Category: News
Miller: “The players understand what’s at stake; we learned a lot from the 1st leg”
Peretz: “Focused on our path, we know what we’re capable of”
“This is the first hat-trick of my career and it’s a great feeling,” Peretz said. “To do it here, after last season which was truly special, it’s a great feeling to start the season this way.”
Maccabi could have imagined a worse start to theot league campaign as tbey found themselvs trailing inside the opening minute against Hapoel Jerusalem. But a Roy Revivo equaliser a Dor Peretz hat-trick and another goal by Saied Abu Farchi who also replaced a sent off Ofek Melika in goal helped Maccabi to a 5-2 victory: “I hope we stop conceding easy goals” Peretz said at the end of the eventful match at Rehovot. “We talk about it a lot. It’s a team effort, it’s not just the defence, all of us need to work much harder on it so that we can start matches on level terms rather than having to fall behind and chase the game.”
Despite conceding early, Maccabi pulled an impressive comeback on the way to win the match. “We managed to recover and get back into the game very quickly,” Peretz added. “The first half was a little tired and lacked energy, but in the second half we saw a much hungrier and much more aggressive team, and thankfully the result was excellent.”
The 31-year-old midfielder who last season scored a total of 22 goals in all competitions, began the 2026/27 league campaign with a hat-trick to take his tally to 6 goals in seven matches.
On the influence of his coach Kenny Miller, Peretz said: “He tells me and guides me, and of course he has every right to, he was a great striker, and you can see that in the finishing drills in training that he runs. I have a certain role when he’s on the touchline and I’m grateful for that. I really enjoy it. At the same time, I also have defensive responsibilities to help the team and do everything I can at the other end so that we concede fewer goals and keep going like this.”
Despite the victories, the team has also faced criticism recently, as Peretz said: “At the end of the day, we lost, and the defeat to CSKA was a heavy one. To lose 3-0 in a game in which we didn’t play badly and concede three goals out of nothing, that was a serious blow for us. I think that’s why the criticism is justified and why there are those feelings, because even though we’ve won quite a few games this season, it still hurts. But that’s okay. We’re focused on our path, we know what we’re doing and what we’re capable of.”
On Thursday, Maccabi face the crucial return leg against Lugano, trailing 2-1 from the first match in Switzerland.
“We really need to be at our best,” the captain said ahead of the decisive encounter in Batumi. “At the same time, we’ll need to play intelligently and use the intelligence each one of us has. If we lose the game in the opening minutes, that would be unnecessary. It’s a long game, and if we know how to control it and steer it in the direction we want, we’ll do it.”
Miller: “Delighted for Dor, but even happier for the team”
Miller: “Delighted for Dor, but even happier for the team”
Maccabi beat Hap. Jerusalem 5-2
Preview:
Maccabi arrived at the new stadium in Rehovot for the WINNER league curtain raiser away to Hapoel Jerusalem which was relocated from Teddy stadium due to the condition of the pitch. Three days after the first leg of the Conference League Play-Off in Lugano and four days before the return leg in Batumi, Kenny Miller and his charges put aside their European aspirations in favor of the domestic campaign.
Miller made a couple of changes in defense from the side which lost 2-1 at Lugano as Itai Ben Hamo and Noam Ben Harosh replaced Ali Camara and Tyrese Asante at the heart and on the right side of defense. Raz Shlomo partnered Ben Hamo as the second central defender while Roy Revivo returned to the side after serving his one-match touchline ban following the red card he received in the Super Cup. Itamar Noy was named as the anchorman in Maccabi’s engine room together with Ido Shahar who scored the goal in Lugano and captain Dor Peretz.
On the wings Miller named Osher Davida and Helio Varela to supply the width and hopefully the ammunition for Ester Sokler. The Slovenian striker made his Maccabi league debut upfront and after scoring against CSKA Sofia, Sokler will aim to open his domestic account as well.
On the bench alongside Camara and Asante, Miller named goalkeeper Roi Mishpati, as well as Dan Glazer, Ori Azo, Issouf Sissokho, Hisham Layous, Saied Abu Farchi and Ilay Ben Simon.
First half:
A sold out Rehovot stadium packed to its’ 5000 capacity supplied a perfect backdrop for the opening league match of the 2026/27 season. But Maccabi couldn’t have wished for a worse start to the match and campaign as they found themselves a goal behind with less than a minute on the clock. Shortly after referee Gal Levy got the match underway, Hapoel Jerusalem launched men forward. What seemed like a harmless ball which was pushed to Vitalie Damascan, saw the Jerusalem striker turn and snap a shot which beat Ofek Melika after 37 seconds.
It took Maccabi 20 minutes to bounce back from the early goal before creating the first chance. A Noam Ben Harosh cross into the box was brought down by Ido Shahar whose attempt of a half volley cleared the crossbar. Three minutes later a Shahar square ball across the face of goal was cleared for a corner. Jerusalem’s defense failed to clear the resulting corner and Osher Davida floated a cross into the danger zone. Roy Revivo whose last goal for Maccabi was the winner in the State Cup Final last season rose above the hosts’ defense to nod in Davida’s cross and restore parity.
Four minutes after the half hour mark Dor Peretz exchanged passes to carve Jerusalem’s defense open and break into the box before picking Helio Varela. The Cape Verde winger was left unmarked in a glorious position to score but he blasted his right foot shot high over the crossbar. In the 38th minute Itamar Noy released Peretz through but as Maccabi’s captain charged towards goal, he was charged down by a Noam Melamoud challenge. In the 41st minute Davida tried his luck with a low drive from just outside the box which Nadav Zamir needed two attempts to catch. A foul on Varela near the corner of the area on 42 saw Levy award Maccabi a free kick. Revivo crossed the free kick which Peretz headed onto the crossbar before Ester Sokler pounced on the rebound but was fouled by Melamoud. Levy didn’t hesitate as he awarded Maccabi a penalty on the stroke of halftime. Peretz stepped up, sent Zamir the wrong way and successfully converted the spot kick to put Maccabi in front.
Second half:
Kenny Miller made no changes after the restart while his Jerusalem counterpart Lior Zada made two substitutions introducing Ilay Madmon and Ohad Almagor. Miller was preparing to make a double change of his own and add fresh pair of legs int the pitch, Varela had his own idea. Three minutes after the hour mark, Varela picked the ball on the edge of Maccabi’s penalty box and used his pace to charge for more than 80 meters. Varela then squared to Peretz who slid in to score his second and Maccabi’s third. The Cape Verde winger landed awkwardly and limped off as Miller made a triple substitution with Shahar and Sokler also coming off while Dan Glazer, Hisham Layous and Saied Abu Farchi all stepping in. In the 67th minute both substitutes combined as Jerusalem’s defense failed to clear the danger before Layous dribbled into the box and cut the ball for Abu Farchi who clipped it over Zamir to score the fourth. Maccabi’s blitz continued in the 71st minute as Davida found Ben Harosh deep inside Jerusalem’s box before the right back picked Peretz who slotted in the fifth to complete the first hattrick of his career. Raz Shlomo made way for Ali Camara and four minutes later Peretz was given a standing ovation as he was replaced by Ilay Ben Simon.
Maccabi’s celebrations were dampened on 76 as Melika charged out of his penalty area before fouling Jerusalem’s Nadim Warasna who was clear through. Levy reached out to his back pocket to show Melika the red card and leave Maccabi with 10 with the young keeper set to miss next week’s league match against Maccabi Haifa. As Miller completed his five substitutions, Abu Farchi volunteered and put on the pink jersey to go in goal for the closing stages. With every touch he made, Abu Farchi was cheered by the 2800 traveling fans. But inside injury time, the young forward’s attempt of keeping a clean sheet, were deemed unsuccessful. Jerusalem cut the deficit as Almagor curled in a free kick which proved too accurate and powerful for Abu Farchi to save. Levy’s full-time whistle saw Macabi celebrate the three points as attention now turns to Thursday’s Conference League Playoff return leg against Lugano in Batumi before returning to face Maccabi Haifa next Monday.
We Came Hungry. Watch
Sokler: “The expectation at Maccabi is always to win.”
Miller: “Excited to open the league campaign”
“We believe that with the fans in Batumi, we’ll get the job done”
do Shahar celebrated his birthday with a temporary equaliser in the away match against Lugano, but unfortunately for Maccabi Tel Aviv, the first of the two Conference League Play-Off matches ended in a 2-1 defeat in Switzerland. The midfielder shared his disappointment with the result after the final whistle, while expressing strong belief ahead of next week’s return leg at the Batumi Stadium.
“To be honest, I would have been much happier if we had won this game and I had received the perfect birthday present,” Shahar said after the match. “Yes, I’m happy with my goal. It was the equaliser, but unfortunately we ended up losing. Having said that, as a team we fully believe that with the support of the fans next week in Batumi, we’ll get the job done.”
Speaking about the Swiss opponents, the midfielder added: “They’re a very strong and intense team. There’s a reason they’re currently top of the table in Switzerland and the only team there with a perfect record. But again, this is Europe. It’s great to be playing in Europe and it’s great to be involved in these kinds of matches. This is why we win championships and trophies – to play games like these and ultimately reach the league phase. We also have to know how to beat and get past teams like this, and I truly believe we’ll do that next week.”
“The result isn’t ideal, but we’re still very much in the tie,” he continued. “This is only half-time in the tie. We’re one goal behind, but everything is still open. We’re very much alive, and we’ll do everything we can to win the game and qualify for the next round next week.”
Before the decisive European fixture, Maccabi will begin their league campaign against Hapoel Jerusalem this coming Sunday: “We can’t forget that before the return leg, we have our opening league match against Hapoel Jerusalem. Again, we want to do everything we can to win that game and go into next week with good momentum.”
