Maccabi Haifa captured the Israel Super Cup on Sunday night with a dominant performance as it upended Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 at Sammy Ofer Stadium.
After a goalless first half, Barak Bachar’s squad saw Ben Sahar score a quick goal to begin the second half which was followed up by a Muhammed Abu Fani strike in the box to hand the Greens the coveted first trophy of the campaign.
“This was an important title for the fans and it’s great to begin the domestic season like this,” began Bachar. “We didn’t play great soccer but we are improving. It’s always great to beat a team like Maccabi Tel Aviv, but we have to put the win in proportion as this is just the start of the campaign and we have a very crucial game on Thursday in Europe.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Patrick van Leeuwen took the loss in stride.
“I think we are four weeks underway with the team and we are still trying to balance,” explained van Leeuwen following the game. “I don’t have time to worry and we are improving our physical fitness and that is our focus. There are some situations that could have gone differently and some penalty situations that could be up for discussion. We are building our team and we are looking forward.”
Sahar, who recently joined the Greens, reflected on the win.
“This was a lot of fun and I just got here a couple of weeks ago. I am happy that I was able to help the team and bring some joy to the fans with a title, but we have to now turn our attention to the game on Thursday. This is a club that wants to battle for all of the titles.”
The traditional start of the season title pits the Israeli league champion against the State Cup holder in what is always an exciting end-to-end affair with both clubs in the midst of attempting to advance to the Group Stages of the UEFA Conference League.
Maccabi Tel Aviv looked to score an early goal as Avi Rikan had the game’s first chance in the second minute, but his shot missed the target.
Omer Atzily and Dan Glazer each picked up yellow cards by the quarter-hour mark while Sahar almost put the Greens in front in the 25th minute, only to have his attempt in the box go off the bar and cleared to safety.
Haifa had a pair of goals waved off due to players being offside as Idan Nachmias was issued a yellow card in the 37th minute.
Atzily tried his luck on a free-kick, but his curler just missed the far corner of the goal while his break into the box saw his sharp angle shot squirt by the post and out as the first half ended goalless.
Just as the second half got under way, Sahar broke the deadlock as the forward slammed home a rebound off a magnificent save by yellow-and-blue ’keeper Daniel Peretz from an Atzily header to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the 49th minute.
Yonatan Cohen tried to find the equalizer, but his left-footed shot went over the goal in the 60th minute while nine minutes later his free kick also cleared the bar as Haifa continued to cling to the slim 1-0 lead.
However, Haifa doubled the advantage soon thereafter when Abu Fani took a ball in the box and dribbled through three Tel Aviv defenders and turned Luis Hernandez inside out as he slotted the ball behind a helpless Peretz for a 2-0 lead.
Each side traded chances over the final quarter-hour, but Haifa held on to notch the clean sheet and take the Super Cup.
Over in continental play, the four Israeli clubs participating in the Conference League went undefeated away from home across Europe as the quartet will now host their opponents back in Israel in decisive second-leg matches on Thursday night.
Maccabi Haifa will take a 2-1 win over Dinamo Tbilisi into the second leg of the second-round Conference League qualifier as the Greens received a pair of goals from Atzily and Dean David.
However, Bachar’s squad gave up a late goal as the players tired near the end of the match to give the Georgians some hope as they get ready for the second game.
Maccabi Tel Aviv played to a goalless draw at Sutjeska in Montenegro in a disappointing performance by van Leeuwen’s squad. The yellow-and-blue will need to find some offense back at Bloomfield Stadium in order to overcome its opponent and move on to the third round.
Hapoel Beersheba handily downed Arda 2-0 in Bulgaria as Mariano Barreiro and Dor Micha found the back of the goal for Roni Levy’s side as it will host its foe down south at Turner Stadium in the second leg.
Perhaps the most surprising result of the four was Ashdod SC holding European stalwart Qarabag to a 0-0 draw in Baku.
Last season, the Azerbaijani squad played in the Europa League group stages together with Maccabi Tel Aviv and this campaign may be eliminated early on should the port city squad find a way to win on its home turf.