Kiely appointed as goalkeeping coach

In addition to two State Cup semi-final triumphs on Saturday, the MTA Youth Division saw their teams have another successful week in league competition

In addition to two State Cup semi-final triumphs on Saturday, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" successfully defended their position in the neck-on-neck race at the top of the national Under-17 Premier League table yesterday by taking all three points in an important and emphatic 0-3 away victory at Hapoel Kiryat Shmona, with Ben Shugal, Yonatan Feldman and Tomer Altman contributing the goals. In doing so, head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's team held on to second place in their league, just three points behind leaders Maccabi Haifa with seven matches remaining till the end of the season.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team North played at home at the Kiryat Shalom training ground and sailed past Hapoel Ra'anana 6-0. Eyal Chen topped up his total to 24 league goals this season by scoring four on the day, while Arad Bar added a brace. For the time being head coach Arik Levi's charges take hold of the top spot in the nationwide Under-14 League Sharon District and will await the outcome of a game in hand held by their top-of-table rivals Maccabi Haifa. Team South are also currently top of their Central District table and after a 1-4 away win at Section Nes Tziona, their place at the summit stays intact. Tal Da'on scored a hat-trick and Adir Hardon added an individual goal to secure the win for head coach Eyal Tzahi's Under-14s.

A third Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division team boasting supremacy in their league are the Under-13 Team South. They too defended their position on Saturday with a 1-2 away win at Maccabi Emek Hefer.  

In addition to two State Cup semi-final triumphs on Saturday, ...

Dramatic and crucial victories for the Under-17s, Under-16s and the Under-15 Team 2

Much like in the national Under-19 Premier League, the top of the Under-17 table hosts two Maccabi teams, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" are currently second and yesterday they maintained the gap between themselves and their northern namesakes at three points with a dramatic 2-3 away victory at Hapoel Beer Sheva. The hosts took their first lead after a quarter of an hour but Maccabi's Raz Itzhak equalised fifteen minutes later. Ten minutes from time Beer Sheva went ahead for the second time in the match but "Oded" weren't ready to quit just yet. Ben Shugal found a second equaliser two minutes from time and Gabi Kanichowsky's strike in injury time not only gave Maccabi's Under-17s all three points but also maintained their draw-free record this season.

The club's Under-16s, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", held on to the top spot in the Nationwide Under-16 League South with a 2-1 triumph over Beitar Jerusalem at the Kiryat Shalom training ground. Beitar took a one-goal lead into the break, but in the second half Maccabi's Roy Ronen and, in the final moments, Nadav Amran turned the match around to hand their side three vital points. Head coach Erez Belfer's charges continue to lead municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv by a margin of six at the top with five games left to play in the season.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", the club's Under-15 Team 1, faced Central District league leaders Ashdod FC on Saturday and the tie finished in a goalless draw. Team 2 meanwhile were involved in an intriguing contest at fellow Sharon District pacesetters Maccabi Netanya and walked away triumphant after Prince Thomas scored the match's only goal twenty minutes from time. The win means that head coach Haim Siton's lads change places with their hosts and climb into the second position in the table, trailing leaders Maccabi Petach Tikva by just seven points with a game in hand.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team South maintained their current good form by recording their fourth consecutive win and their eleventh in twelve games. Head coach Eyal Tzahi's crew beat Hapoel Ramat Gan away 0-3 courtesy of a brace by Amit Mordehaev and an individual effort by Gal Porat. Team North were also on the road and won handsomely 1-6 at Nesher FC thanks to braces by Yam Ben Yehuda and Arad Bar, with Tomer Tzitrin and Gal Sofer  adding on.

The Under-13 derby between Maccabi's Team South and municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving both sides leading the Under-13 Central District table with the same number of points. Their Team North counterparts registered Saturday's final Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division win by sailing past Hapoel Hadera 4-0 at Kiryat Shalom.

Dramatic and crucial victories for the Under-17s, Under-16s and the Under-15 Team ...

After drawing level in both regulation and extra time, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" won a penalty shoot-out with Bnei Yehuda to reach the prestigious Under-17 State Cup finals

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s today (Wednesday) secured their place in the prestigious State Cup finals after a dramatic win against Bnei Yehuda at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan. Head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's squad earned that victory the hard way, coming from behind to equalise twice, once 1-1 in the regulation 80 minutes and a second time 2-2 after twenty minutes of time added on, and subsequently winning the resultant penalty shoot-out 4-3.

The match started with Maccabi's municipal neighbours Bnei Yehuda in the ascendancy, scoring after only seven minutes. Despite the efforts by Itay Aloni and Ben Shugal to get "Oded" back into the match, the halftime whistle went with Maccabi's Under-17s still trailing 0-1. After the restart, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" redoubled their efforts and in the opening moments it was once again Itay Aloni with a strong curling shot that this time found its target to bring the tie level at 1-1. Ten minutes into the second half Maccabi had two back-to-back golden opportunities to complete the turnaround, but neither Tomer Altman nor Omri Haramati succeeded in converting the excellent chances presented to them. In the dying moments of regulation time it fell to Dor Galili to settle the tie in Maccabi's favour, but his close range effort sailed over the net sending the match into twenty minutes of extra time.

"Oded" dominated the first ten minutes but at the start of the second period it was Bnei Yehuda's Yoav Nimni who put his side ahead 1-2 with a powerful strike that found the net, leaving Maccabi less than ten minutes to avoid exiting the competition altogether. But much like in their league tie played earlier in the season, where Bnei Yehuda also lead 1-2 until a Maccabi equaliser in the final moments, yesterday too "Oded" rose to the challenge, specifically Raz Itzhak, who rose to a high ball to release a powerful header that sent the tie into a penalty shoot-out. For Maccabi Itay Aloni, Raz Itzhak and Omri Haramati all found the target with their penalties, with only Rany Hamzey missing his. "Oded" keeper Haviv Ohayon for his part saved one of Bnei Yehuda's penalties and saw a second effort sail over his crossbar before stepping up himself to settle the score at 4-3, sparking off a wave of celebrations among his Under-17 teammates.

"Oded"'s rivals in the State Cup final, to be played at the end of this month, will be Maccabi Haifa, who won their semi-final encounter with Hapoel Beer Sheva.  

After drawing level in both regulation and extra time, Maccabi ...

Important wins for Maccabi's Under-17s and 16s. A dramatic draw for the Under-15 Team 2

Matchweek 20 in the national Under-17 Premier League brought together two teams at either end of the table, second ranked Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" and bottom placed Hapoel Kfar Saba. The result reflected the two teams' respective status as "Oded" rolled over their weaker opponents 9-0. Raz Itzhak scored a hat-trick, Ben Shugal netted a brace and Dor Galili, Gabi Kanichowsky, Omri Haramati and Itay Aloni all added individual efforts for Maccabi's Under-17s. The win helped head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's lads maintain their distance from league leaders Maccabi Haifa at three points.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs" held on to their place atop the Under-16 Nationwide League South with a hard fought 1-2 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem at their Kiryat Yovel playing ground. Itamar Shviro put Maccabi out in front and after the equaliser Roy Ronen scored the winning goal seven minutes from time. With six matches left to play this season, head coach Erez Belfer's charges still hold on to a six point advantage over second-placed municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The club's Under-15 Team 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", played an intriguing derby on Saturday at the home ground of big city opponents Hapoel Tel Aviv, and their 1-2 victory means head coach Shlomi Mitelka's squad climb to the third spot in the nationwide Under -15 League Central District. Team 2 headed north on Saturday to face fellow league pacesetters Maccabi Haifa at their "Ketsef" training complex and returned with a point after a dramatic 3-3 draw.  Prince Thomas' brace and an individual goal by Desalin Balacho had handed head coach Haim Siton's visiting side a commanding lead, but Maccabi Haifa made an impressive recovery and managed to go level in the dying moments, dividing the points between the two clubs.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team North suffered only their second defeat this season, and their first at home, after losing 0-1 to Hapoel Petach Tikva at Kiryat Shalom training ground. Team South on the other hand registered a handsome 0-2 away victory against Hapoel Jerusalem in a match played on Friday afternoon. The club's Under-13 Team South stayed top of the nationwide Under-12 League Central District with a resounding 9-0 home victory over Hapoel Ramat Gan. Team North shared the points away with Hapoel Hod Hasharon after the teams played out a 1-1 draw.  

Important wins for Maccabi's Under-17s and 16s. A dramatic draw ...

This Saturday the Under-19s head off to play Hapoel Rishon Lezion and both the Under-16's and the Under-15 Team 1 face rivals at the top of their tables in this week-end's feature matches of Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division 

The national Under-19 Premier League season is entering its critical phase with Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" holding fast near the top of the table. Trailing league leaders Maccabi Haifa by just four points, second-placed "Shachar" will head off on Saturday for a tricky away tie against Hapoel Rishon Lezion at 11am at "Superland" Field hoping to stay in the running. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" will be at home at 8.30am at Kiryat Shalom training ground to host Hapoel Kfar Saba, currently holding up the national Under-17 Premier League table. Four days later "Oded" will face their Under-17 counterparts from Bnei Yehuda in the semi-finals of the prestigious Under-17 State Cup.

The Division's Under-16's, who will also play a State Cup (quarter final) match next week, will first have to face Hapoel Jerusalem in the league on Saturday at 10.30am at their Kiryat Yovel playing field. Both of Maccabi's Under-15 teams will face interesting opposition this Saturday, with Team 1 "Eldad" poised to face municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv at 8.30am at their Kiryat Wolfson training ground. Team 2 will head off to face fellow pacesetter Maccabi Haifa at the Ketzef training complex at 11am.

Like their Under-16 counterparts, Maccabi's Under-14 Team South will also be on the road at Kiryat Yovel this week-end to face Hapoel Jerusalem, playing Friday at 3pm. Team North will host Hapoel Petach Tikva on the synthetic pitch at Kiryat Shalom at noon on Saturday. The Under-13 Team South will precede them at 10.15am to host Hapoel Ramat Gan while team North head off to play Hapoel Hod Hasharon at 8.30 on Saturday morning.   

This Saturday the Under-19s head off to play Hapoel Rishon ...

With the exception of one loss, all the teams in Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division enjoyed a successful week-end

Along with the Under-19s, who extended their run of good form on Saturday with a 3-0 home victory against Ironi Kiryat Shmona, the rest of the Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division teams set out this week-end to seek success on the pitch. For the club's Under-17s, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded", this was the second opportunity in the space of a week to emerge victorious in an away derby against municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv, facing them this week in the league after beating them last week in the quarter finals of the Under-17 State Cup. And a lone goal from Maccabi's Raz Itzhak ensured that head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's lads walked off the pitch with yet another precious away victory under their belts, one that keeps them apace with national Under-17 Premier League leaders Maccabi Haifa.

The club's Under-16s, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", beat their counterparts from Maccabi Haifa 2-0 at the Kiryat Shalom training ground to maintain their lead at the top of the nationwide Under-16 League South. Goalscorers for head coach Erez Belfer's squad were Roy Ronen and Ran Vaturi and the victory ensured "Eli Fuchs" yet another week of supremacy in the table, six points in front of their nearest competitors, municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The only loss suffered this week-end by a Youth Division side was the club's Under-15 Team 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", who lost for only the second time this season in 21 league matches, away 2-0 to Hapoel Ramat Gan on Friday afternoon. Team 2 on the other hand rose to the second spot in the nationwide Under-15 League Sharon District with a 2-0 win against Maccabi Herzliya, with Prince Thomas and Daslin Balchau once again on target.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team South continued their run of good form with a 2-0 home win at Kiryat Shalom against Beitar Jerusalem. Niv Abutbul and Adir Hardon scored the goals for head coach Ayal Tzachi's side, who have won ten of their last eleven matches. Maccabi's Under-13 Team South also played at Kiryat Shalom against their counterparts from Beitar Jerusalem and sailed to an impressive 6-2 victory. Team North capped off another successful week-end for the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division with a 3-1 home victory against Beitar Tubruk at their home ground at Hadar Yosef in North Tel Aviv. 

With the exception of one loss, all the teams in Maccabi Tel ...

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division will be in action once again this week-end, with the Under-19s returning home to Kiryat Shalom and the Under-17s seeing yet more derby action

The suspense in the national Under-19 Premier league table is growing, with Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" registering six victories in their last seven league encounters to enter this week's fixtures in the second spot, just four points off the pace. Head coach Ziv Arye's charges will host Ironi Kiryat Shmona at 11am this Saturday in an attempt to stay in the running by exacting revenge for the 2-1 loss they suffered in the parallel away fixture. For the second consecutive week the club's Under-17s, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded", will find themselves at Hapoel Tel Aviv's Wolfson training ground for a 9am derby. Head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's lads will hope that the result will produce as many smiles as did last week's encounter, when "Oded" knocked their municipal rivals out of the State Cup competition in the quarter final round after a successful penalty shoot-out.

Also on Saturday Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs" will host their Under-16 counterparts from Maccabi Haifa at the central pitch at Kiryat Shalom training ground at 1.30pm, hoping to maintain their six-point lead at the top of the Under-16 Nationwide League South table. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", the club's Under-15 Team 1 who just this week won the "Nike Israel" tournament in Ra'anana, will play Hapoel Ramat Gan away at their Safari playing ground on Friday at 3pm. On Saturday Team 2 will host Maccabi Herzliya on the synthetic pitch at Kiryat Shalom at 10.20am, followed at 12.15pm by the club's Under-14 Team South, who will be hosting Beitar Jerusalem. Team North have the week off but both Under-13 teams will be entertaining at home, both at 8.30 in the morning. Team North will host Beitar Tubruk at the Hadar Yosef ground in North Tel Aviv and Team South will welcome Hapoel Rishon Lezion to the synthetic pitch at Kiryat Shalom.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division will be in action once again ...

MACCABI TEL AVIV "ELDAD" HAVE WON THE TOURNAMENT "NIKE ISRAEL" AND WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE EUROPEAN TOURNAMENT IN AUSTRIA

Maccabi Tel Aviv's two Under-15 teams, "Eldad" and Team 2, yesterday participated in the traditional one-day "Nike Israel" tournament held in Ra'anana. The tournament was divided into a group stage, semi-finals and finals and matches were played in two halves of twenty minutes each. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad" shared a group with Maccabi Netanya and Beitar Jerusalem while Team 2 played alongside Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Tubruk.

In their first match, "Eldad" defeated Maccabi Netanya 2-0 courtesy of goals from Eylon Almog and Neil Goldberg, younger brother of Maccabi Under-19 defender Shaun Goldberg. Neil also scored the winning, and only, goal in Eldad"'s second match, a 1-0 victory against Beitar Jerusalem. Maccabi's Team 2 also won both their group-stage matches, the first 1-0 against Maccabi Haifa courtesy of Prince Thomas and the second 2-0 against Beitar Tubruk, with Peleg Moshe and Guy Dahan the goalscorers.

In the semi-final stage, the two Maccabi Under-15 teams played one another, coincidentally for the second time in the space of two days. But in contrast to Saturday's quarter final Under-15 State Cup tie, which saw Team 2 advance to the semi-finals, this time it was Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad" that emerged victorious thanks to a lone goal by Dan Gross. The reward was a place in the tournament final, where their opponents were Hapoel Rishon Lezion. It was no walk in the park, but in the end here, too, it was Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad" on the winning end of a 2-1 victory. And here too it was Neil Goldberg whose brace handed Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad" the trophy and won him the title of the tournament's outstanding goalscorer with five goals in all.

The reward for Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad"s winning the tournament will be participation in the European "Nike" tournament that will be held this year in the Austrian capital Vienna starting on the first of May. "Eldad" head coach Shlomi Mitelka had this to say of his players' tournament success: "The youngsters went through a very taxing mental and physical experience. After losing on Saturday we managed to pull ourselves together and reach the top of a tournament like this, a really exceptional achievement so far we're concerned. The lads showed a lot of spirit, determination and character and in a tournament like this those are the things you need in order to win".

MACCABI TEL AVIV "ELDAD" HAVE WON THE TOURNAMENT "NIKE ISRAEL" AND WILL ...

Teams in Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division had two busy but successful days in both league and Cup competitions

Teams in Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division had two busy matchdays, with a number of them playing matches yesterday (Monday) as well as on the traditional Saturday. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded", the club's Under-17s, played only on Saturday but nonetheless engaged in 100 minutes of football before they finally succeeded in besting their municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Under-17 State Cup quarter finals. This was the second consecutive week that Maccabi's Under-17s found themselves at Hapoel's Wolfson training centre, and after beating them in the league Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" completed a derby "double" by winning a penalty shoot-out 6-5 after a goalless regulation and extra-time encounter. Dor Galili scored the winning penalty that sends "Oded" into the Under-17 State Cup semi-finals.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", the club's Under-16s, were one of the teams playing on both matchdays, and were triumphant on both occasions. On Saturday, head coach Erez Belfer's charges beat Hapoel Haifa 0-1 at their Kiryat Haim training ground in the last sixteen of the Under-16 Cup competition, courtesy of a goal by Amit Cohen. Yesterday (Monday), in matchweek 22 of the Under-16 Nationwide League South, they beat Hapoel Beer Sheva 2-0 at Maccabi's Kiryat Shalom training ground thanks to strikes from Ran Vaturi and Ittimar Shaviro.

Maccabi's two Under-15 teams played one another on Saturday in a closely contested Under-15 State Cup quarter final encounter that was decided in Team 2's favour 2-1 only in time added on. Team 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", took an early lead courtesy of Eylon Almog but Team 2's Daslin Blachau equalised in the dying moments to send the match into twenty minutes of extra time. And it was Blachau who struck again to send head coach Haim Siton's lads into the semi-finals.

Returning to league action, the club's Under-14 Team South, who had the day off on Saturday, yesterday breezed past Ashdod FC away 0-5, while their Team North counterparts stayed home at Kiryat Shalom and beat Hapoel Kfar Saba 3-1. Both Under-13 teams played Saturday as well as Monday, Team South winning both of their encounters at home and by impressive margins. In the Cup quarter final they outplayed Ashdod FC 4-1 and two days later left Hapoel Kiryat Ono completely empty-handed while scoring an impressive seven goals of their own. Team North won their quarter final Cup tie on Saturday 1-2 away at Hapoel Upper Nazareth and then on Monday added an eye-opening 1-8 away victory over Beitar Haifa in the league.        

Teams in Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division had two busy ...

The Under-17s play a Tel Aviv derby against Hapoel while the Under-15s play a Maccabi tel Aviv derby against one another in Saturday's State Cup activity

The youth division State Cup competition is approaching a critical phase and on Saturday Maccabi Tel Aviv's competitors will be looking to move into the semi-finals. The club's Under-17s face an intriguing tie as head coach Eliezer ben Aharon's lads play away to Hapoel tel Aviv at their Wolfson training ground at 9am, only a week before the two sides meet in the national Under-17 Premier League at the very same venue.  Maccabi's Under-16's opponent will be Hapoel Haifa when they meet at the latter's Kiryat Haim training facility at 11am. Just two days later, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs" will welcome Hapoel Beer Sheva at Kiryat Shalom training ground for their next league encounter.

Both of Maccabi tel Aviv's Under-15 squads have reached the quarter finals and were drawn together at their mutual home ground at Kiryat Shalom, though on paper it will be team 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", hosting team 2. Maccabi's Under-14 Team South will host Ashdod FC at 8.30am in the Cup and just two days later Hapoel Kiryat Ono in the l;eague at the same place and time. Team North also face two games in as many days, Saturday away at Hapoel Upper Nazareth in the Cup at 12.45pm and on Monday at Avi Ran Field to face Beitar Haifa in the league at 1pm. 

The Under-17s play a Tel Aviv derby against Hapoel while the Under-15s ...