Hapoel Beersheba slipped by Beitar Jerusalem 2-1 in Israel Premier League play at Turner Stadium as the Southern Reds opened up a four-point lead atop the table with the hard-earned victory.
Kings Kangwa was active early on for the hosts, but the yellow-and-black second-choice 'keeper, Yehonatan Ozer, came up big time and time again to keep the match goalless.
However, Igor Zlatanovic headed home an Eliel Peretz ball to give Ron Kozuk’s side a 1-0 lead. Grigori Morozov found the equalizer off a Boris Enow corner in the second half for Barak Itzhaki’s team in the 57th minute, but Or Blorian nodded the ball into the goal from a Kangwa corner to grab a 2-1 lead less than 10 minutes later as the Reds held on to take the win.
A relieved Kozuk spoke about the win.
“We had some ups and downs and what we need is to be able to score another goal after we score the first. We need to keep pushing as we did from the start of the second half until Beitar scored. I would rather press but I also want to make sure we play our game and not theirs. Beitar is battling for the title and I knew that with a win we would open up a four-point lead and it was exhilarating for all of us, especially with the fans really pushing us.”
Beitar bench boss Itzhaki looked back on the defeat.
“We tried to hold onto the ball and played a very direct game which was the game plan and we were able to do it over the course of the first half. I’m very happy as to how we played, especially here at Turner, but it’s also disappointing with the result. We are only four points off the top of the table and if someone would have told me that would be the case at the start of the season I would have grabbed it with both hands.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv closes gap to second-place Beitar Jerusalem
Meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv blanked Maccabi Bnei Reineh 4-0 as four different goal scorers found the back of the net for the yellow-and-blue, which closed the gap to second-place Beitar Jerusalem to just five points.
Sayed Abu Farhi opened the scoring from the penalty spot to give Ronny Deila’s team a 1-0 lead by the break, while Amir Sahiti doubled the advantage early on in the second half, and Roy Revivo made it 3-0 by the 54th minute. Yonas Malede put the finishing touches on the victory when he found the back of the goal in the 85th minute.
Delia spoke about the win.
“There was a fantastic atmosphere with the fans and it was amazing; they are the 12th player. I think we were very good in the first half, then we slowed the pace a bit, but we were still attacking well. Reineh got into scoring positions and we’ll deal with that, but we scored four goals and overall I’m satisfied. There’s room for improvement and we’ll improve, but I’m happy.”
Also, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Jerusalem played to an exhilarating 1-1 draw to earn a point apiece at Teddy Stadium in the capital.
The hosts opened the scoring as Reds ’keeper Nadav Zamir sent a long ball to Harel Shalom, who in turn crossed it to an oncoming Marko Rakonjac. However, Ziv Arie’s squad was reduced to 10 men in the 22nd minute due to a reckless tackle by Awaka Eshata.
The Greens pressed to find an equalizer, but only managed to do so when Manuel Benson passed to Guy Melamed, who then found Trivante Stewart in the box to finally beat Zamir and draw even at 1-1.
The visitors kept trying to score the winner, but Zamir was up to the task time and time again as the sides split the points.
Maccabi Haifa bench boss Barak Bachar spoke about the draw.
“Sometimes it’s harder to play against 10 players because of the congestion on the pitch. We didn’t do enough, we weren’t smart enough and not clinical enough. It’s a shame about the goal we conceded, it’s hindsight, but still a shame. We conceded from perhaps what was Hapoel Jerusalem’s only attack in the entire match.”
Arie also shared his thoughts on the result for his Jerusalem side.
“The game plan went exactly the way we wanted. We picked a stupid red card and in our situation we can’t afford that but we drew with a bit of luck and a lot of guys playing their hearts out. I’m proud of my players.”
Elsewhere, Hapoel Tel Aviv blanked Ironi Tiberias 2-0 as Amit Lemkin scored in the 69th minute and Roie Alkukin sent a scorcher into the host’s goal to take the three points.
Tel Aviv Head Coach Elyaniv Barda talked about the victory.
“We waited a long time for this away win and I’m very happy about the victory. We really wanted to maintain momentum and build a run of positive results and I’m glad we succeeded. Substitutions are part of the game and you need to know how to make them at the right time. Fortunately, that’s been helping us in recent matches.”
Maccabi Netanya and Ironi Kiryat Shmona played to a 1-1 draw as Matheus Davo scored in the first half for the hosts, while Adrian Ugarriza found the equalizer for the visitors in the second half to split the points.
Ashdod SC defeated Hapoel Haifa 2-0, with a pair of second-half goals from Roei Gordana and Mohammed Amar securing the three points for the port city side.
Ashdod bench boss Nir Bitton spoke about the win.
“Having a long winless streak was weighing on us and it was in our heads and this victory gave us some space heading into the next matches. As a coach, it’s paralyzing pressure, it’s not like being a player because you don’t have direct influence on the game. “
Finally, Hapoel Petah Tikva downed Bnei Sakhnin 2-1 as Mark Koszta scored a brace to take the win.
Petah Tikva coach Omer Peretz spoke about the victory.
“We absolutely deserved the win. We created plenty of chances and this was a very important victory for us. I’m very happy.”
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