Maccabi Tel Aviv went into the break goalless against Bnei Sakhnin but Eyal Golasa broke the ice scoring not only the match’s first goal, but his first for the Yellow & Blue:

“It’s always a difficult match against Sakhnin especially away. I believe you saw that we came prepared from the get go and I am happy that we won.”

His performance over the past few matches:

“I have felt great from the moment I arrived at Maccabi. I’m really happy to be here and I know that you can see that I am enjoying every minute in the pitch.”

Gap at the top of the table and chasing Beer Sheva:

“We concentrate on Maccabi. We aren’t even thinking about Beer Sheva, how will it help us. We have time to prepare well for the match one Saturday night. We will come ready to go and together with the fan’s support I’m not concerned. We will be fine.”

Lito Vidigal, the Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach summed up his side’s 3:1 win on Matchday 32 of the Ligat Ha’Al Championship Playoffs:

“We continued to play very good football and we are playing fantastic. We are always trying to play good football. We scored three goals and had three, four, five, six, seven other chances to score but that’s football.”

Working hard:

“What is most important is that we are working hard and that we can win all of the remaining games. We want to continue to play good football.

Dealing with injuries:

“Today we had to make a rotation with some players being hurt, but the ones that played did well today and did the job. We have to play stronger and be mentally strong, everyone has to understand our mentality that we will battle to take the victories.:

Title race with Beer Sheva:

“I am here for 2 months and we have played well with only one loss, one draw and 12 wins. Last season Beer Sheva won the title, but we started now and we have to work for the future so we will be able to fight against them. We have another game on Saturday against Beer Sheva and we have to fight to take the 3 points.”

The Yellow & Blue scored the win and picked up 3 points at Doha Stadium thanks to second half goals by Eyal Golasa and a brace by Vidar Kjartansson. Ali Osman helped Sakhnin cut the Maccabi lead in the 78th minute to 2:1 via a free kick, but the Icelander scored his second of the match in the 89th minute to seal the deal on Matchday 32 of the Ligat Ha’Al Championship Playoffs. Maccabi will now prepare for Hapoel Beer Sheva who will visit the Netanya Stadium on Saturday night at 21:00.

Prematch
Head Coach Lito Vidigal’s Starting XI included a number of changes for the midweek contest as Avi Rikan, Gal Alberman, Eliel Peretz and Sagiv Yehezkel were all in the lineup along with Captain Sheran Yeini, central defenders Tal Ben Haim and Egor Filipenka, Eyal Golasa, Dor Micha, Icelandic striker Vidar Kjaratansson and Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic.

Available on the bench were keeper Daniel Lishitz, Yuval Shpungin, Ramon Roma, Oscar Scarione, Ruben Micael, Marcelo dos Santos and Aaron Schoenfeld.

First Half
Kjratansson looked to get Maccabi on the board early but his 4th minute chance in the box went off of the left post while 6 minutes later Rikan’s chance was stopped by the Sakhnin keeper Kandil. In the 14th minute, Peretz made a magnificent pass to Golasa but the latter skied it over the Sakhnin goal as Maccabi continued to threaten.

In the 28th minute, Peretz again sent a pass into the box with Kjaratansson as his intended target, but the Icelander’s attempt was saved again by Kandil. Alberman was issued the match’s first yellow card in the 34th minute as Sakhnin tried to get some offense going but was unable to yet again as Maccabi continued to control the pace of the game. However, neither side could find the back of the goal after 45 minutes as the match went into the break scoreless.

Second Half
Maccabi came out of halftime blazing and found the elusive first goal of the match. Micha gave Golasa a ball in the box as number 23 made a acrobatic maneuver to put the ball behind Kandil and give the Yellow & Blue a 1:0 lead in the 48th minute. Maccabi looked to add another goal as Kjartnasson took a quality attempt but Kandel made the save, but one minute later, the Icelandic striker’s next chance made it past the Sakhnin keeper to give the visitors a 2:0 advantage in the 57th minute.

Yuval Avidor tried to cut the lead but his close range effort went flying over Rajikovic’s goal in the 68th minute. Lito Vidgal made his first substitution in the 72nd minute as Ruben Micael entered the match for Gal Alberman while 3 minutes later Yuval Shpungin came on for Dor Micha.

But the changes in personnel didn’t help keep Ali Osman’s free kick out of the Maccabi goal as Sakhnin cut the lead to 2:1 in the 78th minute. Kjartansson tried to give the Yellow & Blue their 2 goal lead back, but his effort just skipped by the Sakhnin goal as things began to heat up at Doha Stadium. However, the Icelander would find the goal yet again and out out the fire as he took a Peretz pass in the 89th minute and popped the ball home for a 3:1 victory.

Just three days after the 1:1 draw against Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi Tel Aviv will get back to action with a midweek clash at Bnei Sakhnin on Matchday 32 of the Ligat Ha’Al Championship Playoffs. This evening, the Head Coach Lito Vidigal spoke about the challenge that lies ahead for his squad:

Over the next few days all across the country, Yom Hashoa, Holocaust Memorial Day will be marked by many including Gal Alberman’s family. “Of course, it’s just natural that when you have members of your family that were part of the horrors of the Holocaust, many thoughts and feelings about my grandparents and my father’s family come to the surface. It’s a very sad day for the Jewish people as a whole and for those who had family members that perished.”

Gal’s sister Moran brought attention to the story of their grandfather, Oleg who survived the horrors of horrors with amazing resourcefulness and eventually made it to Israel along with his wife Rochel, where they raised a family from the ashes of the Holocaust. Alberman also spoke about their story: “My grandfather and grandmother along with their brothers and sisters didn’t talk to us much about what had happened. I suppose there are things that they didn’t want to remember but when we did research on the family, we had to touch the subject. We tried to get as much information as possible but it was still difficult as they didn’t want to divulge much, which is understandable. They tried to give us love and wanted us to enjoy their new lives and not look back.”

Alberman’s grandfather Oleg & grandmother Rochel – Family Photo
Alberman’s career also confronted him with his family’s past when in 2008 the midfielder went to play for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German Bundesliga arousing many feelings and thoughts on the subject. “There’s no question that it was quite ironic. After the Holocaust and what my family had to endure, to go back there with the goal of furthering my career was in a sense coming full circle. The majority of my grandparents family wasn’t alive when I moved there. I can tell you that there were plenty of moments when thoughts ran through my head of what they would have thought. It was really strange.”

“When I played in Germany there were many times when someone would ask where I was from and the minute they would hear I was from Israel, there was some discomfort from my answer, but that is reality and how the world is. I went there to attempt to fulfill my dreams. It ended up being on German soil and in some ways it was kind of a closure.”

And how does he see Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoa? “It’s a very sad day and it’s a very difficult day for me personally. Year after year, you hear and watch the stories and programs about what happened there. It’s very difficult to truly understand the extent of the tragedy and horrors that occurred. It’s something inconceivable. It’s a day of sadness that we recognize each and every year.”