair play to them, they go away with a point. It’s the first points we’ve dropped this season, but it’s a night of frustration because we never managed to take one of those chances. That would have changed the whole thing.””I think when you get these types of opportunities in these games, it’s easy to try and use words to describe what’s happened. Unfortunately, it was one of those nights.”

“When you have these nights, that’s when you need someone to take one of those chances. Again, I think Raz had another really good chance. You’ve got Davida in really good areas. Madmon had good chances towards the end. You’ve got Tavernier, you’ve got these kinds of moments where we’ve scored goals like that this season. Tonight, we never did. So it’s a frustrating night.”
“With the amount we’ve created tonight, we should have won the game. I’m not big on looking at stats and numbers, but when you do look at them, there’s more than enough there. If you play that game ten times, you win it nine, maybe nine and a half.”

Maccabi dropped points for the first time this season after being held to a 0-0 draw by Bnei Sakhnin at Bloomfield Stadium on MD6. After the match Gabi Kanichowsky spoke about the frustration of missing chances, the challenge of facing a compact defense and the need to improve as the season progresses.
“We did everything right; we were just missing the goal” Kanichowsky said after the match.

“It’s very frustrating, especially when you’re doing things well and creating chances,” Kanichowsky added. “It’s one of those evenings when you do everything and the ball simply doesn’t go in. We did the right things both in terms of pressing and in attack, and we created our opportunities. Perhaps we got a little tired towards the end, but apart from scoring the goal, we did everything right.”

Kanichowsky continued: “I think there are games when the ball simply doesn’t go in. We created chances and did everything right. It’s not as though we came into the game complacent or tired. At the end of the day, you have to score goals in football, and today that didn’t happen. But we’ll need to improve in games like these, too, and learn how to win them.”

“We need to take more risks and find solutions”
Kanichowsky addressed the challenge of facing teams that set out to defend deep and rely on counter-attacks.
“We need to threaten the goal more, perhaps take a few more risks, while also making sure we don’t allow them to launch dangerous counter-attacks against us.”
Ahead of Maccabi’s next matches, Kanichowsky said: “We had good energy and a high level of commitment, but we’re still at the beginning of the season. We’ll need to know how to improve and find solutions for games like these as the season goes on.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC will mark three years since the horrific events of October 7th and the ‘Swords of Iron’ war that followed, with a commemorative shirt honouring the memory of 137 of the Club’s fans.

In the upcoming home match, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s players will take to the pitch wearing a special commemorative shirt in mem

ory of the 137 Maccabi fans who were murdered or fell in service since October 7th, 2023 and during the war that followed that terrible day.

To mark three years since the outbreak of the war, the team will once again wear a shirt based on the Club’s home kit, featuring a Star of David made up entirely of the names of the 137 supporters who should have been in the stands, cheering, singing and being part of the Maccabi voice.

They will forever remain an integral part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv family. We will continue to honour their memory, preserve their stories, and ensure that their names remain present in the heart of the Club and in its stands.

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC would like to thank its main sponsor, ‘Pelephone’, for its cooperation and support in commemorating the Club’s fans.

In addition, the Club has installed a memorial display outside the stadium bearing the names of those who lost their lives, allowing Maccabi fans to stop, remember and pay their respects.