Head Coach Jordi Cruyff reflected on his side’s 0:0 draw against Maccabi Netanya on Matchday 3 of the Toto Cup:

“It was not a good game and Netanya played well. They always had a player coming from behind and when you are not sharp this is what happens. We weren’t sharp which is a word with a lot of different meanings such as aggressiveness and confidence. We didn’t want this but sometimes this is what happens. However, I never doubt the level of commitment of any single player.”

About Daniel Tenenbaum:
“He’s still young but there are enough talented goalkeepers. We don’t know what will be in the future but we are satisfied with his performance on an individual level.”

Playing a Toto Cup match after a European encounter:
“It’s not easy after having a European match on Thursday and it’s difficult sometimes for the players to switch on but these things happen.”

The Yellow & Blue played Maccabi Netanya to a goalless draw at the Netanya Stadium on Matchday 3 of the Toto Cup. Daniel Tenenbaum made numerous quality saves and picked up a clean sheet, however, the Maccabi offense couldn’t find the back of the goal.

Head Coach Jordi Cruyff’s Starting XI included Brazilian keeper Daniel Tenenbaum with a defense of Sean Goldberg, Egor Filipenka, Dor Peretz and Avi Rikan. Shlomi Azulay, Eliel Peretz and Marcelo dos Santos were in the midfield while Sagiv Yehezkel, Barak Itzhaki and Yonatan Cohen were on the attack.

Available on the bench Daniel Lifshitz, Omer Atzily, Dor Micha, Eitan Tibi, Matan Baltaxa, Aaron Schoenfeld and Cristian Battocchio.

First Half
Netanya had the match’s opening chance as Eden Sherem had a one-on-one chance against Tenenbaum but the shot stopper made the save in the 8th minute while Tenenbaum was up to the task on Avraham Hadar’s point blank range opportunity. And what would you know, it would be all Tenenbaum yet again in the 13th minute when he stoned Sherem.

Netanya was on the attack again in the 21st minute as Eran Levi tried a shot from the midfield to no avail while Maccabi’s only real chance of the half came in the 36th minute off of an Azulay corner kick.

Second Half
Maccabi looked to find some offense early on in the half as the Yellow & Blue controlled the pace of play. Rikan’s chance just missed the target in the 51st minute and Yehezkel had an attempt of his own in the 57th minute that also came up short as Maccabi looked to find the back of the goal.

Cruyff made wholesale changes in the 66th minute as he inserted Aaron Schoenfeld, Dor Micha and Omer Atzily for Yehezkel, Cohen and Azulay while six minutes later Matan Baltaxa and Cristian Battocchio came on for Itzhaki and Eliel Peretz to try and jump start the offense.

Schoenfeld and Rikan teamed up on a 74th minute miss as Tenenbaum again made the saves when needed late in the match and kept a clean sheet as the contest ended in a goalless draw.

Vidar Kjartansson already won the Player of the Month award and now will add uly’s HP Goal of the Month to his trophy case. The striker who scored some very important Europa League qualifying match goals last month took home this month’s title. But he did have quite a battle on his hands as the top 3 markers all finished neck to neck.

What was the complete ranking? WATCH

The 2017/18 campaign is underway and now is your chance to meet all of the Maccabi Tel Aviv stars on Thursday August 10th! You’ll be able to take pictures and get autographs from the players at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility.

The event will begin at 13:00 and fans must be at the facility by 12:45. Registration opens today, Sunday and is limited to 450 people. Please note, you will not be able to attend if you do not register in advance.

Please Note:
The weather may be very hot and we strongly suggest that you bring sunscreen and drinks. Should the weather become conditions not improve the event may be postponed to a later date.

How does it work?
Registration is open today Sunday August 6th at 14:00 to all Maccabi FIRST members for the Community Day on Thursday August 10th at 13:00 at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility, 106 Derech Ben Tzvi and is limited to 450 participants ONLY.
Each person may register up to 3 participants which includes the person submitting the registration. Just like when you make a reservation at a restaurant, you request a table for yourself plus 2 friends for a total of 3 ONLY.

IMPORTANT:

• Following the registration, you’ll receive an email requesting information about the participants.
• If you registered for the last Community Day and weren’t able to come but didn’t give us notice, you will not be allowed to attend this coming Community Day. If you register for this upcoming Community Day and can’t come, please let us know in advance.
• If weather conditions don’t permit the Community Day to take place, you will be notified a few hours prior to the event and you’ll be able to participate in the Community Day the following month.
• All participants must arrive at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility by 12:45. Should you be delayed, you may not be able to participate in the event.
• In order to ensure that all fans meet all of the players, special greeting videos may not be recorded at the Training Facility.
• Following your registration, a Maccabi representative will be in touch with you to get all of the participants necessary details.

Entrance to the Training Facility will be granted only after a full security check. Each participant will need to present their Teudat Tzehut ID Card, License or Passport in order to take part in the event. Entrance will not be granted to those whose names do not appear on the official registration list!

Participants are not allowed to bring with professional photographers or videographers.
For the rules and regulations, please click on the following link.

Yuval Shpungin, the Yellow & Blue veteran defender looked ahead to tonight’s Toto Cup contest against Maccabi Netanya while also complimenting the fans:

“We’re excited and happy. There’s a good atmosphere surrounding the club and it’s good that there are plenty of matches so we can continue to get into game shape and everybody can get minutes.”

Getting playing time:
“It’s always great to play and to be a more active player on the club. As I always say, I’ll do the best that I can to help the team and I hope that it continues this way.”

The importance of the fans:
“It was a lot of fun to see how many fans came to cheer us on in Greece and we acknowledged them following the game. They are an important part of the success of the club and I hope that they will continue this way. They are an integral part of the club and that also includes Toto Cup matches.”

Eyal Golasa, the Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder looked back at his club’s 1:0 win against Panionios in the Third Round of Europa League Qualifying:

“I’m happy that we recorded a very important win and that we advanced to the next round.”

About the match:
“Panionios is a very good club and I knew we would have a tough match. But we played like men, battled and worked very hard throughout the 90 minutes, however, most importantly we won.”

Local support for the Greek side:
“I told the guys that the fans will come to support Panionios but again we played like men, battled and we defeated a very good club.”