Preview:

Maccabi arrived at the Netanya stadium for the MD22 WINNER L:eague match against Ironi Kiryat Shmona, one of the two sides that beat them in the current campaign. The IFA Disciplinary court decision which awarded Maccabi last a 3-0 victory by default over Maccabi Haifa following the match which abandoned at Sammy Ofer meant the point tally currently stands on 45. With five matches left until the end of the season, Maccabi will aim to close the five point gap from leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva. Zarko Lazetic made three changes to his starting line up from the side which was held to a 1-1 draw by Beitar Jerusalem at Bloomfield as Stav Lemkin joined Nemanja Stojic as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper Simon Sluga. Idan Nachmias was assigned to the right-back role while Roy Revivo completed Maccabi’s defensive line at left-back.

Joris van Overeem in the anchorman role was joined by Gabi Kanichowsky who fully recovered from a foot injury with Dor Peretz at the top of the midfield trio. Weslley Patati and Osher Davida supplied the width to Maccabi’s formation while Dor Turgeman completed his one-match-touchline-ban to lead the attack.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Roi Mishpati, Lazetic named Eran Zahavi, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Elad Madmon, Henry Addo, Ofir Davidzada, Issouf Sissokho and Ido Shahar.

First Half

A sea of Yellow and Blue and a wall of noise from the 6000 travelling fans who survived the traffic and braved the cold weather conditions welcomed Maccabi to the Netanya stadium. It took nine and a half minutes to have their first shot on goal as Weslley Patati dribbled down the left, cut inside and curled a left foot shot which was easily collected by Kiryat Shmona’s keeper Assaf Tzur. Two minutes later at the opposite end Jardel tried his luck with a volley from the edge of the area which narrowly missed the target. Kiryat Shmona continued to look dangerous going forward as Christian Bella powerful left foot drive was caught by Simon Sluga in Maccabi’s goal.

In the 15th minute Maccabi were awarded a free kick after Nadav Niddam fouled Patati near the corner of the area. Gabi Kanichowsky sent the free kick into the area before Dor Perez rose unmarked but guided his header over the crossbar. Joris van Overeem and Kanichowsky dominated the midfield Maccabi dominated the midfield while Osher Davida and Patati looked dangerous down the wings. In the 22nd minute a Maccabi counter attack saw Davida burst forward down the left but his attempt of a cross was blocked by Kiryat Shmona’s defense before one of his teammates could connect. Maccabi’s best chance came in the 26th minute as Dor Turgeman broke into the area before pulling the trigger from a tight angle, yet his shot struck the side netting. 

On the brink of halftime a misplaced back pass from van Overeem saw Sluga charge out of his area to clear the danger. But in the process the Croatian custodian collided with Jardel who was stretchered off and replaced by Roy Zikri. Despite suffering from a dead leg, Sluga who managed to pull through until the halftime whistle was replaced at the restart by Roi Mishpati.

Second Half

Four minutes into the second half Maccabi charged forward for an attack as Patati’s attempt of a cross from the right was hooked from the goal mouth by Or Dadia. Maccabi took the lead from the resulting corner as Nachmias flicked Kanichowsky’s corner into the path of Nemanja Stojic who forced the ball home. Five minutes after the hour mark, Nachmias almost set up a second goal as his cross was met by a Turgeman’s header which struck the base of the post.

In the 69th minute Kiryat Shmona were back on level terms as Maccabi’s defense struggled to clear a free kick which was crossed into the area allowing Alfredo Stephens to fire home the equaliser. Maccabi responded almost instantly as Stojic fired Patati’s cross from almost point blank range to restore the lead on 74 with his second on the night. Lazetic responded with a double substitution as Issouf Sissokho and Elad Madmon came on for van Overeem and Davida. Turgeman’s claims for a penalty were waived by referee Sapir Berman before Lazetic sent in Eran Zahavi for Dor Peretz in the 82nd minute. Maccabi pressed forward in a bid to score a third and seal the win as Sissokho had a shot saved by Tzur in the 86th minute. Two minutes later Zahavi slipped the ball to Patati whose effort struck the post while Stephens sent a header over in the 90th minute. Inside injury time Maccabi burst forward for a counter attack which Madmon carried forward before releasing Turgeman who toe poked home. But the intervention of VAR spotted the striker was in an offside position and the goal was disallowed. Yonas Malede replaced Turgeman for the final few minutes as Lazetic made his fifth and final substitution.

Three matches short of his 100^th appearance in a Maccabi shirt, Idan Nachmias faced the media ahead of Sunday’s WINNER League MD22 away to Kiryat Shmona in Netanya (20:15).

Nachmias, who joined Maccabi from Kiryat Shmona in the summer of 2021, said ahead of the match against his former club that inflicted Maccabi a defeat when both teams met in November “A lot of time has passed since we played Kiryat Shmona in the first round. We made a lot of progress in many aspects of our game and are a different team from what we were then” Nachmias said. “We will always give a 100%, strive to win every match as we are working hard to do that and will do exactly that this time.”

Nachmias, who made 27 appearances for Maccabi in all competitions this season and is on track to equal his best season (21/22) where he featured 38 times, added: “I am feeling good both physically and mentally. I feel as if I am doing a very good preparation and delighted the coach shows faith in me and lets me continue. The competition for places at Maccabi is intense and one must be prepared to take your chances which is what I have been trying to do every time I get it.”

The tall central defender who scored the equalizer in Monday’s 1-1 draw against Beitar Jerusalem said: “Against Beitar from what I had seen, we played very good defensively but also created plenty of chances to win the match. On the other hand, with the penalty they were awarded in the 90^th minute, one can say that a draw was an OK result. The ratio in which we are collecting points is less consistent, as we drop points where we shouldn’t be doing so. I hope that from now on we will have more time to work and fix things with preparation s on the training ground. The coach will have more time and hopefully we would become more consistent.”

After the European campaign came to an end, and with only the league to focus on, Nachmias, remained adamant: “The overload will not simply end but would certainly be less significant than it was until now. I think this is something which should happen naturally – everyone being more fresh and mentally ready. We hosted all our European matches abroad, as only these flights would remove a massive overload off our shoulders.”

When asked about his contractual situation, Nachmias, whose four-year-deal at the club runs out at the end of the season, said: “We began initial talks and if there will be something new to update I am sure we will.”