Hapoel Beer Sheva received goals from Ben Sahar and Maor Bozaglo to beat Maccabi 2:0 on Matchday 8 at Turner Stadium in Beer Sheva. The Yellow & Blue will now look ahead to Thursday’s Europa League clash on Matchday Four against Alkmaar from Holland.

Prematch
Head Coach Shota Arveladze’s Starting XI had Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic in goal with a defense of Eli Dasa, Eitan Tibi, Tal Ben Haim and Omri Ben Harush in front of him. Captain Gal Alberman was the defensive midfielder as Haris Medunjanin and Nosa Igiebor played beside him. Dor Micha, Oscar Scarione and Icelander Vidar Kjartansson provided the attack.

Available on the bench was keeper Barak Levy making his first appearance with the club this season due to an injury that Daniel Lifshitz picked up last match, Eden Ben Basat, Tal Ben Chaim, Dor Peretz, Egor Filipenka, Avi Rikan and Yossi Benayoun.

First Half
The first chance of the match came in the 14th minute as Maor Bozaglo took a deep free kick from the right side, however the ensuing header went over the bar. Scarione had a chance in the 17th minute but Goresh made the save while Igiebor’s follow up couldn’t get past the Beer Sheva keeper. Micha then got by Korhut as play went back the other way but Goresh was up to the task again as he collected number 15’s chance keeping the contest goalless.

But it wouldn’t be goalless for much longer as Beer Sheva took a 1:0 lead on a goal by Ben Sahar from in close on a counter attack in the 28th minute. Maccabi looked to find the equalizer but Kjartansson’s chance went wide right just two minutes later. Beer Sheva’s Korhut cut off the Maccabi momentum with two opportunities just a minute later. The first coming on a scorcher from 17 meters out and the second on a low shot, however both were saved by Rajikovic keeping the deficit at only one goal as the sides headed into the break with Beer Sheva holding a slim 1:0 lead.

Second Half
Maor Melikson had the first chance of the second half as he burst down the left side of the pitch making it by the Maccabi defense but his effort was collected by Rajikovic in the 50th minute. Six minutes later it was Melikson sporting the captain’s armband with another quality chance from the left side but his ball just scooted by the left post.

Following an Alberman yellow card in the 60th minute, Maor Bozaglo buried a free kick from the top of the box to give Beer Sheva a 2:0 lead. Coach Arveladze then made his first substitution of the contest introducing Tal Ben Chaim for Gal Alberman.

After Igiebor skied a ball over the bar, Arveladze made his second substitution bringing on Eden Ben Basat who scored a brace on Thursday night in the Toto Cup for Vidar Kjartansson in the 70th minute to try and spark the Maccabi offense. Twelve minutes later Yossi Benayoun was the third substitute entering the match for Eli Dasa.

Micha had a late chance to cut the Beer Sheva lead but it wasn’t meant to be as the southern capital side defeated Maccabi 2:0 as the Yellow & Blue will now prepare for Thursday’s Europa League Matchday Four game against Alkmaar.

Matchday Nine of the Ligat Ha’Al, the Israel Premier League will pit Maccabi Tel Aviv against Maccabi Petach Tikva on Sunday November 6th, 20:45 at the Netanya Stadium. Make sure to get your tickets at the Leaan Ticket Agency and come out to support your Yellow & Blue. Tickets are available in the Upper & Lower West Stands, E+ and the Silver Section.

Please note that tickets may be printed at home

Ticket Prices

Leaan Ticket Agency Office
Upper & Lower West Stands Sections 101,109, 209 – 100 NIS
E+ – 220 NIS
Silver Section – 400 NIS

Telephone/Internet
Upper & Lower West Stands Sections 101,109, 209 – 105 NIS
E+ – 225 NIS
Silver Section – 405 NIS

Ticket Collection

Tickets may be collected from the Leaan Ticket Office, 101 Dizengoff Street Sunday-Thursday 09:00-19:00, Friday 09:00-13:30.

On Matchday at the Stadium ticket windows beginning 3 hours prior to the match until 45 minutes after the start of the match.

Who’s the boss

One of the biggest questions coming into the Match of the Season: Take 1 is the question of which team will have the majority of ball possession over the course of the contest. Who will take control of the game and who will try to take advantage of the counter attacks and breaks in a less controlled style of play. Both sides have proved in Europe this season that they can control the pace of a match against rivals who appear superior on paper. Over the course of the domestic league, we have also seen that they are both the ones who handle the ball much more than their opponents.

Head Coach Shota Arveladze has said numerous times that Maccabi’s style of play is attacking football where ball possession is key, but this evening at Turner Stadium the Yellow & Blue will have an interesting battle, one of the most attractive match’s this season.

Location & formations

Barak Bachar very much enjoys sending his players on the attack. Whether it’s the 4-5-1 that he uses in league play where the midfielders will play in the opponents half of the pitch or if it’s 3-5-2 which he has used in Europe, Beer Sheva is always thinking offense. The Hapoel Beer Sheva defensive backs play an integral role in the attack as their average positioning is around the halfway line.

Much of what Hapoel Beer Sheva will do will rely on how Barak Bachar decides to open the match. If the formation will include four defenders then Bachar will be looking to maintain possession and control the pace of the contest. Another point to remember is that Beer Sheva may change formations multiple times throughout the match just as they did against Sparta Prague when they switched it up three times as seen below.

Tony Nwakaeme

Five league goals and four assists is what the Nigerian striker has produced for Hapoel Beer Sheva this season, however he may be out of action for this match and will certainly leave a gaping hole in the Beer Sheva attack.

Nwakaeme’s impact can be seen as follows: 64% of the time he is on the left wing, 17% of the time he features as a central striker and the other 17% Nwakaeme operates in the middle of the pitch managing Beer Sheva’s game.

After Ofir Davidzada left the club for Belgium, Mihaly Korhut took over as the left defensive back and his play with Nwakaeme has been excellent. Against Sparta Prague, the Nwakaeme/Korhut pairing passed the ball 30 times between themselves with 21 of them going from the Hungarian to the Nigerian. With an average of seven dribbles per match good for a 60% success rate, six crosses and 2.6 key passes per contest it will be interesting to see who will step up and fill the void and if they will be as dominating as Nwakaeme.

In Short

• There’s much to say about Maor Melikson’s ball handling skills and agility but another aspect to keep an eye on is the amount of key passes he serves up which is the most on the team with an average of 4.1 passes over the past five matches.
• Pressure on the Beer Sheva defenders could cause some problems, but Bachar will instruct them many times throughout a game to send the ball into enemy territory and pressure the other team.
• Set pieces, set pieces, set pieces. We haven’t mentioned one of the key aspect of Beer Sheva’s offense which is their set pieces, well here it is.

History in Short

Following Avram Grant’s departure in the summer of 1995, the Club appointed Dror Kashtan as the Yellow & Blue coach which also marked the arrival of Yevgeni Kashentsev of the Belarus National Team. The striker, who was born in 1971 grew up in the Dynamo Barnaul youth system, joined Maccabi as a major acquisition from Dinamo Minsk where he had won four championships and two cups between 1991-1995.

In his first match with the Yellow & Blue, Kashentsev scored in away tilt against Swiss side Grasshopper in Champions League qualifying, a goal that gave Maccabi hope of qualifying for the group stages. However, the dream was dashed after a 1:0 loss in the second leg. In the same season he scored 12 goals across all competitions and also captured the Double.

The following campaign, Kashetnsev moved to right back under Avram Grant and scored six goals. Before leaving Maccabi, the Belarusian scored a total of 18 goals. He then played for Hapoel Taibe, Ironi Rishon Le’Zion and in 2000 returned to his roots and signed with Dynamo Barnaul where he finished his career. In 2016, Kashentsev was welcomed back to Bloomfield Stadium for the first time since leaving Israel as part of the Legends Club that Maccabi Tel Aviv introduced last season.

Top Moment

Kashentsev had plenty of amazing moments as a member of Maccabi, from the goal at Grasshopper to his goal against Spanish side Tenerife in the UEFA Cup. However, one match that will always stand out will be the contest against Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Double Season of 1995/96 when he found the back of the goal three times versus the desert city rival. Watch

Honors

Championship: 1995/96
State Cup: 1995/96