Matchday 14 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al featured Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv hosting Maccabi Petah Tikva at the Ramle Stadium. The young Yellow & Blue came into the contest in 5th place wining 4 of their last 5 matches while the visitors sat in 3rd place. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI featured Mufleh Shalata, Eyal Hen and William Agada on attack.

The complete starting lineup included Daniel Peretz, Amit Glazer, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Yoav Hofmayster, Tamir Glazer, Mufleh Shalata, Eden Kartzev, Prince Thomas, Eyal Hen and William Agada.

First Half
What a start! Maccabi took a quick 1:0 in the 4’ as Prince Thomas led the attack, sent the ball to Agada who put it into the back of the Petah Tikva goal. In the 14’ the visitors had their first chance of the match as Tomer Benbenishti took the ball in the middle of the pitch, advanced towards the goal, but Peretz quelled the threat.

With Maccabi controlling the pace of play, Kartzev began the attack from the back, sent the ball to the right wing where Shalata was waiting and continued to advance towards the goal where he found Thomas who made no mistake to give the hosts a 2:0 lead. One minute later, Agada almost made it 3:0 but his attempt was cleared by the Petah Tikva defense right off the line.

In the 30’ Shalata tried his luck from the right, but keeper Roie Maoz made the stop while 3 minutes later Fadi Najar sent the ball off corner to Kartzev however, Maoz once again made the save. Right before the break, Tamir Glazer stole the ball in the midfield and made his way into the box where he found Thomas, but his header was sent out by the keeper for a corner as the half came to an end.

Second Half
The second half began just as the first did with Maccabi pressing for a goal as Agada’s scorcher went over the bar in the 49’ while 5 minutes later Hofmayster went down the left side, sent the ball to Agada who in turn handed it off to Thomas, but the latter sent it over the goal. However, it would be Petah Tikva who would score and cut the Maccabi lead to 2:1 off a free kick thanks to Ben Benbenishti who put the ball over the wall and behind Peretz in the 63’.

Four minutes later Petah Tikva almost evened up the score when Eyal Inbrum’s header was cleared off the line while in the 83’ another header missed the Maccabi goal. In the 88’ Peretz again was up to the task as he made the save to keep the score as is.

As the match was about to enter injury time, Petah Tikva again missed the target via a header, while at the the end of the pitch, Thomas’s chance just went by the post and out and a through ball to Agada was saved by the visiting keeper. Just as the final whistle was about to be blown, Shachar Druker was issued a red card as he tripped up Ran Vaturi on the way to the goal as the contest ended 2:1 in favor of the Yellow & Blue.

This Saturday, Maccabi “Shachar” will host Maccabi Petah Tikva in a top of the table Israel Youth Premier League battle on Matchday 14. The young Yellow & Blue come into the match on Saturday knowing that a win will leapfrog them over Petah Tikva.

About the upcoming match:
“We have a difficult match against Maccabi Petah Tikva. We want to show that our players have advanced and improved as well as the club as a whole and have our players in a position where they can be a factor with the First Team as well.”

On last week’s win over Hapoel Petah Tikva:
“This was an important win as we continued our positive momentum while also winning 4 of our last 5 matches. I’m happy that the players are bringing aggressiveness and desire to the table which are both very important in the realm of football. To go to an away match at Petah Tikva and do what we did, the players deserve a lot of credit.”

The defensive side of the game:
“The minute we begin to play better football and we are attacking for the majority of time, we are then playing less on the defensive side of the ball as we are controlling the pace of play. The players are also understanding what I told them at the start of the season, that we are the youngest team in the league and it was time for them to gain experience and play substantial minutes. We supported them then and now we see that they are feeling good about themselves especially when they aren’t giving up any goals.”

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Asis David” Petah Tikva, 12:00 Ramle Stadium (U19)
After getting back onto the winning track last week, the club’s Under-19 side hosts a top of the table clash on Matchday 14 of the Israel Youth League Ligat Ha’Al. The young Yellow & Blue have 4 wins in 5 matches and come into the contest in 5th place, just 4 points off the top of the table. Maccabi Petah Tikva enter Saturday in 3rd place and a Yellow & Blue win will leapfrog them over the visitors.

Hapoel Kiryat Shemona – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 14:30 Kiryat Shemona New Synthetic (U17)
The Under-17 squad will head up north for a date with Kiryat Shemona on Matchday 13. Eliezer Ben Aharon’s crew are in first place and are undefeated in league play. The host’s find themselves in 11th and are undefeated in their last 4 matches.

Hapoel “Dani” Ramat Gan – Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv, 12:30 Ramat HaShikma (U16)
The young Yellow & Blue are undefeated in their past 7 matches and are in third place just 3 points off the top of the table. Ramat Gan are in 14th and have won only 2 matches so far this campaign.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Ramat Gan, 13:00 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 South)
The Under-15 South Side will look to continue their fine play as they find themselves in first place and are undefeated. On the other side of the pitch Ramat Gan are in 5th place just 7 points off the top of the table.

Beitar “Oran” Tubruk – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 09:00 Tubruk (U15 North)
With five wins in a row, the Under-15 North squad will look to continue their positive momentum against Beitar Tubruk on Matchday 12. The young Yellow & Blue are in 3rd, 3 points off the top of the table while the host’s are in 5th place and are undefeated in 7 matches.