Do you gave plans for this coming Saturday? How does combining some great family fun with a Maccabi Tel Aviv match sound? The Yellow & Blue face Ashdod at 16:00 on Matchday 12 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Ha’Al and we’ve got a great Happening scheduled for you and the whole family at the Netanya Stadium. Beginning at 14:00 there will be 10 different children’s activities from FC Sport around the stadium from kicking contests to football-tennis, and snooker-football as well. We recommend that you get to the stadium early and enjoy these great activities beginning at 14:00, 2 hours prior to the opening whistle. Do you have tickets to the match? CLICK HERE to purchase your seats now!

In addition, Maccabi will be holding a prematch ceremony for Nissim Bachar, one of the Club’s former stars as well as honoring the memory of former Head Coach Eliezer Spiegel who passed away this past week.

The action on the pitch will also be interesting as Maccabi will look to pick up 3 points after drawing 2:2 against Hapoel Haifa at Sammy Ofer Stadium. As of Matchday 12 the Yellow & Blue are in 4th place just 3 points off the top of the table Carmel Reds.

The numbers behind the 2:2 draw against Hapoel Haifa

Atar’s free kicks

Eliran Atar has already scored three goals via free kicks with 2 coming in the league and one in the Toto Cup. In addition, he also nailed one ball off of the post. Atar has 5 goals in his last 6 games over all competitions.

Golasa’s return

Eyal Golasa was in the Starting XI against the Reds from the Carmel after being out for a number of months due to an injury. His last match was on August 9 when Maccabi visited Maccabi Petah Tikva in the Toto Cup.

Rikan scores again

Avi Rikan has 3 league goals this season. Interestingly enough the midfielder has now scored as many goals as he did all of last campaign in only 11 Matchdays.

All three of his goals were from attempts outside of the box. The midfielder had 5 chances against Haifa, the most on the team.

Rikan’s most productive season was 2012/13 when he scored 11 league goals for Beitar Jerusalem.

Distance covered
Sheran Yeini clocked the most kilometers, running 11.4km while Ofir Davidzada finished the match with 11.1km.

Eitan Tibi was the fastest Maccabi player going 32.7kmh and Eliran Atar was second at 31.6.

Battocchio’s Break

The match against Hapoel Haifa was the first match since Matchday 3 against Bnei Sakhnin that Cristian Battocchio wasn’t in the Starting XI.

Vidar Kjartansson, the Yellow & Blue Icelandic striker faces Hapoel Haifa on Matchday 11 of the Israel Premier League, Ligat Ha’Al:

“Of course we were disappointed. We had them under control and we scored two good goals after we had conceded one which is a sign of character. Then there was the penalty and they scored. I thought we were better in the second half and we played better this match than over the last few. We deserved the winning goal.”

About the match:
“I thought we had a good game, had high pressure and created a lot of chances but we didn’t score. We were quite unlucky and we could have done better in some cases. We scored two goals and it should be enough when you play away but it wasn’t enough. I want to win games, and we will build from this. We just have to win the next game.”

The fans support:
“I want to thank the fans for their support. Magnificent like always and we need them in the fight to reach the top.”

Toto Cup Semifinal this Wednesday:
“Every competition is important and to reach the final. It will give the team some confidence if we take a title.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv returned to league action against Hapoel Haifa after a 3-week break and came away with a split of the points after a 2:2 draw at Sammy Ofer Stadium. Eyal Golasa started his first league contest of the season after recovering from an injury and spoke about the match from his point of view:

“I felt good and it’s great to play again. We didn’t take home the three points but we were much better. We have to improve the things that we didn’t do well this match and look ahead to the next game.”

Improving:
“I agree with Jordi and the goals we gave up are not Maccabi Tel Aviv like and we have to continue to work hard to improve. We controlled the match other than a couple of chances by Haifa. We had some good chances but we couldn’t score and finish.”

Head Coach Jordi Cruyff commented about his side’s 2:2 draw at Hapoel Haifa on Matchday 11 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Ha’Al:

“I didn’t enjoy the match. When you are up 2:1 at halftime you have to win the game.”

Not being able to kill the game:
“The opponents created chances to easily. We had chances but it was a stupid penalty to give away. We brought them back into the game instead of killing it and look for the 3:1 and take the 3 points home.”

Haifa’s play:
“Credit to Haifa, it’s not a coincidence that they are in first. They play organized and they play high and are dangerous on the counter attack. When you’re 2:1 up you expect to win the game.”

Looking better:
“The team showed character and we played to the last minute. It’s true we looked better over the also few weeks.”

Giving us goals:
“We gave some soft goals away and we are working on it. We had clean sheets at the start of the season but he we are struggling.”

About Dor Micha and Eyal Golasa:
“Micha played 90 minutes 3 days ago and he’s a special player. We missed Golasa, it was a huge improvement to our team and you could see that.”

Avi Rikan and Eliran Atar found the back of the goal for the Yellow & Blue while Alon Turgeman and Hanan Maman via penalty scored for Hapoel Haifa as the side’s split the points on a Matchday 11 clash at Sammy Ofer Stadium.

Head Coach Jordi Cruyff’s Starting XI featured Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic in goal, along with Captain Sheran Yeini, Jean-Sylvain Babin, Eitan Tibi and Ofir Davdizada on defense. Avi Rikan, Eyal Golasa, Or Dasa and Dor Micha were in the midfield as Eliran Atar and Vidar Kjartansson provided the attack.

Available on the bench were keeper Daniel Lifshitz, Yuval Shpungin, Barak Itzhaki, Nick Blackman, Aaron Schoenfeld, Tal Ben Haim and Cristian Battocchio.

First Half
Alon Turgeman had the match’s opening chance in the 6’ but Rajikovic was up to the task while the Serbian keeper had to be alert three minutes later when Melul’s attempt in the box was smothered by the Maccabi shot stopper once again. As the intensity of the contest picked up, Babin was issued a yellow card in the 13’. Five minutes later, Rikan’s opportunity from 18 meters hit the woodwork and in the 27’ Golasa’s laser beam just went over the bar.

As Haifa sat back in their half, their patience paid off when Alon Turgeman led a break into the Maccabi box and sent the ball to Hanan Maman at the top of the area. Rajikovic made the initial save on his shot, but the rebound went to the aforementioned Turgeman who slotted it home for a 1:0 Carmel Reds lead. However, the lead didn’t last long as Maccabi stole the ball in the midfield and Rikan launched a screamer from 23 meters that beat Ran Kadosh to draw the Yellow & Blue even at 1:1.

Micha tried his luck in the 44’ but Kadosh made the save as the sides looked to be heading into the break knotted up a 1:1. But that was until Niso Kapiloto pulled down Kjartansson on his way to the Haifa goal and was handed a yellow card for his efforts, setting up Eliran Atar for a free kick in his sweet spot. And what a free kick Atar would deliver right into the Haifa goal to give Maccabi a 2:1 lead going into halftime.

Second Half
Right after Maman was issued a yellow card, he had a one on one chance against Rajikovic, but the Maccabi keeper again came up big to make the save in the 50’ and the visitors had an opportunity at the other end when Rikan sent a ball to Vidar, but the latter’s header was saved by Kadosh.

But with the score 2:1 Haifa was given a penalty after a reckless tackle in the Yellow & Blue box that Maman scored to draw the hosts even, 2:2. With the pace of the match picking up, Golasa sent a ball to Rikan who went in on Kadosh in a one on one situation but shot the ball out in the 61’. Three minutes later Rajiko made an alert save on Maman as Maccabi had back to back chances in the 67’ minute but Battocchio’s first attempt went over the goal while his second was taken care of by Kadosh.

Micha’s 73’ chance was stoped by Kadosh, while Kjartansson’s 75’ opportunity was saved as well by the Haifa keeper. Barak Itzhaki came on in the 81’ in favor of Rikan and Aaron Schoenfeld was introduced for Kjartansson to freshen up the attack. Atar had a chance to take the lead in the 85’ with another spectacular free kick but his attempt hit the bar. Kapiloto was sent off with a second yellow in the 85’ but Maccabi wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the extra man as the contest ended in a 2:2 draw.

Head Coach: Nir Klinger
Just like Hapoel Haifa, their Head Coach is having a terrific season to date. The man who was on the Maccabi sidelines in 2004/05 and took them to the Champions League Group Stages has seen many ups and downs over his career. Under Klinger, the Haifa Reds have opened their campaign in fine fashion and sit in first place after many seasons languishing at the bottom of the table.

Arrivals:
Part of Hapoel Haifa’s success is due to players that arrived over the summer. One of them is Romanian central defender Gabiel Tamas who has played for his country’s national team and has many years of experience in some of the best leagues in the world. Midfielder Rasmus Sjostedt from Sweden and Radu Ginsari from Romania have also helped upgrade the squad. Add into the mix Lithuanian keeper Ernestas Setkus who has been phenomenal but won’t play against Maccabi, Roslan Barski and Alon Turgeman and one can see how the Reds have become an Israel footballing force to be reckoned with.

What have they done up to now?
It’s no secret that Haifa is at the top of the table and Nir Klinger’s side have captured 23 points thanks to 7 wins and 2 draws with only one loss. Their first defeat came last Matchday away at Maccabi Netanya and it will be interesting to see how the Carmel Reds react coming into their clash with Maccabi after falling earlier this month.

Under the magnifying glass:
There are plenty of players that have done a marvelous job at Hapoel Haifa so far this season and two of them are Alon Turgeman and Eden Ben Basat who have scored 6 goals a piece. Ben Basat will miss the date against his former club, which means the hosts will rely a bit more on Turgeman and Hanan Maman. The latter is thought to be one of the best midfielders in the league and has already scored 3 goals while assisting on five others, good for second in the league. Gabriel Tamas has become one of the club’s leaders and will most certainly be an influential figure on the pitch against the Yellow & Blue.