Europa League: Maccabi lose 1-0 to Freiburg

In another successful week-end for Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division, the Under-16's and both Under-15 teams recorded impressive victories

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s suffered only their third league defeat this season and are the only Maccabi team to have lost on a busy Saturday of Youth Division fixtures. Head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's charges succeeded only in finding a temporary equaliser at the start of the first half of their away tie against Hapoel Haifa, courtesy of Raz Yitzhak. But later on, in the dying moments of the match, the home side scored again to walk away with a 2-1 victory. Despite the loss, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" remain in second place in the national Under-17 Premier League.  In the next two weeks the Under-17s will be playing two Tel Aviv derby matches in succession against municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv – next Saturday in the quarter finals of the prestigious State Cup and the following week in the league.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs" held on to their top spot in the nationwide Under-16 League South with a handsome 0-3 away victory against Ashdod FC. Shai Golan, Omer Lakau and Amit Cohen were all on target for the visitors and helped head coach Erez Belfer's Under-16s to maintain their six-point lead ahead of their closest rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv.  Maccabi's  Under-15 Team 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", overwhelmed Hapoel Kiryat Ono at home 7-0 courtesy of braces by Ayal Chen and Almog Eilon and individual efforts by Na'am Cohen, Orel Tissuna and Ofek Blass. Team 2 had spectators biting their nails as they saw a three goal advantage reduced to one in the second half but held on to beat Hapoel Ra'anana at home 3-2. Daslin Blachau netted a brace and Yarden Shua added the third for the home side as they maintained their third place position in the Under-15 League Sharon District table, two points behind league leaders Maccabi Petach Tikva and just a point behind Maccabi Netanya.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team South played host at Kiryat Shalom training ground to a Tel Aviv derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv, starting well with a goal by Gal Porat after just two minutes. But the visitors succeeded in equalising before the half and at the final whistle the two sides were still deadlocked 1-1. Team North returned from an encounter with Hapoel Hadera after an impressive 0-4 victory courtesy of a brace by Guy Ben Arush and individual goals by Ron Rahimi and Arad Bar. Maccabi's Under-13 Team South beat Hapoel Ramat Hasharon 2-1 and Team North struck five past Hapoel Matte Asher in a 5-1 victory.

In another successful week-end for Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division, the Under-16's ...

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s and 16s both registered victories that kept them atop of their respective league tables

In a match that paralleled the midday victory of the club's Under-19s against Ashdod FC, Maccabi's Under-17s also beat their counterparts from Ashdod 3-0 in the early kick-off at Kiryat Shalom training ground and maintained their position at the top of the national Under-17 Premier League table.  Ben Shugal, playing in only his second match for head coach Eliezer Aharon's Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" since his move from Hapoel Rishon Lezion, opened the scoring. Midfielder Itay Aloni added a brace.

The club's Under-16's, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", registered one of their most impressive victories of the season so far, inundating their counterparts from Maccabi Beer Sheva 11-2 at home. Roi Ronen scored four of Maccabi's goals, Matan Cohen a brace and five other players contributed individual goals in the team's fifth consecutive league victory that keeps them top of the Nationwide Under-16 League South table.

The Under-15 Team 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", recorded a fine 1-5 away win over fellow pacesetters from the Nationwide Under-15 League Central District, Hapoel Beer Sheva. Almog Eilon scored a brace to bring his season total to 29 goals in all competitions. Orel Tisuna, Nadav Rouvni and Itai Kedem all added individual efforts. Team 2 suffered only their second league defeat this season under head coach Haim Siton in matchweek 19 of the Nationwide Under-15 League Sharon District, losing 2-1 away to Hapoel Petach Tikva. Guy Dahan scored Maccabi's only goal.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team South, under the stewardship of head coach Ayal Tzahi, swept aside Ironi Modi'in 0-6 on the road, with all the goals coming in the first half. Tal Da'on scored a hat-trick, Gal Porat a brace and Adir Hardon added an individual effort. Team North also won handsomely yesterday with a 5-0 home triumph over Hapoel Hod Hasharon. Five different squad members participated in the goalfest: Amit Glazer, Emil Edri, Ziv Mimun, Gil Rahimi and Eyal Chen.

Maccabi's Under-13 Team South were the second Youth Division side to score eleven goals on Saturday, their's to no reply at home against Gadna Tel Aviv. Team North on the other hand were the only other Youth Division team to concede defeat on Saturday, losing 1-0 at Hapoel Haifa.

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s and 16s both registered victories that ...

At Maccabi Tel Aviv's Kiryat Shalom Youth Division complex, a busy Saturday of matches is just two days away

Amid a run of good form that has lifted them to third place in the national Under-19 Premier League table, within seven points of leaders Maccabi Haifa and just a point behind second placed Beitar Tubruk with whom they drew 0-0 last week-end, head coach Ziv Arie's charges at Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" will hope to maintain their winning ways at home on Saturday at 11.30am when they take on Ashdod FC in a match that will not be broadcast on television. In the parallel away fixture last October, Maccabi beat Ashdod 0-1 after a dramatic winner in the dying moments of the match by midfielder Dor Peretz, who is now sidelined by a long-term injury.

In the early kick-off, Maccabi's Under-17s will also be hosting their Ashdod FC counterparts this Saturday on Kiryat Shalom's main pitch at 8.30am. Last Saturday, head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's lads suffered only their second league defeat of the season but still hold a firm grip on the top spot in the national Under-17 Premier League, a position they'll attempt to defend in their forthcoming encounter.

In yet another contest to be held at Kiryat Shalom, Maccabi "Eli Fuchs" will take to the synthetic pitch at 12pm to face their Under-16 namesakes from Beer Sheva in an encounter that pits the Under-16 League South leaders from Tel Aviv against the table's bottom club from the Negev.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", the club's Under-15 Team 1, will also meet opposition from the country's southern capital when they travel to Reiser Field at 11am to face their counterparts from Hapoel Beer Sheva in a battle of Under-15 Central League pacesetters. Another Maccabi Youth Division team occupying the lead position in their league, the Under-15 Team 2, will play away this Saturday against Hapoel Petach Tikva at Sirkin Field at 8.30am.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team South will head off to play Ironi Modi'in at 8.30am, while Team North host Hapoel Hod Hasharon on Kiryat Shalom's synthetic pitch at 10.15am. Later on at 1.45pm, the same pitch will be the venue for the Under-13 Team South's encounter with Gadna Tel Aviv. Team North will travel to the Kiryat Haim sport complex to face Hapoel Haifa at 1.15pm.  

At Maccabi Tel Aviv's Kiryat Shalom Youth Division complex, a busy Saturday ...

In this professional article, Dr Yaron "Buki" Barak, head of the physical fitness staff at Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division, presents his long-term plan for the physical development of the club's young players

"Starting with the 2012/13 season, the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division embarked upon a long-term physical fitness programme whose stated purpose is the physical development of future generations of the club's players. The first season focused on integrating both training systems and programmes into the Youth Division training regime. The physical fitness programme was meticulously designed in accordance with the characteristics of the various age groups and in consequence of long international experience with the development of young players. The programme includes such physical capacity tests as quickness, agility and break-away speed, conducted on a regular basis twice a year with the most state of the art electronic measurement equipment available in the football world. Such measurements enable us to follow both the players' progress and the effectiveness of the physical fitness programme as a whole. The physical fitness staff follow closely every age-group team in the Youth Division at a large number of training sessions during the course of every week, in accordance with the physical fitness programmes that are distributed each week to all the various age-group team coaches".

"The work programme described here has been carried forth in full for the 2013/14 season. This year the infrastructure has undergone a significant upgrade. At the eastern pitches a work area has been created for the express purpose of developing physical fitness, containing a variety of special training surfaces for improving athletic capacities. A designed purpose training area containing deep sand has also been created. The Youth Division have acquired one of football's leading electronic networks called "Team System", which includes 24 pulse watches which are capable of transmitting pulse data in real time during trainings and games. This in addition to a GPS system that analyses speed and distances".

"The programme described here is a long-term physical fitness programme which we all hope will bear fruit in the very near future".

Dr Yaron "Buki" Barak – sports physiologist, head of the physical fitness staff at the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department

In this professional article, Dr Yaron "Buki" Barak, head of ...

Players and coaching staff at the Youth Division were treated to a lecture by international referee Liran Liani on the rules and refereeing in football

As part of a series of lectures being held at the various football clubs in Israel, international referee Liran Liani spoke yesterday at the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division training complex in Kiryat Shalom. Attending his lecture on the rules and refereeing in football were players and staff of the Under-19 and 17 squads as well as other coaches in the Youth Division. The lecture, held at the first team club house, covered recent developments and changes in the rules and acquainted the participants with events on the pitch as seen through the eyes of the referee. Members of the Under-19 team were shown concrete examples from their match played a number of weeks ago against Hapoel Ra'anana at which Liani officiated. At the match Liani handed out a number of yellow cards to Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" players and yesterday they heard in detail what they had been booked for.   

Players and coaching staff at the Youth Division were treated ...

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s, Under-16's and Under-15 Team 2 all maintained their grip on the top spot in their divisions

Along with the Under-19's, who drew on Saturday at Beitar Tubruk, the rest of Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division teams continued their league duties on Saturday. The Under-17's played a difficult away tie at Bnei Sakhnin and suffered only their second league loss of the season 2-1. Omer Lakau scored Maccabi's only goal close to end of the match, but it only closed a gap on a Sakhnin side that had jumped to a two goal advantage before half time. Despite the loss, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" still lead the national Under-17 Premier League table after sixteen league matches played.

The club's Under-16's, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", also stayed top of their league, increasing their lead to six points. Head coach Erez Belfer's lads emerged 2-4 victors away at Beitar Tel Aviv Ramle courtesy of a brace by Roy Ronen and individual goals by Almog Eilon and Amit Cohen. Maccabi's Under-15 Team 1 stayed second in their division by beating Gadna Tel Aviv 3-0 at the Kiryat Shalom training ground on goals by Ejji Heford, Neal Goldberg and Orel Tisuna. Another Maccabi Youth Division team to stay first in their league table were the Under-15 Team 2, who held top position after 18 league games by beating Hapoel Ramat Hasharon 2-0 on goals by Natanel Malka and Prince Tomas.

Maccabi's Under-14 Team South won handsomely in the neighbouring "Tikva" quarter, beating Bnei Yehuda 0-4 courtesy of goals by Raz Levi, Amit Mordechaev, Leon Garadshov and Tal Da'on. Team North drew 1-1 with Beitar Tubruk after beating the Girl's Football Academy 7-0 in midweek. Maccabi's Under-13 Team North also scored seven goals in a 7-1 rollover of Hapoel Aliyah Kfar Saba.   

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s, Under-16's and Under-15 Team 2 all ...

For the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division, this was a very special and perfect Saturday. Every team won!

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s recorded yet another victory, beating Hapoel Ramat Gan 0-1 away to open up what would prove to be a virtual flood of Maccabi Youth Division victories. The club's Under-17s copied their older teammates by also beating their counterparts at Hapoel Ramat Gan. Head coach Elizer Ben Aharon's charges beat their hosts 1-4 courtesy of a brace by Raz Yitzchak and individual goals by Omer Lakau and Omri Haramati and maintained their position at the top of the national Under-17 Premier League table. The Under-16's, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", beat Section Nes Tziona 3-1 at home thanks to a hat-trick by Ittimar Shaviro. After 18 league matches, head coach Erez Belfer's lads also stand proudly atop their nationwide Under-16 League South table.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", the club's Under-15 Team 1, registered a 0-1 away win against Bnei Yehuda. Almog Eilon scored the game's only goal in the 56^th minute as head coach Shlomi Mitelka's charges rose to second in the nationwide Under-15 Central District table. The Under-15 Team 2 won their match at Hapoel Kfar Saba 0-3 courtesy of a brace by Guy Dahan and an individual effort by Daslin Bellachou.

Maccabi's Under 14 Team South played a "little" derby against Tel Aviv Gadna and won 3-0 on goals from Niv Abutbul, Gal Porat and Tal Da'on. Team North played a difficult match away to Beitar Haifa but emerged 0-1 victors courtesy of a lone goal by Ron Rahimi.  Maccabi's Under 13 Team South got a baker's dozen away at Beitar Tel Aviv, rolling over the opposition 0-12. Team North beat Hapoel Petach Tikva 3-0.

The MTA Youth Division's younger competitors, from the Under-12s down to the Under-10s, were all victorious in an exceptional Saturday of contests that all went Maccabi's way. Add the senior team's 0-2 triumph over Maccabi Petach Tikva into the equation and this was a Saturday in which all of the club's 16 teams registered victories!

For the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division, this was a very special ...

The Under-19's away match at Hapoel Ramat Gan will be the focus of a full slate of week-end fixtures in Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division

This Saturday at 10.30pm, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" will head out to Winter Stadium to face the Under-19s of Hapoel Ramat Gan in the hope of extending their good run of form. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" will also be on the road to play their Under-17 counterparts at Hapoel Ramat Gan for a game in hand resulting from a postponement from matchweek 9. The match will take place at 11am at the playing field at the Ramat Gan Safari Park. The club's Under-16s, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", are the only team of the Division's older competitors to play at home at the Kiryat Shalom training ground this Saturday when they host Section Nes Tziona at 10.20am. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad", the club's Under-15 Team 1, will have a late 2pm kick-off away against Bnei Yehuda in Tel Aviv's "Tikva" neighbourhood, while Team 2 travel to Kfar Saba for a 10am encounter against Hapoel Kfar Saba.

Other matches:

Maccabi Tel Aviv Under-14 Team South – Gadna Tel Aviv home (Kiryat Shalom synthetic pitch, 8.30am)

Maccabi Tel Aviv Under-14 Team North – Beitar Haifa away (Avi Ran playing field, Haifa, 3pm)

Maccabi Tel Aviv Under-13 Team North – Hapoel Petach Tikva home (Kiryat Shalom synthetic pitch, 11.45am)

Maccabi Tel Aviv Under-13 Team South – Beitar Tel Aviv away (Ramle, 10.30am)

The Under-19's away match at Hapoel Ramat Gan will be the focus ...

The break in league activity afforded Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division teams to advance in State Cup competition

For the Youth Division, this Saturday stood under the sign of the State Cup, a Saturday largely replete with successes that saw Maccabi Tel Aviv teams advance in the prestigious competition. The Under-17s faced a considerable hurdle in the last 16 as Gadna Tel Aviv succeeded in keeping Maccabi at bay for the full 80 minutes and another 20 minutes of time added on, bringing the match to a penalty shoot-out. After the sides missed an opportunity each, Ranny Hamza and Shai Ben David scored for Maccabi, while Maccabi keeper Haviv Ohian saved Gadna's fourth penalty, leaving Shai Golan to score the winning penalty and send Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" into the quarter finals of the Under-17 State Cup.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs" headed off for an away tie against Maccabi Ironi Netivot in the last 16 of the Under-16s State Cup competition and won handily 0-5. Guy Shetach scored a brace, with Omer Lakau, Or Dassa and Matan Cohen adding on to send head coach Erez Belfer's lads into the quarter finals. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eldad" also won away to advance to the next stage of the cup competition, beating Beitar Jerusalem 0-4 at the" Bayit VeGan" complex in the capital. Neil Goldberg scored a hat-trick and Almog Eilon added an individual effort to send head coach Shlomi Mitelka's Under-15s into the quarter finals. Maccabi's Under-15 Team 2 also advanced to the quarter finals by beating Carmiel/Tzfat FC 0-3 courtesy of a Guy Dahan hat-trick.

The Youth Division's only loss was suffered by Maccabi's Under-14 Team North, who lost 0-1 at home to Hapoel Rishon Lezion in the last 16 of the State Cup for Under-14s. Team South played a league match against Section Nes Tziona and sailed to an 8-0 victory. Both of Maccabi's Under-13 teams advanced to the quarter finals of their State Cup competitions, Team South beating Hapoel Ra'anana 4-2 at the Kiryat Shalom training ground, Team North topping Kfar Yasif FC away 0-3.  

The break in league activity afforded Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth ...

A Saturday of fixtures that saw Youth Division sides facing their green-shirted namesakes from Haifa ended in victories for the Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-17s and Under-14 Team South

As was the case for the club's Under-19s, the Under-17's – Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" – also took to the pitch on Saturday for a pacesetter's tie against their counterparts from Maccabi Haifa. "Oded" went into to the match placed second in the table, just two points behind their northern namesakes, who played host for the encounter. But it was "Oded" head coach Eliezer Ben Aharon's lads who began the match with more spring in their step and within ten minutes they had already taken a 0-2 lead courtesy of goals from Etai Aloni and Raz Yitzhak. It was not until the second half that the home side succeeded in pulling one back but after the referee's whistle it was the visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv team that pocketed all three points, and the top spot in the national Under-17 Premier league table into the bargain.

Meanwhile the club's Under 16's, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Eli Fuchs", maintained their eminence in the nationwide Under-16 League South by sailing past minor resistance from home side Maccabi Emek Hefer for a 0-6 victory. Omer Lakau scored a brace for his 25^th and 26^th league goals of the season, with Ittimar Shaviro, Matan Cohen, Yisrael Vaturi and Ofri Mashta adding on. Almog Eilon, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-15 Team 1 striker, brought his league season tally to 24 goals by scoring a hat-trick in his side's comprehensive 4-0 defeat of Beitar Jerusalem, with Adji Haford adding the fourth. Team 2 returned from Kfar Blum with all three points after beating Hapoel Kiryat Shmona 1-4 courtesy of a brace from Daslin Balachau and individual efforts by Guy Dahan and Dvir Skorka.

In one last encounter between a Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division side and their Maccabi Haifa counterparts, the club's Under-14 Team South came out on top 2-1 thanks to goals by Amit Mordechaiev and Gal Porat. Team North faced the "red" side of the city, Hapoel Haifa, but the victory remained in Maccabi hands 1-0 with Eyal Chen the goalscorer.  Maccabi Tel Aviv' Under-13 team South hosted Beitar Jerusalem but were beaten 2-3. Team North suffered a similar fate, yielding to Hapoel Ra'anana 4-2.   

A Saturday of fixtures that saw Youth Division sides facing their green-shirted ...