The Club expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of Shmuel “Pepo” Israeli who grew up through the youth department and went on to play 13 seasons with the team.

Israeli known to all as “Pepo” won five championships and added three State Cups with the Club. Long time supporters of Maccabi will certainly remember Pepo’s goal in the first Derby after the founding of the State helping the team to a 3:0 victory on October 29, 1949. Another memorable match in Israeli’s career was the 1951/52 State Cup when the Yellow & Blue defeated Hapoel Petach Tikva 7:1 as Pepo scored a hat trick.

Pepo was 88 years old.

May his memory be a blessing.

Gal Alberman took a look back at his Club’s performance Thursday night in a 1:0 loss to Irish side Dundalk FC. The Yellow & Blue Captain talked about wanting to continue the team’s good form prior to the international break, separating league and European play and looking at what needs to be done now going forward:

“We had hoped to have taken more points than we have up to now but we aren’t raising our hands up just yet. The results make things a bit complicated but we aren’t going to look to far ahead and take it game by game. Every match is worth three points and we’ll see where this takes us going forward.”

About the match itself:

“It was not a simple game and a style that was different from what we have encountered in the past. The British way of playing is high tempo and physical and we unfortunately had a tough time with that today. We have a match against Alkmaar in a few weeks and we have to be ready for that next match and we will have to do the maximum to take three points there.”

Comparing league and European play:

“It’s hard to look and compare this game with the matches we played in the domestic league. We have plenty of experience to know how to make the separation between the two competitions. We know that European contests are much more difficult and more intense, today we weren’t able to play the football that we like to play. But I don’t think you cane look at the previous league games and say that this had an effect on our match against Dundalk.”

Looking ahead:

“We will have to do the most to take three points in the next European match and then look at league play. We are used to playing tough games and we’ve done so in the past. It’s too bad we couldn’t continue our good form before going on the International break as we really wanted to do so and win before we heading off. After the break we will have to begin a new run.”

The Yellow & Blue fell for the second straight time in Europa League Group Stage action and weren’t able to overcome a second half goal by Cairan Kilduff for the Irish outfit.

Shota Arveladze talked about his feelings following his team’s 1:0 loss to Dundalk FC in Dublin: “At the end of the day, the match was fairly even, but Dundalk is a very good and organized club and won the game. I can only congratulate them. It’s disappointing not to take any points in two matches. I’m disappointed because we played very slowly. But I do know that anything is possible and we can play better games going forward, but it won’t be easy.”

About Dundalk:

“I wasn’t surprised by Dundalk. They waited for us and gave us problems on the counterattacks and breaks. We knew we were going to play an organized side. I have to give them credit because they did what they had to do and the match changed in minutes. I’m disappointed because we played very slowly and that’s not our style of play. You have to understand that defeating clubs in the domestic league isn’t good enough in Europe where you have to come with more quality and that’s a challenge that I must solve.”

Lots of games:

“We played five games in a small window of time but I’m not using that as an excuse. We prepared properly and the players did what they needed to do and as they were trained. Perhaps it’s a bit of a psychological issue and we came into the match more relaxed after the Derby victory.”

The Yellow & Blue came up short in Ireland losing to Dundalk FC 1:0 on a second half goal by Ciaran Kilduff. Maccabi had a number of chances but couldn’t find the back of the goal on an evening when nothing seemed to click for Shota Arveladze’s side.

Prematch
Head Coach Shota Arveladze made only one change to the Starting XI that defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv on the Derby this past Sunday night as Dor Peretz replaced right back Eli Dasa who was unavailable due to his red card on Matchday One against Zenit St. Petersburg. Joining Peretz in the back were Omri Ben Harush, Eitan Tibi and Tal Ben Haim while Serbian Predrag Rajikovic was in goal. Captain Gal Alberman was in his usual defensive midfielder position with Bosnian Haris Medunajnin and Nigerian Nosa Igiebor by his side. Providing the attack was Oscar Scarione, Tal Ben Chaim and Vidar Kjartansson.

Maccabi sported black armbands in memory of Shimon Peres, Israel’s 9th President, who passed away on Wednesday.

First Half

Dundalk came out of the box looking to score an early goal and almost did when Patrick McEleney had a one-on-one opportunity against Rajikovic, but the keeper came up big to keep it goalless in the 2nd minute. Ben Harush had Maccabi’s fist chance of the contest in the 17th minute but his effort from long range was collected by Rajikovic. Two minutes later, the Yellow & Blue keeper was up to the task yet again as he first made a terrific foot save followed by parrying the ball out to safety to keep the scoreline as is.

Scarione tried his luck in the 25th minute as he volleyed a poor Dundalk clearance, however, the ball went over the bar. A minute later, central defender Ben Haim laced a scorcher towards Gary Rogers’s goal but his effort went over the bar as Maccabi began to heat up in the 10 degree weather. Daryl Horgan’s 36th minute opportunity was saved by Rajikovic as both sides tested each other as the half continued on.

Horgan linked up with McEleney in the 44th minute but the latter’s curler went way over the Maccabi goal as the sides headed into the break tied at 0:0.

Second Half

After a tentative start to the second half, Maccabi’s first chance came in the 56th minute on a counter when Igiebor passed the ball off to Ben Harush, but number 20’s shot from the left side of the goal missed the target and went out. Three minutes later, Coach Arveladze made his first substitute introducing Dor Micha for Igiebor.

In the 65th minute, Kilduff for Dundalk tries his luck with a short range header but his effort went over the bar. Just one minute later, Medunjanin laid off a beauty of a ball to Kjartansson but the Icelander’s chance flew way above the goal as the score remained 0:0.

However, it didn’t remain 0:0 for much longer when in the 72nd minute, Ciaran Kilduff finally broke the ice giving the hosts a 1:0 lead as the second half substitute tapped home a Horgan cross. Down by a goal, coach Arveladze made a pair of substitutions bringing on Barak Itzhaki and Yossi Benayoun for Alberman and Ben Chaim with ten minutes remaining.

But the personnel changes didn’t help on this night as Maccabi fell to Dundalk 1:0 in Dublin. The players will now go on the international break and will return on October 20th against AZ Alkmaar in Holland on Matchday 3 of the Europa League.

Match philosophy

Dundalk is the back-to-back title holders in Ireland and also sits atop the league table in a season that is nearing its end. Head Coach Stephen Kenny is the man responsible for the changes in the club that up until four years ago were languishing in league play. The 44-year old not only changed the way the players performed on the pitch but also instituted a philosophical change as well. The Irish squad plays a 4-5-1 formation both in league and European action as Kenny’s side actually enjoys controlling the ball and the tempo of the game with the defenders relying much less on sending long balls to the striker.

In reality, if you analyze the system in place it works more like a 4-2-3-1 where the two defensive midfielders play very close to the central defenders. In their first Europa League group stage match against AZ Alkmaar, the Dutch side had a very small advantage in ball possession while in the qualification round versus Legia Warsaw the Lilywhites dictated the pace of the game. Maccabi can take advantage of this statistic as the Irish outfit loses possession deep in their territory and with a bit of ball pressure the Yellow & Blue may see some fruits from their labor.

The Irish version of Tal Ben Chaim

Damien Duff & Philippe Coutinho. These are the two players that the journalists like to compare Daryl Horgan to. The 24-year old plays the wing for Stephen Kenny’s crew and at 1.80 meters he has terrific speed, quickness and technique with a not too bad shot that has led to seven league goals and five assists.

The Maccabi players will have to keep a keen eye on the winger who plies his trade on the left side of the pitch. Against Alkmaar, Horgan registered five successful dribbles. Check out the highlight package to see some of Horgan’s moves for yourself.

Striker in the hole

David McMillan is another Irishman that the Yellow & Blue will have to keep tabs on. Dundalk’s striker in the hole has scored 15 goals and leads the league in this category. McMillan’s left foot is lethal but this true number 9 also has a wonderful head game. To get a complete understanding as to how this striker ranks up there with the rest of Europe’s strikers, then just take a look at the goal scoring leaders during Europa League qualification as he tops the list tied with three other players who scored five goals a piece.

The small details

• Dundalk’s captain, Stephen O’Donnell won’t be available for tonight’s match due to a red card that he received against Alkmaar. It will be interesting to see who will take the leadership role as the defensive midfielder was an important piece to the Dundalk defensive scheme.
• Daryl Horgan may be fleet footed on offense but the Yellow & Blue may want to check him out on the defensive side where his percentages are low when battling for the ball.
• The Irish outfit won’t enjoy the advantage of their home ground but instead will be playing in Dublin at the home of Shamrock Rovers. If you are familiar with the name, you may recall that back in 2010, Bnei Yehuda played at the same Tallaght Stadium.

Maccabi Tel Aviv will kick off against Dundalk, the Ireland Champion on Thursday at 22:00. The Yellow & Blue landed in Dublin last night and will play at the Tallaght Stadium the home of Shamrock Rovers that holds 6,000 spectators.

Shota Arveladze began the press conference and said: “Our first match was against Zenit and it began well but had a tragic ending. The game against Dundalk is important and perhaps critical because after this contest we have an away encounter in Holland. At the end of the day we want to show how good we are and what the result will be.”

Tomorrow’s Starting XI:

“We will play our best team and if we make changes its just because of that. Football is not to be for rests but for winning and taking home titles and trophies. We had some tough weeks but they have passed by. This will be our last game before a short break. I’m happy that other than Dasa who is ineligible and Rikan who is injured, everyone is available.”

About the opponent:

“We’ve followed Dundalk and watched their European matches. We have seen what type of game they play as they like to move the ball around and they have a striker David McMillian that scores a lot of goals. Their winger is also excellent but I also have a good feeling about tomorrow. Truthfully, Dundalk surprised me as British football is built on long balls and in general the 4-4-2 and I saw that this is not necessarily the case in the games that I watched. They played consistently in each match as they wanted to hold into the ball. I don’t know what the league philosophy but I do know that Dundalk is a very dominant team here.”

About Arveladze’s last trip to Ireland with Georgia:

“I remember that match and I had to spend four days in the hospital here, I took a lot of painkillers and it almost cost me my health. I stayed here for an additional four days so the medical team could do the best job possible. I remember that because I was from Rangers they booed a lot and it was always fun to hear.”

Captain Gal Alberman was asked about Eran Zahavi’s departure: “We knew that when Zahavi left that we would have to change some things and I believe that we are improving from match to match. At first it was strange to be on the pitch without him and he was a huge part of the history of Maccabi, but for now that is what it is, part of history. We are focussing on our play and the goals that we have set for ourselves. We really aren’t dealing with this issue anymore.”

Comparing the Maccabi of today to the years past:

“We started a process in 2011 when Jordi came and he tried to change the philosophy, one that I can attest to seeing this change as I had been with the club for three years prior to his arrival. Since then we have been on the same path each and every season. A team that controls the ball and wins.”