Tel Ben Haim, the Yellow & Blue veteran looked back at his side’s Ligat Ha’Al Championship Playoff Matchday 31 clash at Beitar Jerusalem in the nation’s capital. Number 26 spoke about the important games coming up, the match itself and the desire to do the best as possible going forward:

“I don’t think that’s it’s over but we did make it more difficult. Things have happened in the past and anyone who has played for Maccabi Tel Aviv knows that you can’t raise your hands when there is still a chance and it’s not over up until the final moments of the season. We will put on a good performance and collect as many wins as possible.”

About the match itself and going forward:

“We started the match well and we pressed them deep into their zone until we scored a goal and then we stepped back a bit. We will have to watch the video and improve the things that we can do better. The second half was much better and we had a number of terrific chances. We will have to learn from this and we’re disappointed but we aren’t going to hang our heads. We already have another important match on Tuesday and we will come into the contest ready to go. Anytime you have the Maccabi Tel Aviv logo on your shirt, you have to come into every match and give 100% and that’s exactly what we will do until the end of the season.”

Important games coming up:

“There are still 5 more very important league matches left along with the State Cup Final and that’s what concerns me most right now. We are just focussing on Tuesday’s match and we don’t have a lot of time to prepare but we will be ready. Only after that match will we look at the Hapoel Beer Sheva game.”

 

 

Following Maccabi’s 1:1 draw versus Beitar to open up a busy week of games, it was hard to miss the disappointment on the faces of the players and professional staff as the Yellow & Blue are now 8 points from first place. Eyal Golasa spoke about the situation:

“Our goal is to win every match. We are certainly disappointed, but we have to now make a quick turnaround and look ahead.”

The gap to Beer Sheva:
“There’s still another round of playoff matches that begin on Tuesday. Perhaps to some people Beer Sheva are already the Champions. But from out standpoint not so fast. We’ll begin the next round of playoff matches and then only after that we can talk about it.”

Chasing after first place:
“We don’t look at it like the media does. We go into every match with a clear goal and we look at ourselves and not at the other club. We fight and battle every single match and we try to earn as many points as possible.”

On the disappointment should they not win the league title:
“Maybe we will win the title, but we don’t know yet as there are still a few more matches to go. We are also going to be coming back to Teddy for the State Cup Final and we will try to take the most that we can out of this season. It will only be over when it’s over.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv will return from Jerusalem disappointed after dropping points in a 1:1 draw against Beitar Jerusalem as the gap widened to 8-points from first place Beer Sheva. Lito Vidigal, the Yellow & Blue boss spoke about the title fight following the contest:

“We are Maccabi Tel Aviv and we have a huge responsibly to continue to work hard in every training session in order to win every match. We are not raising our hands.”

The players performance:
“It’s not correct to say that we didn’t play well. We had plenty of chances. The players gave it their all and I don’t have any complaints. Certainly we made mistakes. Even when we win I always say that we still have to improve. We didn’t score more goals and that was what was missing.”

Any regrets on his match decisions:
“I’ve been here for two months and I believe that we have improved our play and I also think that we still have plenty more to improve. This club lost many points at the beginning of the season and we were able to come back into our own in the second half of the campaign. We had an opportunity to turn the table but it didn’t happen. Since I’ve arrived we’ve only lost one match and drew another. If you look at the stats since I’ve taken over we would be leading the league. We can still finish the season off by winning the State Cup and the players will work hard for that goal.”

Tal Ben Chaim opened the scoring for Maccabi Tel Aviv but came off injured soon thereafter as Idan Vered scored the equalizer for Beitar right before halftime as the sides split the points on Matchday 31 in Jerusalem.

Prematch
Head Coach Lito Vidigal’s Starting XI featured keeper Predrag Rajikovic along with a defensive quartet of Yuval Shpungin, Egor Filipenka, Tal Ben Haim and Captain Sheran Yeini. Eyal Golasa, Yossi Benayoun and Ruben Micael manned the midfield while Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim and Aaron Schoenfeld played up front.

Available on the bench for the Angolan boss were Daniel Lifshitz, Avi Rikan, Gal Alberman, Oscar Scarione, Ramon Roma, Vidar Kjartansson and Marcelo dos Santos.

First Half
The Israeli-American Schoenfeld had Maccabi’s first chance early on in the 3rd minute as his effort just grazed the left post after receiving a marvelous pass from Micael. In the 7th minute Beitar had their initial opportunity as Hen Ezra’s ball went flying over the goal as both sides looked to break the ice in unrelenting heat.

Of course that’s exactly what Schoenfeld and Ben Chaim teamed up to do in the 13th minute. Number 25 dropped the ball down for the winger in the box as Ben Chaim slammed it home for the 1:0 Yellow & Blue lead. Unfortunately for Ben Chaim his night would come to an early end in the 23rd minute as he had to be replaced by Scarione due to an injury.

As the two sides traded chances, Idan Vered scored as he turned in the Maccabi box and put the ball behind Rajikovic to draw even at 1:1 in the 45th minute right before the half.

Second Half
What a close chance to open the second half! Micha made a tremendous cross into the box to Schoenfeld but the Beitar keeper Boris Kleyman made a magnificent save to keep the score as is. Beitar came back down the pitch for a chance of their own as Hen Ezra got the ball to Vered who attempted to cross it to Shecter, but missed the intended target. Both teams came out of the break flying!

Beitar had a number of chances over the next few minutes and in the 61st minute Ezra skied it over Rajikovic’s goal. Five minutes later, Scarione’s corner found Schoenfeld’s head in the box but the striker’s effort went wide of the target. As the match hit the 74th minute, Vidigal made his second substitution as Vidar Kjartansson came on for Yossi Benayoun and just a minute later Scarione’s corner found Filipenka but his chance just missed the goal.

Schoenfeld had a tremendous one-on-one opportunity but just came up short in the 78th minute as Maccabi continued to press for a goal. Yeini had a long range effort two minutes later that just missed the goal while Ezra had a chance the other way for Beitar but his opportunity just went over the bar as the match ended in a 1:1 draw.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has recored many eating wins since the beginning of the new millennium with matches that have included many goals, comebacks and drama. We chose three of these contests and now it’s you turn to see which one was the best. Let’s not waste any more time. Watch and enjoy:

2000/01 Season: The Yellow & Blue destroys the capital city side
In 2000, Maccabi Tel Aviv set the standard for one of their greatest league wins ever and Beitar was the opponent on that day. Nir Levin’s squad put in a phenomenal performance. How did the match end and who scored? For those who have forgotten, take a look:

2002/03 Season: Turgeman torches the Beitar defense
Maccabi hosted Beitar Jerusalem in the State Cup and Nir Klinger’s side had been playing on all cylinders picking up a slew of league victories that eventually led to the championship. Amir Turgeman and Andreas Prohonenkovs were the strikers while Itzik Zohar and Andrzej Kubica provided the back up. There were plenty of goals, so check it out:

2009/10 Season: Yeini defeats Barak Itzhaki in a fantastic comeback win
It may not have been one of the greatest seasons in the club’s history, but that didn’t stop the match from finding its way into the history books as one of the most exciting ever. Avi Nimni & Itzhak Shum were the coaches while Barak Itzhaki and a young Eitan Tibi played for Beitar. See how this match ended: